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Garmin Badges Earned Last Week
I’m not sure when Garmin badges came on my radar, but at first I thought Garmin just gave them out periodically – like if you ran on Global Running Day. When I discovered that there are a wide variety of monthly challenges that you must first accept, I started joining some that applied to my activities. Unfortunately, indoor cycling doesn’t earn any credits for me because my Garmin (affiliate link) doesn’t have an indoor biking mode.
I don’t keep track of how I’m progressing in any of the challenges, but it’s a fun little surprise when a badge pops up.
675K (419.5 miles) of cycling from October 1 to December 31 – earned after Sunday’s ride…
20 activities of at least 20 minutes each in November – earned after Wednesday’s walk…
Climb 10,000 feet in elevation while cycling in November – earned after Thursday’s ride…
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 20 miles
• Average speed: 12.1 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 886 feet
• Start time: 1:57 PM
• Location: W&OD Bridle Trail Sterling/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 43° (feels like 39°) and overcast with light mist the last 3 miles
• What I wore: bike shorts, leg sleeves, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, light jacket, ear warmer headband, and fingered gloves
My husband and I wanted to ride gravel, but didn’t have a lot of time to drive to western Loudoun where we usually ride on one of the many gravel road our county is blessed to have. Instead, we rode from our house to the W&OD Trail and stayed on the parallel gravel bridle path.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 14:45 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 120 feet
• Start time: 1:10 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 45° (feels like 37°) and sunny
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, down jacket, ear warmer headband, visor, gloves, and mittens
It was downright blustery when I walked, but I warmed up nicely and had to take my coat off toward the end.
Tuesday
Cycling: 22 miles
• Average speed: 16.3 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:22 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement and 34° (feels like 27°) outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra
With the day’s high forecast expected to only reach 37° with the wind chill dropping to the low-20’s as the wind picked up, my friend Mary and I rescheduled our bike ride to Thursday. Before spending the day Christmas decorating, I hopped on my spin bike (affiliate link) to pound out some miles.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 14:38 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 91 feet
• Start time: 3:20 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 39° (feels like 32°) and sunny, turning cloudy
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, down jacket, ear warmer headband, visor, gloves, and mittens
Thursday
Cycling: 24 miles
• Average speed: 11.2 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 1,253 feet
• Start time: 12:21 PM
• Location: W&OD Bridle Trail Ashburn/Clark Gap loop
• Weather: 50° (feels like 46°) and sunny, climbing to 55°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, light jacket, ear warmer headband, and fingered gloves
Mary and I certainly made a good call when we rescheduled our bike ride because the weather turned out great! The evening before I had begged out of my early morning virtual cardio workout with Kim after burning the candle at both ends for days. I even slept in until 6:45 AM!
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Saturday
Running: 4 miles
• Average pace: 9:56 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 124 feet
• Start time: 7:06 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 46° and foggy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s t-shirt, ear warmer headband, visor, and mittens
Stretching: 10 minutes
It was super foggy when I headed out for my run just as it was getting light out. I made my way through the neighborhood trails to find the little gnome friends I’d spotted while returning home from a ride earlier in the week. They were equally happy to see me and more than willing to pose for a picture.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: November 19 – 25 / A Trot, Two Turkeys, and Three Christmas Trees
- • Tuesday – Turkey Dash Charlotte 4-Miler Race Recap
Questions
- • Do you join any challenges? ~ Just Garmin’s for me
- • What fun Christmas or other holiday blowups have you seen in your neighborhood or on a run?
- • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ No
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.
Strava has challenges and I usually sign up for those. They have cycling challenges too. Sometimes the challenges are sponsored by brands and you can get coupons/discounts. One time I got a free pair of Smartwool socks!
Nice week for you! I can’t believe you were running in shorts yesterday!
Oh yes, that’s right, Strava does have challenges, but because my account is private I can’t participate in many of them so I’d forgotten all about it. I should check again and see if they’ve change those rules.
At 46° I was on the fence about wearing shorts and not wearing my thin nylon shell, but opted to be bold and was glad I did. It was perfect for me and I was surprised that I didn’t get cold when I stopped for the picture.
Love the photo of you with the gnomes!
It’s challenging trying to out run or out ride the weather, isn’t it? I thought I had a perfect plan for this week, but oh well, we know what happens to plans.
Thanks, Judy! It’s such a fun blowup, but then, I love gnomes. 😉
It was really chilly for cycling outside this week! I am motivated by badges and challenges too it’s fun for motivation
Badges are new to me and lots of fun! We’ll see how well I do with my goal to cycle outside at least once a week this winter…
Nice week, Deb, and lots of “saddle time!” I’m the same with the Garmin badges…I join the pertinent ones! I do periodically check for the longer-distance runs or rides, though, to see if they’ll fit into my schedule.
Thanks, Kim!
We have loads of blowups. No gnomes though. That’s my fave.
No race but a 15k next weekend.
I never wear my Garmin if I’m not racing. I do do some strava challenges.
The gnomes are very cute. They’re definitely up there as one of my favorites, too!
Yay for a race next weekend!
Those gnomes are so cute!
I never remember to join Garmin challenges. I opt-in to the Peloton challenges. If they relate to certain class types they impact what I do, but I always max out on the monthly challenges with my usual routine. Now there’s a holiday challenge for holiday-themed classes, so that’s fun.
Peloton has a lot of different challenges, right? It’s great that there are many different options for keeping us motivated.
Ha ha… love the gnomes! So you got your Christmas decs up? I’ll bet your house looks amazing! Some people in our neighborhood have amazing Christmas displays up- I should go out for a walk and take a closer look.
Sounds like you had a great week of workouts!
Well, I thought I was finished, but then I got the great idea to put lighted garland on the stair banister. I bought the garland and I’ll put it up one night this week.
Great call to move that bike ride from Tuesday to Thursday! So satisfying when things work out that way!
Whenever I see your sleep stats, I’m very impressed by how little you need (my average is about 2 hours more…I’m a sleepy head). I’m relieved to see that you slept a bit longer on Thursday!
Yes, we certainly lucked out with the weather on Thursday.
My sleep stats come from my Fitbit and it usually cheats me out of close to an hour per night because it subtracts out anytime I’m restless or wake up. For example, Friday night I slept from 10:30 PM until Saturday morning at 6:03 AM and was credited with only 6 hours 35 minutes of sleep.
Ah, I see! Yes, Garmin does a better job I guess. Glad the Fitbit underestimating your sleep and not overestimating! 😉
Exactly!
Great job being so active!! From strength training to bike, to running you have had agreat week.
And great job with your sleep – wow, I’d love a solid 7 hours of sleep. Maybe someday when my kiddos are older? I can only hope!
Thanks, Melissa! Yes, sleep will get easier as your children get older. Well, until they’re teenagers and then you’ll be staying up late waiting for them to get home when they go out without you.
I’m pretty sure my outside cycling days are over until spring! Well, even my indoor cycling since I don’t really do that! I do join in Strava challenges, but don’t pay a lot of attention to them most of the time. It’s a fun surprise when they do get awarded!
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – Christmas mode activated!
You have a lot rougher winter weather than I do here in Virginia so I can imagine winter riding would be tougher.
Another solid week of activities: congrats!
I miss my cycling days but this is not a sport for me because I am unable to use the clips and around here the roads are very dangerous because of traffic.
However cycling helped me a lot to recover after the femur fracture in September 2007.
Thanks, Stefano! Too bad you can’t still cycle for cross training.