This week I took advantage of running in the sunshine. We had gorgeous weather from Tuesday through Friday. The weekend was sunny too, just cooler. Other than running, we were outside a lot in general. It really made a difference this week and made me excited for spring and summer.
Weekly Run Down: Running in the Sunshine
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: Strength Training + 4.7 Stroller Miles
Wednesday: 6 Miles with 5 hill repeats
Thursday: Strength Training + 4.3 Stroller Miles
Friday: 3.9 Stroller Miles + Core/Hips
Saturday: 10.1 Miles
Sunday: 3.7 Stroller Miles
Stroller Miles
As you can see a lot of stroller miles happened this week. My mom is away for 2 weeks so I am back to WFH every day for a bit. It really helps when we can get out for a few minutes to run in the mornings. It’s been really nice not having to pile on all the layers just to get out the door.
On Friday I was off from work so we hung around the house for a little bit in the morning and I did some foam rolling and core/hip exercises. Then we drove to a park to run and play on the playground. The running path is a loop of just under a mile, which passed the playground each time we ran it. Of course Grayson asked to go play each time we ran by!
It was really nice being able to run with the stroller on a path and to not have to deal with cars or sidewalks. There were quite a few other people out there walking, so it was a little annoying to pass people (and their dogs) with the strollers. It was a lot less hilly than my neighborhood which was really nice!
After our run Grayson got to play on the playground for awhile. It was a nice way to spend the morning outside. I hope we can do this more as the weather continues to get warmer. It just takes alot of time to pack everything up and drive somewhere to run. There’s no time to do it all in the mornings before work and I suspect it will get much more crowded as the weather improves and especially on weekends.
So many hills
Other than our adventure to the park. this week was filled with so many hills. When I was doing treadmill runs I was able to avoid hills if I wanted. But not outside. Instead of doing a speed workout this week I decided to do hill repeats. I found a hill that was about 1/10th of a mile and ran it 5 times. It was tough but a good way to get in a bit of a harder effort without doing intense speed work.
By the way, I have a few posts about hills coming up in a few weeks that I’ll be sharing on Wednesdays for the Runners’ Roundup!
Long Run Workout
On Saturday I ran 10 miles following a long run workout that I first did back in 2014! I came across this on my blog the other day and figured I would give it another try! I managed to run it faster than last time, even though my route this time was MUCH hiller.
The workout was a 2 mile warm up, 4 x 5 minutes tempo with 2 minute recovery, 7 minutes easy, 3 miles at MGP, 1 mile cool down.
One Year Since The World Changed
Can you believe it’s been one year since the world changed? At this time last year we were still hopeful about our 2020 races and thought the shutdown might just be for 2 weeks. It feels like so much has changed in a year but also time has just stood still. I just hope that in a year from now we will be in a much better place, back to racing and seeing all our family and friends, and acknowledging how much the world has changed (for the better) in a year.
Will there be more running in the sunshine?
I’m not too excited about the forecast for next week. It looks like the high most days will be in the 50s and we will have a few days of rain. It’s reminded me of last year when we had a few nice days and then it was rainy and cool until May! I hope that’s not the case this year.
You may also like:
A Little Taste of Spring
What I’m Looking Forward To About Spring Running
How To Transition To Outdoor Running This Spring
Were you running in the sunshine this week?
Do you ever run hill repeats?
Are you expecting warmer weather or a cooler spring?
I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down!
So crazy that its been a whole year!
I love your creativity with getting out with your son and the playground! I can imagine its a bit more coordination though.
Everything is so much easier though with less layers and gear!
That sounds like a fun long run workout. I’ll have to try it!
I’m actually pretty sore from the workout! I guess it was harder than I remembered!
A good week, well done! I had some sun and some showers this week – sometimes during the same run!
Thank you! Weird to have both sun and rain so close together! Hopefully there will be more and more sun in the coming weeks.
He is at the perfect age for the playground and I am he loved it! It’s nice to have that option nearby. I won’t complain about the weather until it is hot. I do not do well in humidity. We have a few hills on our regular route and that’s my speed training for now 🙂 Have a great week
I feel bad that we don’t take him to the playground much. He won’t wear a mask and even though we’re outside I just don’t feel comfortable with so many kids (and sometimes parents) so close together. So it was nice to be able to go on a Friday morning when it was really quiet!
Nice job on your runs this week.
We had a lot of sunshine and it even warmed up. But now it is cold and windy. I even saw snowflakes today.
I ran a race yesterday and it obvious that I have lost a lot of speed. I guess I need to work on it.
Thank you! I can’t believe you saw snowflakes today! Well I guess I can believe it since its still March. But ugh, I hope spring will be here for real soon!
Great job on your runs this week!
Although it was sunny here most of the week, we still had a few cold days so I guess Mother Nature is still trying to figure out what she wants to do, lol.
This time of year is always a little crazy with the weather! I feel ike the sun and warmth was just a tease this week.
I have a lot of hills in my area…not big hills, per se, but plenty of hills. Maybe I ought to do a hill workout this week? We’re leaving town Wednesday evening, so it would have to happen before then… (stay tuned). We had a lot of sunshine this week, as well, but it did get pretty windy on a few days. Ugh…one of the things I detest about Spring is the (usually) cold wind. The wind is cold in the winter, too, but at least then you expect it to be unpleasant LOL
Yea, the wind this time of year can really sneak up on you! I always think it will get warmer in March but the cold likes to stick around for awhile in the spring.
Getting outside in the sunshine and with few layers is everything, isn’t it? We’re supposed to get snow tomorrow…ugh. The only consolation is that it won’t stick around for long. Why can’t it just warm up and stop messing with us?
Nice work on the hills. I really need to embrace them.
I think I got a little too excited by the nice weather last week. I was thinking back on past years and there have been so many times we have had snow in March. I’m ready for winter to be over!
No idea what Spring will hand us, but next week will definitely be cooler than this week. But I got in some sunny (windy) runs — and a fair amount of inclines.declines/hills this week too –not intentionally, though.
I definitely find it takes more time to drive somewhere & that’s just for me! I guess I can understand, because taking Bandit with us means packing stuff for him. At least he’s very well behaved. 🙂
I bet you feel accomplished after those hills and your long run!
Even before I had Grayson I didn’t like driving places to run! I feel like it adds on so much time and I’m worried I will forget something or not be able to find a bathroom.
It’s been so sunny here, which is definitely outside of the norm but I will take it! I’m looking forward to your hill post because I did a really hilly race today.
The sunshine has felt amazing! Glad you got some of it too. Ugh hilly races are so hard. I feel like all our races here are hilly so at least I can prepare for that.
It’s been very sunny here as well, although we’ve got snow in the forecast tomorrow. We’ve been spoiled by the unseasonably beautiful weather I think! The Chicago area is notoriously flat so I runfess I don’t really do much hillwork unless I’m training for a hilly race.
Since most of our races here are hills I feel like I always need to be training on hills. Its hard to avoid them but I do know where to run for the flattest routes possible (which still aren’t all that flat).
Running in shorts and a t-shirt must have felt amazing! Glad Grayson likes stroller runs- my son loved them and my daughter hated them (those were hard years.)
Sun, sun and more sun here! And our temps are heating up- it was 75 when I finished my run today. I’m trying to embrace our nice weather while we have it because soon the heat and humidity will be stifling.
He does ok it the the stroller, but if he had a choice I don’t think he would want to be in there! But he cooperates enough that we can get in 30-45 minutes.
The spring weather definitely makes me feel hopeful. I will hold onto that through this week’s weather. The run-playground combo sounds like a win-win for you and Grayson. I hope by this time next year our pandemic lifestyles are a distant memory.
I think this week of rain and cooler weather is going to be extra hard after what we had last week. Hopefully we will see some warmer weather in the forecast again soon!
Aw! I love that G got some playground time! You do what you need to do, right?
It’s going to be a hot summer. Not much spring for us. And we will get lots of afternoon showers, once hurricane season starts, but that won’t (or shouldn’t) effect morning runs.
We typically have a very rainy spring. And the weather is all over the place, so you never know what you’re gonna get until it gets really hot in June!
It’s great that you got in so many stroller miles this week! Having all the sunshine makes such a difference, doesn’t it?
I haven’t done formal hill repeats in forever, but it’s also not possible to run a mile in any direction from my house and not encounter a hill or two so it kinda balances out.
I feel the same way about hills! But there are a few streets I can run with minimal hills so if I want to avoid hills I can run there. Of course I can also avoid hills by running on the treadmill.
No hills by me at all. All flat. Some sunshine but lots of wind. We got some snow yesterday and I am not sure if I want to run long today for fear that it might still be slippery.
I am so over the snow! We might get a little tomorrow but I’m hoping we don’t.
hooray for sunshine running!! gotta soak that in while we can right?? great job last week! G looks like he’s having fun too!
Thank you! He did have fun. We rarely go to the playground because of covid so its nice when we can find a quiet time to go.
I remember last year right before everything shut down. We thought we’d still have our Shamrock Shuffle, but we just needed to space apart. We were really clueless!! I can just imagine Grayson wanting to go to the playground when you passed it! I do miss the playground days.
I feel bad that we haven’t been able to bring him to the playground as much as we would of if all of this wasn’t going on. Hopefully this summer we will be comfortable doing that more!
Last week was gorgeous, but today is such a cold and rainy day. I’m still hoping to get outside to run a little later, but at least I have my treadmill as a backup if I need it.
I actually enjoy hill repeats (as much as one can) and usually work them into my training cycle. For my upcoming 5K, though, I’m just running and trying to stay healthy.
Hill repeats are so beneficial. I’m not sure I enjoy them, but I know they are good to do!