The Cold Has Arrived
It was a cold week in our neck of the woods and I’m becoming more of a wimp with every single day older I get. As Sunday’s dawn approaches, it’s snowing gently and the feels like temperature is 16°. As much as I’m an outdoorsy kind of girl, I’m incredibly grateful for indoor exercise options when the weather doesn’t measure up to my standards because it’s too cold, too windy, too slippery, etc. I’m not sure whether I’ve become an old curmudgeon or a princess!
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 34 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.4 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:42 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in the basement, 32° and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
I slept in until I woke up on my own at 7:22 AM and it felt amazing! When my husband left to go to a wrestling tournament at George Mason University to cheer on our Hokies, I hit the basement for a spin on my bike.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Tuesday
Cycling: 26.2 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.2 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:28 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement, 16° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Thursday
Cycling: 15 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.5 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:43 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement, 30° (feels like 21°) and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 3 miles
• Average pace: 16:29 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:53 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement, 31° (feels like 18°) and clear outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
After a late evening at a dinner remembrance for a friend who passed away just before Thanksgiving, I was iffy on joining Kim for our weekly virtual cardio workout, but after just over five hours of sleep, I was wide awake when my feet hit the floor after my alarm sounded. I met my goal of riding 6,000 miles in 2025 when I got to 7 miles so I slowed down and took a picture of the bike computer.
After I finished my ride, I got on the treadmill for a 3-mile walk, thankful for indoor options on such a cold morning. Later in the afternoon, I took a well-deserved nap!
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Walking: 3 miles
• Average pace: 16:03 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 7:10 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 61° in the basement, 28° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: capris and s/s shirt
Saturday
Walking: 3 miles
• Average pace: 15:40 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:39 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement, 25° and mostly clear outside
• What I wore: capris and s/s shirt
Elliptical: 1 mile
• Average pace: 13:38 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 7:36 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in the basement, 26° and mostly cloudy outside
• What I wore: capris and s/s shirt
Up early on a cold morning, I stayed inside on my treadmill and elliptical. Year’s ago my spine doctor told me not to use my elliptical because of the spinal rotation it causes. As a result, I rarely use it – my husband uses it occasionally and two of my clients use it regularly to warm up. To make room for my Peloton bike that’s being delivered on Wednesday, I’m giving my elliptical to one of the two clients who use. My husband and I decided to keep the spin bike because there’s a good chance we’ll both be in the basement training together if we have two bikes. So yesterday’s short elliptical workout was a goodbye of sorts.
After a busy day of family fun, I took a very short nap before hitting up 5:30 PM mass for the third week of Advent.
Garmin Badges Earned
Garmin awarded me with five badges, six actually, but one was for a 7-day sleep score streak and I’ve decided not to post sleep badges going forward.
Questions:
- • Do you mind working out in the cold? ~ I normally don’t, but this year the cold air has bothered me more than usual – maybe because it hit so early and I didn’t have time to acclimate?
- • Do you use an elliptical often? ~ We bought ours to use for cross training when we were still running longer distances.
- • Which workout did you enjoy least this past week? ~ My treadmill walks seem to go on forever, but I’m still grateful that I didn’t have to walk outside.
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
Ah, 16° is a perfectly valid reason to hide in the basement, Debbie!
Congrats on hitting the 6’000 miles! I saw that on Strava, well done!
Saying goodbye to the elliptical must feel emotional. Is your client going to pay you something for it? These things are not cheap, even if they’re not the newest model.
I’m excited to see how you will use the Peloton bike – I think it’s a good move for you!
Thank you, Catrina! I’d originally set a goal to ride 5,000 miles, but upped it when I rode so much during our Great American Ride in the spring.
I am giving, not selling, the elliptical to my client. She’s a very good client who I’ve trained for years. I told her to pay it forward and she did! She’s giving her treadmill that she hated to a friend’s daughter who’s just starting out in a new house.
I’m excited about my very different type of Peloton workouts, too!
Congrats on 6000 miles! I remember you pedalling furiously last year to hit your goal. Now you have time for leisure, lol. As if…
Enjoy your Peloton! I’ve never been a fan of the elliptical–I’m not very coordinated, and the few times I used it, it bothered my knees. I much prefer cycling or running.
Thanks, Wendy! Yes, I was pedaling down to the wire last year when I realized how close I was to 5,000 miles.
It has been so much colder than usual for us! Always nice to have so many indoor options available. I’m very excited for you to use your Peloton! Available to chat about programming
I’m sure I’ll have plenty of Peloton questions – stay tuned!
Wow on hitting 6000 miles! That’s fantastic.
We have an elliptical my husband used to use before we got our Peloton. I tried it when I was rehabbing my hamstring and didn’t enjoy it — and my hamstring didn’t like it either.
I’m so excited you are getting a Peloton. There are so many different types of classes, features, and options— let me know if you want a tour guide. 😉
Thanks, Coco! I’ll definitely let you know if I have any Peloton questions.
Yay for knocking-out those 6,000 miles (and then some)! I sort of inherited the elliptical form my sis-in-law, and the ex said not to tell her I was keeping it (LOL, but shhh!). I don’t love it, but I can tolerate it MUCH more than the treadmill. I usually try to incorporate a segment of “back-pedaling” (?) when I do workouts on it, for variety mainly. The back-pedaling (for lack of a better term) seems to work my quads a lot more than going in the regular direction.
Thanks, Kim! Okay, your elliptical secret is safe with me. LOL BTW, on the Life Fitness ellipticals at the gym “back pedaling” is called reverse and that’s actually an option for use.
I think it’s hard when the cold hits quickly and you don’t get enough time to get used to it. I’m absolutely like how you described it in the beginning of the post! I get cranky if it’s too cold or too windy or there’s frost and ice etc, etc. But isn’t it great with indoor options?! I really enjoyed my bike ride today, my first on the new indoor bike.
Congrats on your 6000+ miles!
There’s a lot to be said for acclimation. I usually think of it with the heat, but I think it’s a real thing with cold weather, too.
Thanks! I’m glad I’ve got different cycling goals for 2026 and don’t plan to spend so much time in the saddle.
You had a busy week for sure. Look at all those badges!
I love cold weather training. It’s a break from the heat and humidity and I welcome it.
I’m not so sure you’d love walking or cycling in a feels like temperature of 7°. 😉
Wow, big miles for you this year!! Congrats on the new Peloton bike. I’m sure you’ll get your money’s worth out of that! That was nice for you to give the elliptical to someone. I’m sure they very much appreciated it!
Thanks, Lisa! I suspect we’ll love the new bike and will both use it a lot.