This was expected to be a very slow week, because of the cold weather. I was so restless at the beginning of the week, just waiting for the warmer temperatures to return. I’m so blessed to live in a country where it’s about days, not months!
A big thank you, everyone who gave their ideas about running in cold weather. Most of you talked about warm layers, and not running when there’s ice on the road. Last week I did some good warm layer shopping, but I’ve made the decision to not run in this level of cold weather (around 0 C or colder) until I’m more experienced with running. If it’s cold but a nice dry day with no frost or ice, I might give it a try later on. I now have some wonderful fleece-lined leggings that will work fine for both walking and running.
This was the second week of zero or subzero temperatures, and it’s also been a very busy week. I haven’t been able to squeeze in much more than the usual weightlifting sessions, but did some good stuff on the weekend.
Monday
It was an odd but very good, start of the week. I mostly walked around feeling confused, proud, shocked and happy at the same time, after the news on Sunday afternoon that I received a pass with distinction on the graphic design course. It was a weird day and I didn’t even get much work done.
We had -4C (24F) in the morning, and severe frost. When I opened the door for the cat, I realised it didn’t seem too bad out there but with the roads covered with frost, going for a walk or run was a no-no.
The problem with cold weather here isn’t only that it’s unpleasant to go out, but we live in an old simple house that needs a lot of work. When we moved to Ireland, we had to buy the cheapest house possible because we couldn’t get a mortgage, so we bought a small old-fashioned bungalow that hadn’t received any TLC for a long time. The location is fantastic, but we’re not caught up with renovation – we’ve added roof insulation, wall cavity insulation and good ventilation, but have lots more work to do, and with minus degrees outside, it’s not fun in here.
I spent the day in the sitting room in front of the fire, which was the only somewhat warm room, and did everything in there. I worked on the laptop, played the guitar, and did some bodyweight strength training – push-ups, squats, lunges, and my rotator cuff mobility exercise.
Tuesday
It was a good day in the gym. Here’s some of what I did:
- Sumo squats with barbell
- Bulgarian split squats – my nemesis – with dumbbells, 6 kgs. By focusing on my breathing, I could finally do them. They are much easier with dumbbells than with a barbell!
- TYI on the mat – Does this have another name? I do them lying flat, face down, no weights.
- Shoulder press, 4 kgs
- Dumbbell row, 10 kgs
- Flyes, 5 kg dumbbells
- Push-ups in full plank position
- Shoulder shrugs with dumbbells, 10 kgs (or 12,5? I can’t remember)
Wednesday
Some time ago, a lady asked us if we would be interested in playing music in the nursing home daycare facility. We play mostly bluegrass and related styles, and that’s what we’re best at. We love Irish music but are still just learning it, and definitely don’t do any Christmas music! But we said yes, if she thought our usual music would be good enough. This Wednesday was the day – it would have been more appropriate with more Irish singalong songs but it seemed most of the people enjoyed it anyway. And it was WARM in there!
Thursday
I was very restless. I’m so not a cold weather person! This kind of weather if it goes on too long, makes me tired, grumpy, and I just want to hide under a blanket to wait for better times and it’s hard to focus and follow my usual schedule. But I did my best to get some work done, and did my rotator cuff mobility exercise. I’m making progress with it!
Friday
At least according to the Met Éireann app, this was supposed to be the last very cold day in a while. Happy days!
It was a good day at the gym. Here’s some of what I did:
- Deadlifts with barbell
- A special leg exercise that worked on both leg strength, good sense of balance, and to not overthink it!
- Chest press with barbell, 12 x 3, this is usually hard on my bad elbows but it went quite well.
- Tricep pulldown with dumbbell, 6 kgs. Last few reps of the last set were tough. But I did it.
- Romanian twist, sitting on the floor, with dumbbell (6 kg).
- Swimmer pilates
- Upright row, 12 x 3
- Overhead tricep dumbbell extension, standing up. 3 kgs only but there’s no way I would have managed to do it any heavier after the other tricep & shoulder exercises.
Saturday
Saturday was another not so active day but it was a day of pleasure. In the evening we were going to a whiskey tasting, and took the opportunity to have a mini-holiday weekend of sorts to celebrate that I got my graphic design cert.
After the tasting we stayed in the bar, enjoying some other whiskeys, and when we came back to our hotel room, I said “Let’s do the plank before we go to bed!” And we ended up doing planks, push-ups, squats and lunges, pushing each other to keep going. It was wonderfully inspiring to do some workouts together like that and we’re definitely do it again.
Sunday
Today is a very good day. The warm weather is back!
I guess I should rather say that the normal Irish shite weather is back, but I love it! A big YAY for 10C (50F), drizzle, and no ice on the roads!! This is the kind of winter I prefer.
When we came back home from Cork this morning, we jumped into running clothes and went for a long walk. It was so pleasant! We took a road we haven’t walked before, my husband had seen it on the map and thought we should go and see what it’s like. It took us along our usual country lane but with an additional loop and it’s 9,5 km in total, passing fields and farms. It will be absolutely stunning in the spring and summer, and it will be perfect for running too.
It was a quite decent week after all, and the walk today was one of the highlights. It’s the first time I walk 9+ km in one go, and at the moment I feel like someone has smashed me with a sledgehammer! But tomorrow is Monday, we’ll still have 10 degrees and rain, so my plan is to go out for a run.
I’m joining Kim and Deborah for the Weekly rundown link-up, to talk about the week of fitness.
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