Here comes the sun!

What a sunshiny and glorious week! The theme? Here comes the sun, let's get it done! 

Monday had warm temps with a slight break from the massive humidity. I spent most of the day at my desk (at work). Apparently the five miles on Saturday and three miles on Sunday did a number on me because that single Monday mile felt pretty slow and sluggish....even in the cooler weather. But I got it done.

#nevermissaMonday

Tuesday was pretty uneventful. Work. No running. Planking. 

I have been craving a sunrise run, so I was out the door by 5:20 on Wednesday for some early morning miles. I was quickly reminded of the beautiful calm and tranquility that accompanies an early morning jaunt in the running shoes. One great thing about getting the run done early is that I get a huge boost of mojo to start my day. And, often times, when the fitness happens so early, I forget about it...and get a huge happy "surprise" when I finally remember it later in the day.

Early morning "sunrise miles" are the best

Thursday also blessed us with pleasant temps. I didn't have any necessary miles to do, but I did sneak in a 4:02 plank while home for lunch.

Yes. Planking in my work clothes. It happens.

Friday also had me lacing up and heading out for another sunrise run. Why, oh why, have I not been doing these early morning runs more often?

A couple of sunrise miles felt great!

I was off work shortly after lunch, but I had an evening of tile work on the agenda. Our first home was a townhouse in Iowa City. We still own it, but now rent it out. Our tenants were gone for the entire week, so the husband had been going over every day to do some repair work in the bathroom....replacing the tub/shower unit and sub-floor. He had tiled the wall surrounding the tub, and now it was my turn to help with tiling the floor.

I'm also taking part in a squat challenge for the month of July. Although I did not keep track of total numbers (or cumulative minutes), I did spend a couple hours in an almost continuous squat position over the bathroom floor, "buttering" the tiles with mastic, laying our the tiles and adjusting the spacing of said tiles.

Tile squats, not for sissies!

Saturday morning had us back in the car, returning to the townhouse for more maintenance work...including grouting the floor tiles (which also involved a few more hours of squatting over the floor).

Did I mention that my booty was feeling ever-so-sore from all the previous evening's tile work? Granted, there are special knee pads you can strap on to make the tiling job a bit easier, but I simply prefer to just stay on my feet (and squat) instead of working on my knees. A couple hours later, we were done and quite pleased with how the new bathroom looked!

What do you think? 

Sunday gave me another opportunity for a run in the sun. Although I didn't make it out the door until mid-morning, I still had mild temps and ample sunshine.

I even dug out an old favorite pair of shoes, my Mizuno Wave Inspire 8's. These were the shoes that got me through my first two marathons (Quad Cities Marathon 2013 and IMT Des Moines Marathon 2014). They are probably well past their prime, given the number of miles, smiles, and races within the laces....but I have not been able to let them go. They still feel oh-so-comfy! I would probably not do a long run (or race) in them, but that quick mile on Sunday morning felt simple effortless, and my wonky foot felt great.

I totally LOVE these shoes!!!!

 I also did several hours of garden squats...digging up and transplanting numerous hostas (in my yard, and also at my parents' house).

In other news:

Ever in the midst of fashion dilemmas, I noticed my hot pink nail polish kind of clashed (ever-so-slightly) with my pretty orange sandals. All was not lost on this outfit, though, because I also noticed the blue athletic tape coordinated nicely with my dress.

Also, speaking of fashion.....I had to laugh out loud when I noticed I had color-matched my headband and shoes to the pretty pink of the logo on my shirt. And I did it without even realizing. Seriously, I cannot make this stuff up.

We had a wild storm blow through late  Thursday afternoon. It was over and done within 30 minutes, but the sky was looking pretty scary on my drive home from work.

And, last of all, I'm in the midst of another monthly challenge, this one involves squats. We're calling it the Booty Patrol. My tush felt pretty shredded after all the tiling and gardening this weekend! Mind you, I'm still doing the daily planking and push-ups, too! 

How was your week? Lots of miles and smiles in the sunshine? Have you ever laid tile? Any interest in joining me for a daily squat challenge for July?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap. Lots of great reading awaits...head over and check out their blogs and all the other linked blogs as well.