Hooray for April! April in Cleveland means the weather is starting to get warm – but who am I kidding, it’s also 30 degrees and could snow any day now.
March was a good month in terms of training. I got in nearly 160 miles of running, stuck to my 4x a week strength training and miraculously have remained uninjured! Can I keep this up until race day? I sure hope so!
Here’s how it looked:
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March is ALMOST OVER, which means it’s almost race month. There are less than 50 days until race weekend. Eeek! I’m excited and can’t believe we’re already almost there. Spring officially is here, but it has been a roller coaster of weather here in Northeast Ohio. Sunday was old (started in the 20s/30s), and mid-week it snowed (but thankfully didn’t stick, and then yesterday (Saturday) I woke up at 5 a.m. to 68 degrees! It’s supposed to cool down again, but I’m enjoying the warm weather when it comes. I got in a mix of treadmill running, walking indoors and outdoors, and weight training, and it was a pretty standard week. Here’s how it looked:
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I know March “comes in like a lion,” but we are halfway through, and it’s still feeling lion-like to me! We had two gorgeous days this week (Tues and Wed) and then it was all downhill from there temperature-wise. These spring days that come and go are such a tease!
That was the summary. Now here’s the day-by-day:
And just like that, we’re halfway through March! This week included a pretty wide variety of things going on – we got in some travel over the weekend which meant a short hotel gym run, it was beautiful weather later in the week which meant some outdoor runs (!), and the week started with an EARLY workout (aka 4 a.m. on a Sunday after Daylight Savings which felt like 3 a.m.). We were all suffering from sleep deprivation after the time change, but I’m hoping we made it to the other end and are used to it finally.
That was the summary. Now here’s the day-by-day:
Yes, it’s cliche to say that March comes in like a lion, but it really has in Cleveland! March 1 started with snow, and then we got more snow and some more freezing days. We didn’t get a lot of snow, but just enough over a few nights that at 5 a.m. when I’d like to run it was dark and a little icy so that I stayed inside. I’m hoping it really does goes out like a lamb so we can get some warmth and clear sidewalks soon!
This week was a full week with lots of kid sports, and I’m tired just thinking about it. This week I also officially started my Cleveland Half Marathon training! I’m doing a plan where I try to incorporate one day a week of speed work (my nemesis), so we’ll see how that goes. I’m hoping I can stick with it and maybe see an improvement in my pace this year. If anything, I’m shaking things up!
This is the first time that I’m training for a half marathon WHILE also lifting weights. I’m not sure if that’s going to be a good thing or a bad thing – or if I can keep it up the full training cycle, but I’ll try my best and see how it impacts my running.
Here’s how the week looked:
Does anyone else feel like January was the longest month in the world, and February came and left in the blink of an eye? I know February is a few days shorter, but it still feels like it was significantly shorter than January was. Because how is it already March?
In terms of running, February wasn’t too bad a month. Did I get in many outdoor runs? Nope. Was the weather too cold and too icy and too snowy to get outside most mornings? Yup. BUT we moved the treadmill to the basement along with the other workout equipment and it has been working well for helping me get in my runs inside without waking up the entire family. So February included:
Here’s how the week looked:
I can’t remember another year that my treadmill has gotten this much love. I got my beloved Sole F80 in 2018 when I was pregnant with my daughter, and yes, I ran a lot more inside that year because I was being cautious with the pregnancy (didn’t want to slip in the winter if it was even close to being slippery). But this year? This year takes the cake. We had yet ANOTHER bout of wintry weather this past weekend – Sunday started with rain, then ice, then 8 inches of snow. And this week it pretty much snowed on and off all week! So yes, I’m thankful for my treadmill and that it continues to serve me well and helps me get in some endorphins when I get bummed about our winter.
Here’s how the week looked:
Well, that’s unfortunate … as you can see from the title, I had some technical difficulties getting in my runs this week. The difficulty? A not-working treadmill! B moved the treadmill to the basement this Sunday and the next morning, it wasn’t working — the belt kept sliding to the side over the edge! I am not handy at all and of course could not figure out how to fix it even after numerous YouTube videos showed me how (let’s just say I couldn’t even use the allen wrench the right way to do the first step, ugh!). And with the snow and ice still coming down, it was hard to get outside and safely run – everything was a sheet of ice or patches of ice! The good news is — I fixed it! I did it myself. I was SO PROUD of myself for not just figuring out how to use the wrench, but figuring out how to loosen the belt, center it again, and tighten it! The next day, though, I noticed that my hip was off after running. It felt like I was uneven – and sure enough, the treadmill wasn’t level! So yet again, more technical difficulties. Luckily B was able to fix that when I was at work and I was able to get back on the treadmill and run.
Here’s how the week looked:
Well, that was a wacky weather week. We had highs in the 50s on Monday (Yay!), lows in the teens (Tuesday), snow, rain, ice and more this week. So, I had a combination of outdoor runs (few), treadmill runs (more) and some outdoor walks (yay again!).
The week ALSO included the CLEVELAND MARATHON KICKOFF RUN! It was so great to run IN PERSON with people to celebrate the kickoff of marathon training season! I’m only running the half, but it was great to get in a few miles with other local runners outside on a weekend. Did that mean I missed basketball, soccer and ice skating for my kids on Saturday morning? I did, but I’m so lucky to have B and other parents who were able to step in and help out so I could make the event.
Here’s how the week looked:
Happy first Friday in February! I’m joining several other bloggers today for a virtual coffee date, which is fun. If you know me, you know I don’t actually drink a lot of coffee in real life, or caffeine. But if you care to join me over a decaf latte, here’s what I’d share over coffee:
Note – there are some affiliate links below, so if you decide to buy my exercise bike, thanks in advance 🙂 But I really do love all these!
I’m over winter … but surviving! Okay, I hate to start with a grumble, but if we were actually meeting for coffee, I’m sure you’d say the same! We’ve had SO MUCH wintery weather this year, and many schools were closed near me yesterday for ice! Can’t it just be spring? Here is how I’m surviving this winter:
What I’m reading lately. I am still in the middle of Onyx Storm and just got to some serious action and can’t put it down! I don’t want to finish it because I’ve heard it just ends (ugh!) and it will be some time before the author writes the next in the series. So I’m taking my time. I did just finish two good reads that I’d recommend:
What I’m excited for this weekend. Our weekends have been crazy lately – we typically have 2 basketball games, a soccer game, 1-2 futsal games, piano lessons and ice skating … and all that’s for the kids! Well, this weekend I’m taking time for ME and going to the Cleveland Marathon Kickoff Run! It is thanks to arranging for childcare, having my husband carry the load, and having FW get rides from other parents … but I’m going to make it happen and go run with the group on Saturday morning.
photo from last year’s kickoff run
As a reminder, I’m a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, which means I also have discounted race admission should you want to sign up – you can use SAVE20MELCARN for 20% off your race entry into ANY of the races (including 5K, 10K, kids run!).
Thanks for joining me for my Ultimate Coffee Date!
Ultimate Coffee Date is hosted by Coco and Deborah
Questions for you:
I Crashed The Web 