Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links…

 

From Snow to Palm Trees, From a Spin Bike to a Road Bike

After months of planning (mostly on the part of our friend Chuck), our epic bike ride from Miami to Key West was upon us! We left Virginia on Thursday with snow on the ground and more expected that night, and arrived in Florida to sunshine, warmth, and humidity.

I was thrilled to leave my spin bike in my basement back home and embark on my adventure trusting a rental road bike for my 133-mile adventure. I was even happier that the flight happened after notifications informing us that winter storms across the Northeast might cause disruptions to our flight. We were flying United who had major cancelations a week or so earlier due to short staffs thanks to Covid. And in November or December flights were canceled due to the weather.

Our newest fear for a canceled flight? 5G was scheduled to roll out on Wednesday which could potentially cause problems for pilots to land planes in inclement weather possibly creating havoc throughout the friendly skies. Fortunately, AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the rollout for two weeks, abating the issue… at least for us.

The stars aligned and we made it to Florida with only a minor hiccup.

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Rest day from any organized exercise, but I spent the entire day (close to 10 hours) undecorating the house. I fell in bed far more exhausted than after a run or bike ride.

 

Monday

Strength training : 1 hour of total body

Snow shoveling: 30+ minutes

Cycling: 10 miles
• Average speed: 16.5 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 4:28 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68°
• What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra

I awoke at 5 AM to snow falling on top of overnight rain and sleet. My first client was virtual so the slick roads didn’t affect her; however, five of my in-person clients canceled so I suddenly had lots of extra time on my hands. Later in the afternoon, I hopped on my spin bike (affiliate link) with plans to ride about 20 miles, but my legs said otherwise and I stopped after 10 miles. I’m not sure why my legs rebelled, but it could have been because I was on my legs all day running up and down the stairs for 10 hours undecorating the house the day before.

 

Tuesday

Running: 1 Mile
• Average pace: 9:24
• Start time: 11:27 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66°
• What I wore: shorts and tank

Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 13:47
• Start time: 12:03 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66°
• What I wore: shorts and tank

Foam rolling: 10 minutes

Stretching: 10 minutes

With icy roads, I opted to stay inside and run on my treadmill (affiliate link). I set out to run a 5K, but an odd little pain in my lower right leg convinced me to stop after a mile and walk the final two. I have felt fine since so I’m not concerned, but it’s always smart to ere on caution.

I think I finally figured out how to make my Garmin (affiliate link) and treadmill stay in sync with my mileage… it’s all about the arm swing. If I swing my arms too little, the treadmill mileage gets ahead of my watch and if I get carried away and swing my arms too much, the treadmill lags behind. I assume that the mileage on the treadmill is most accurate so every quarter mile or so I check my watch and make the necessary adjustment to my arm swing to get the two back to the same distance.

 

Wednesday

Strength training : 1 hour of total body

 

Thursday

Travel day

Walking: 4 miles

So much walking – between Dulles and Miami airports and walking to dinner, we easily walked four miles, probably more.  I welcomed lots of walking after sitting on the plane 50 minutes longer than necessary thanks to a mechanical issue.

 

Friday

Cycling: 78 miles
• Average speed: 14.8 MPH
• Bike: Jamis rental
• Surface: road
• Elevation gain: 630
• Start time: 7:13 AM
• Location: Key Largo to Marathon Keys, Florida
• Weather: 73°, climbing to 81° and sunny
• What I wore: bike short bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

I’m not going to lie, this day was tough! The combination of not being used to the heat and humidity plus being dehydrated from flying the day before made for a very tough day for me. Of course I had fun with my friends, but I kept staring on my Garmin (affiliate link) as the miles click by ever so slowly.

 

Saturday

Cycling: 55 miles (plus 5 more riding around town and back to our hotel)
• Average speed: 17.8 MPH
• Bike: Jamis rental
• Surface: road
• Elevation gain: 456
• Start time: 8:40 AM
• Location: Marathon Keys to Key West, Florida
• Weather: 75° and cloudy with a little drizzle, climbing to 78° and sunny
• What I wore: bike short bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

What a difference getting a good night’s sleep, being properly hydrated, and a little cloud coverage can make! If Friday’s ride was a 4 out of 10, Saturday’s ride was a 9. I felt strong, the miles quickly clicked by, and I had a smile on my face the entire time.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past  week, here’s what you missed…

 

 Questions:
  • • How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? ~ We’re flying home to either freezing rain or a cold rain.
  • • Have you noticed arm swing to be a factor in your running distance when using the “run indoors” mode on your Garmin while running on a treadmill?
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend?

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.