Last week’s workouts were a roller coaster.
Not because of the actual workouts but because of the weather. We went from snow, sub zero wind chills to rain and 50 degrees, back to normal winter temps in the 20s. All the snow we got last weekend? Completely gone with only sheer ice left.
What gives, Mother Nature?
Monday
After staying up way past my bedtime Sunday night to watch the Patriots game, I opted for a home workout rather than the gym. It gave me an extra 30 minutes of sleep which is better than nothing.
Tuesday
3 mile Snowshoe run/walk, 15:25 avg/pace
It was so cold Tuesday morning that I couldn’t fathom going out for a run early in the a.m. And then my kids had a two hour delay because of sub-zero wind chills. After appointments and some other commitments, I was finally able to get out for a run. I went back and forth between a road run and a snowshoe run on the trails.
I chose the trail because the trees would block the wind and I had not been out for a snowshoe run yet this winter.
Snowshoe running always seems like a good idea until you start to do it. Then it’s like, “What was I thinking?!?!”
Snowshoe running on a groomed trail is great. Snowshoe running making your own trail on snow that has cross country ski tracks and a crust from freezing rain, is just brutal. I ran some. I walked some. It wasn’t pretty but I got some miles done. Besides the woods were so pretty in a blanket of snow and the sun shining down.
Snowshoe running – I love you when I’m done! 
Wednesday
Back to the gym! With my Achilles feeling better, I’m slowly upping my Stepmill game in anticipation of all the mountain races I hope to do this spring/summer. After the summer, I laid off hills and I can tell. Hills that I felt strong on are now causing me to suck wind. Time to get back on it!
20 minutes Arc Trainer
10 minutes Stepmill w/ 1 min hard/1 min recovery
strength training:
bench press
half kneeling anti-rotation cable chop
cable squat row
SL bench squat
lunge matrix
KB overhead march
SL KB dead lift
banded pull ups
eccentric pull ups
TRX pike planks
Thursday
5 mile run, 9:37 avg/pace
Wednesday night I checked my weather app for Thursday’s morning run. It said rain and 43 degrees. Keep in mind two days ago, it was in the single digits with sub-zero wind chills. I set out shorts because…43 degrees in January is H-O-T!
I woke up to the sound of rain pinging off the windows. I checked my app again and saw 36 degrees. Not the day for shorts. Womp, womp, womp.
I knew it was going to be a super sloppy run because of the snow melt, rain and probably icy. I slipped on my water resistant Saucony Peregrine trail shoes for a little traction and maybe a little dryness. It helped a bit but Jen and I spent most of the run skating and taking baby steps out of fear of black ice. Not necessarily the best day for a run but we got out there and it felt good.
Later on in the day I had PT. Matt had me do some plyometric work on the Plyo Sled Rebounder. It was the first time I’ve ever used one and now I must have one for home. It was so fun and a great way to get some plyo work in without as much impact.
Friday
20 minutes Elliptical
12 minutes Stepmill alternating 1 min side steps
strength training:
cable crossover
banded pull ups
eccentric pull ups
ball slams
I then did a modified version of a mountain legs ladder that one of the RD’s from Loon Mountain Race shared. My legs and glutes were toast even though I do most of these exercises weekly. And the DOMS was for real. I haven’t been that sore in quite some time. You’ll be seeing this workout A LOT!
barbell squat (20 reps)
side lunge touch w/ balance (10/side)
barbell squat (15)
reverse lunge to SL stand (10/side)
barbell squat (12)
walking lunge w/ med ball Russian twist (10/side)
barbell squat (10)
speed skaters (10/side)
barbell squat (8)
bench split squat (10/side
Saturday
8 mile run, 8:57 avg/pace, 379 ft elev gain
Unless I’m meeting someone, my weekend runs are becoming later and later. It’s funny that there was a time when I would get up before dawn even on the weekends for a run. Now, I’m loving the laziness of sleeping till I wake up, eating breakfast and relaxing with the fam before heading out. If I don’t have to run during the coldest, darkest part of the day, I’m not going to.
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my driving and texting rant. With running later in the day, there’s more traffic. That also means I can see every single person who is not paying attention to the road. In a span of 1 hour, I saw 15 people looking at their phone rather than the road and more importantly ME on the side of the road. I even had one woman look right at me and then proceed to look down at her phone even before she passed me. Wtf people?!?!? All it takes is a millisecond for something to happen. It’s not worth the risk!
Sunday
Snowboard day!
It was the perfect day for skiing and riding temperature wise, but by mid day the snow had been skied off and there was a lot of ice. If one thing I’ve learned since living in the Northeast is that there always ice. Always. I took a nasty fall when my board slipped out from underneath me while cutting into mountain. My knees look like I had a run in with Tonya Harding. C’mon Mother Nature – bring us the snow!
Winter #running and rebuilding my mountain legs #workout
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How was your week in workouts?
Linking up with Hoho and Wendy for the weekly workout wrap up.
The post Last Week’s Workouts appeared first on Happy Fit Mama.