February training: Staying consistent even through the cold

February was fairly consistent and, dare I say, even boring, considering the cold snap we got that made it hard to run outside.

I was like a robot when it came to bike, PT, and weights. I biked four times per week for 75 fake trainer miles, every week. I did PT six times per week, three mobility and three pre-hab, every week. I lifted weights twice and did core on Mondays every week. I also did yoga on every run day, plus one.

I wasn't quite as consistent with running due to the cold. I still managed 10 runs for 59 miles, mostly easy with a few peppy miles in there. I dusted off my old kickboxing bag twice as a replacement for running, and even got in the pool once on a day off work when I knew there wouldn't be anyone there.

Overall, it was a huge month for both volume and number of sessions, bigger than anything I did any month last year. I guess when it's cold outside and you're in pandemic, what else is there to do but ride your bike, lift weights, and do your PT?

I also did OK on my Healthy February goals. I was pretty consistent on drinking a full 24 ounces of water before Round 2 of coffee most days, except for weekends and furlough days when I tend to linger over coffee and fart around for a while before I accomplish anything. I never had refined sugar more than once per day; I am more of a salty snacker, so too much sugar has never really been a thing for me. Speaking of being a salty snacker, I only had potato chips for Super Bowl and one or two other days. That is a food I just can't have in the house or I eat the whole damn bag, so I have to start thinking of chips as a special occasion food. Also, I still drank wine or cider on the weekends, and I'm fine with that.

I did stick with my goal of doing some yoga, at least one sun salutation, every single day except for one. (I didn't count this in my overall yoga totals.) This started out OK, and I appreciated that this goal forced me to slow down and breathe for a few minutes every day, but by the end of the month it just became one more source of stress for me, and one more thing to do before I headed to bed. So while this was nice, I'm going to scale back to my "yoga on run days" goal.

And, the goal of getting to bed at a reasonable hour was a complete flop. So, I'm making March, March Yourself to Bed Month. My problem is I always try to tackle too many things before bed, so I need to be better about workout, dinner, relax, bed. I am hopeful that when the weather warms up in the mornings, I'll be able to get back into a long dog walks before breakfast routine, and that will force me to get to bed a bit earlier. For this first week, I'm just tracking what time I get into bed and wake up, so I can be more conscious about how I'm spending my times in the evenings.

A monster month for me!

Anyway, my February numbers roundup is:

Nice, consistent biking.

Bike: 16 times, all on the trainer, for 300 fake trainer miles in about 19 hours, 17 minutes. Nothing special here, just getting on and riding.

PT/Pre-hab: 24 times, split between mobility and running PT, for 15 hours. Six days a week, usually skipping the busiest day.

Weights: 12 times, with four core and the rest split between my heavy/body routine, videos, and my barre app, for about 10 hours, 40 minutes. I am starting so see a real difference in my shoulders and back muscles, and I can do more pullups than I ever could in my life.

A low-mileage month, but that was to be expected.

Run: 10 times, all on the road, for 59 miles in almost exactly 10 hours. This was mostly getting out for a few miles on not-so-cold days and trying to enjoy the warmer, sunnier days when I could.

Yoga: 11 times, all using my Down Dog app, for 2 hours, 45 minutes (not counting the extra sun salutations every day). I usually pick a "boost" of hamstring stretches, hip openers, or twists, and I think it is helping me stay a bit more limber.

Other: 2 boxing sessions for 1 hour total. I did this on days when I just couldn't get out and run, but a bike workout didn't make sense.

Swim: Once in the pool for 1750 yards of drills in 47 minutes. Nothing special nor fast here; this was about getting in and feeling the water again.

Total: 76 sessions in 59.5 hours. This is a huge month for me. Yes, many of the yoga and core sessions were short, but it all added up. This was a good month and I feel good about it.

I hope I can take this good momentum into March. We'll probably get at least one more big snowstorm, because Michigan, but I am looking forward to more sunshine and warm weather. I don't know if any races are in my future, so I'll enjoy the training process while I can.

Stay healthy and safe out there! Wear your mask and keep your distance. I miss going on vacation!