Staying Cool
It was quite a week, weather wise… The DMV’s (the DC, Maryland, Virginia metro area) three airports (DCA, BWI, and IAD) reported 4 consecutive days of 100° or higher. That’s hot for us for this early in the summer and for that many days. I pretty much hunkered down inside for my workouts as much as I could, but eventually I broke and had to take it outside. Luckily, the weather eventually broke as well.
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
Rest day
Drive home from Petersburg, WV
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 3.29 miles
• Average pace: 14:44 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:47 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 65° in basement, 93° (feels like 100°) and sunny outside
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
In the past I have multitasked on occasion by doing a steady spin on my bike while training a virtual client. I decided to give walking on my treadmill a try and it worked out quite well. Normally, I stand at the bar next to the gym while working with my virtual clients so why not set a good example while doing some cardio? If I need to demo an exercise it’s super easy to just step off the bike or treadmill.
Tuesday
Walking: 2.02 miles
• Average pace: 15:21 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:30 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in basement, 79° (feels like 90°) and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
Cycling: 20 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 7:11 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 64° in basement, 80° (feels like 91°) and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking while training a virtual client went so well the previous day that I decided to do it again. After a couple of miles on the treadmill, I moved to my spin bike.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 16:08 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 93 feet
• Start time: 1:52 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 93° (feels like 101°) and partly cloudy, climbing to 98° (feels like 105°)
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
I’d had enough walking on the treadmill so I took it outside for my walk despite the high heat and humidity.
Thursday
Walking: 4.15 miles
• Average pace: 15:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 147 feet
• Start time: 5:37 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 74° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
Cycling: 25.14 miles
• Average speed: 14.6 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 745 feet
• Start time: 9:54 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Sterling/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 76° and partly cloudy, climbing to 81°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Walking: 3.33 miles
• Average pace: 19:31 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 102 feet
• Start time: 1:54 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails to the W&OD Trail
• Weather: 82° (feels like 84°) and cloudy, climbing to 84° (feels like 88°) and mostly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
The high temps finally broke after evening storms the day before so it was significantly cooler when I got up. I was surprised (and disappointed) to see how much darker it was when I headed outside for my virtual walk with Kim. Yes, it was on the cloudy side, but it still seemed significantly darker when I started than the previous Thursday.
Collage credit: Kim
After my walk and a little work, I got back out for an easy bike ride. My tired legs felt great once they warmed up and I had a fantastic ride.
I finished my ride with a notification from Garmin that I was acclimated to 3,300 feet which I can only presume is a result of last week’s climb up Spruce Knob, West Virginia’s highest point. Until I saw this, I didn’t know that Garmin kept track of altitude acclimation.
And finally, my husband and I went on a long walk (he went 2 miles farther than me). We wrapped up our walk with a late lunch / early dinner at YumYum Hibachi. Yum!
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Saturday
Cycling: 34.37 miles
• Average speed: 14.1 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,329 feet
• Start time: 7:58 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop with country side roads
• Weather: 75° and mostly cloudy, climbing to 84°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
With a busy day of family fun on tap, I headed out solo for a quick workout, riding west on the trail to my favorite side roads that take me past some farms.
I came in from my ride to see I was 15% acclimated to the heat – guess I’d lost quite a bit of acclimation while spinning in my cool basement. I’d gotten up to 72% acclimation prior to the extreme heat we’ve had the past couple of weeks.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • How has the weather been in your neck of the woods? ~ hot
- • Were you aware that Garmin tracks your altitude acclimation? ~ I had no idea.
- • 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! 
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We also had hot weather here until some bad storms brought an end to it midweek. The cooler air feels great! Your basement is cold! But I bet it feels good when you’re working out!
Yes, it feels amazing in the basement when I workout and then when I walk up to the main floor it seems so hot at 74° (and then cold after I get used to that temperature). LOL
Great idea for multi-tasking. One of my colleagues just put a walking pad under his desk — I asked how many dollars he can bill per mile. 🙂
I hope we have a cooler week ahead!
Dollars per mile – that’s great! 😀
I’m really curious what my Garmin “thinks” my elevation acclimation is, LOL. I mean, I’ve got a lot of those hilly bike path rides (from the past two years), as well as some serious climbing in the past two Ragrai’s (when I had the Garmin with me). I guess mine is more total ascension as opposed to a single climb, though? Oh well, I may be better off without that knowledge 😉
I suspect that the altitude acclimation is for current rides, just like with Garmin’s heat acclimation. After keeping my rides inside for a couple of weeks, my heat acclimation dropped from 70% (or whatever it was) to 15% after yesterday’s ride. But who knows?
I like the idea of doing some physical activity while training clients. I can imagine it should work well!
I hope the weather cools down for you soon. Here it’s still cold, and I sadly don’t think there will be any proper summer this year.
Oh no, that’s a bummer that your summer is continuing to be so cold. 🙁
We’ve had some heat too but nothing I can’t stand – after all, it is summer! And summer is my favorite. I love your virtual friend workouts with Kim – so much fun 🙂
I agree that summer is my favorite season, but I’m just not used to 100°+ temperatures with a feels like of 110°.
Yes, Kim and I enjoy our virtual workouts together!
You are lucky to have such a cool basement! And I agree- it’s disheartening to see how much darker it is now in the morning. It seems to happen so quickly.
It looks like your weather really cooled down- 75 on Saturday sounds amazing!
Yes, I very much appreciate and don’t take for granted having a cool basement for working out.
It was a bit sweaty early in the week, but it cooled down very nicely later on. Great idea to multitask on the treadmill! I wish my treadmill felt better on my leg because I have a lot of TV shows to watch!
I’m pretty much a flat lander on my bike this year. No altitude changes around my neck of the woods! But no, I have never seen that screen. Very interesting!
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Our weather definitely improved toward the end of last week.
We just drove across Ohio from Dublin heading west toward Indiana and boy is it flat! I’m loving all of the corn fields, though. It’s been years since I’ve crossed the country by car.
When you walk in your neighbourhood, are there any other people out and about?
We had three visitors from the US last week. It was their first visit to Europe.
By the end of the week, two of them had trouble with their feet, as they weren’t used to all the walking that we do over here. So kudos to you for keeping up all the walking – you have more average daily steps than I do!
Yes, there are other people out walking, but it’s always the same ones. I’m not surprised by your American friends’ not being used to all the walking you do. We live in suburbia and the broader community isn’t designed for walking. I can walk to my local grocery store, UPS store, etc., but if we want to go to a restaurant outside of our neighborhood many of the roads don’t have sidewalks or parallel trails.
It’s been hot here as well and I’ve also taken the majority of my workouts to the basement. I’d rather have a hot summer though than a cool, wet one. I too have noticed the darkness creeping in. Those are some interesting stats from your Garmin!
You’re right, I shouldn’t complain about the heat because it won’t be too long until it’s too cold to ride outside.
Great week, despite the heat.
I don’t think I’ll ever adapt to the heat. it’s just brutal and soul-sucking.
I had no idea that Garmin tracked altitude, but that’s kind of cool.
No races for me this weekend. I have to find one for August.
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Whenever I complain about the heat, I need to remind myself that a lot of people are dealing with a lot worse.
The more Garmin tracks and tells me about, the more I like it. I’m a nerd for all those stats.