Welcome to February! Living in northern Europe and loving the outdoors, it’s always nice getting out of January (even if this year it was a good month in many ways, despite horrible weather) because generally, there’s somewhat more potential for milder weather in February. And more daylight!

January was a lot about taking it easy and getting back into normal habits after the end-of-2024 chaos, but I was rather unambitious with fitness, other than going to the gym and doing my foot strength/mobility program. This month I need to do better and get back into the routine of including some cardio training too.

This has been a good week! My hip/glute isn’t upset with me anymore, I’ve had some good gym sessions, and there’s a new trad music festival in town this weekend.

Monday – gym

I’ve been waiting for a pair of new walking shoes. I knew my loyal Altras were getting too worn out for rough trails, but thought they would still work fine for normal walks. Then I got a feeling they were rubbing against my big toe joints. Perhaps it’s just in my head after having had foot problems, but I knew I wouldn’t want to walk too far in them, and took the opportunity to order new shoes from another brand I’ve been interested in for a while. They make minimalist-style shoes but with a thicker sole than standard barefoot shoes, and the 14 mm stack height seemed perfect for a walking shoe. Lately I’ve felt the 25 mm of the Lone Peaks is a bit too much for just walking, so I was delighted to find an alternative to try.

When they arrived, I immediately felt these had the potential to solve all my shoe problems, but sadly they were too big, and I had to send them back. The company responded quickly and an exchange to size 37 is in progress. I was still disappointed because I just want my shoes!

After that, a good gym session was in order. Today we went back to 12 reps instead of 10, and I expected some hard times.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly. Normally the two extra reps make a huge difference but this time it wasn’t too bad. The hexbar deadlift and the lunges felt great. With lunges I know the weight is quite light, because there’s the balance issue involved. But I felt better with these sets of lunges than I’ve done previously, like I’m finally getting the flow in the movement rather than stumbling to find balance. That’s a great improvement, long may it continue.

Tuesday

I did my foot exercises, hip circles and single leg stands, and then I was busy for the day. The weather was dreadful with sideways rain, so I stayed inside.

In the evening we enjoyed a nice music session in the pub. There are a lot of good music events coming up – first a trad music festival in town this weekend, then a bluegrass gig in north Cork, and later a gig with Paddy Keenan (if you didn’t know, uilleann pipe player, and founding member of the Bothy Band) in the local venue where we’ve been several times and where I love to take photos.

Wednesday – gym and a bonus walk

I did my foot exercises and hip circles, and also tried the no-weight single leg RDL again. Before the gym I had some extra time in town, so I enjoyed a nice camera walk a few loops around town. I didn’t get any fantastic photos taken but it was lovely to get some walking done.

But it was so cold! Nothing compared to what some of you have had, particularly in the US, but there was a constant wind, and it was good to warm up in the gym afterwards.

I love a good sumo deadlift! I’m happy to say that these are going quite well now and that my form feels generally much better, even with 50 kgs. And the Bulgarians worked quite well too. No major stumbling or swearing!

This session was quite tough on the upper body, I guess I started feeling those two extra reps! I highly doubted I would have anything left for the shoulder press at the end but with some jävlaranamma.. I didn’t do too badly.

Thursday

I did my foot exercises and hip circles and then went on a photo outing with my photographer friend. We went to a nearby village to visit the old abbey, so not much walking happened, but we had a good time and so did my camera.

You can see more photos in this post.

Friday – gym

This session was quite humbling. Exhaustion set in way too soon and also could barely do my Renegade rows because of acid reflux! Note to self – don’t eat a fatty lunch if you’re going to the gym a few hours later!

The split squats were wonderful! In the sense of being a great exercise that I really need. I love a good single leg exercise where you get to work on weaker areas in each leg. I was asked to do 12 reps on each leg, and this was really tough. I noticed clearly how the left leg is weaker. The burn was excruciating in the last few reps, but I was determined to finish them all and kept pushing.

With sessions like this when I lack energy, to get through this session I adopt an attitude that my husband has recommended – and you runners will recognise this – the concept of “running the mile you’re in”. In my context it means focus on this one lift I’m doing now instead of thinking “can I really do another 7 reps?” It was very helpful! I also reminded myself that all this tough lifting are things I previously thought I wouldn’t be able to do, and managed to push through to celebrate what I now know my body is capable of. This is so much a mental game!

Saturday – walking

I went for a walk! The weather was quite awful with the exception of a very nice temperature of 10C (50F). It looked so bad that I didn’t even bring the camera, but I had my phone. It was quite windy and started to drizzle after 1,5 km so then I turned back. But the good news is that I can walk at my normal walking speed again without problems, which means my foot is now officially back to normal.

Sunday

I started the day with coffee, reading and foot exercises including single leg heel raises which is something I’m delighted to go back to. Anything single leg is so helpful.

The weather is absolutely fabulous! I had other plans but cancelled everything to go for a walk. The thermometer said 9 degrees (48F) and the sun was shining, but still I felt a bit underdressed with two performance layers and a fluffy vest. I walked along the main road for a bit and then turned left to go down towards the beach and down that hill it was warm and spring-like.

This is the St Brigid’s weekend and St Brigid’s day is considered the first day of spring according to the Celtic tradition. Even if February can offer some really cold weather, this is still the season when we see the first signs of spring, with longer days and spring bulbs starting to flourish. February is when daisies and daffodils start blooming, and this is why I put up with not-so-warm summers, drizzle, and storms. The early spring (may I remind you that I’m Swedish) makes such a difference to my wellbeing.

Ok, so what about the walk? I didn’t walk all the way down to the beach because the steep uphill on the way back is just too much right now. I turned back halfway down, and walked about 5 km. I still feel good and celebrate being able to walk at my normal speed without even thinking about it.

I enjoyed walking on this road again! If you read my blog before I quit running, you’ve seen this before. I love this curvy road and the farm on the top of the hill.

How was your week? Do you ever feel that training (whether lifting, running or something else) is more of a mental than physical struggle?

Thanks Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly rundown link-up!