Sunday, June 28, 2020

The Summer Heat Meets the Street


Baby, it done got hot.

In the state of Iowa, that is. Don't worry, I'm not complaining (though a tad less humidity would be nice).

As I've said a time (or ten) before, I wait upwards of 10 months for summer weather to arrive. I don't spend much time indoors (other than for working and sleeping), so the heat and humidity are just part of the reality. I'm good with that.

I was able to take all my workouts outdoors again this week, so there was plenty of sweat equity deposited in the fitness bank. I'm totally fine with that as well.

Before I share all the details, let me extend a warm (quite literal) summertime welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner)! If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 1:00 (EST) on Sundays and remains open through noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blogs as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)


Anyways, here's what went down in my little world of fitness this week:

Never miss a Monday
With the UN-Canceled Project's 5K's in the rear window, I was excited to return to my regular Monday routine. I did a simple 3-mile run (instead of a 3.1-mile time trial), I ran a different route, and I left the Garmin at home. Go me! The air was muggy, the skies were looking dark, and the clouds were a bit menacing, but I made it back home before the rain hit.


Not my typical Tuesday
I usually keep my Tuesdays on the down-low...walking (or elliptical in the winter), and not much else. Somehow, I had it in my head to go for a ride, though. The sunrise was like nothing I'd seen in awhile...the colors and the highlights/shadows on the clouds were breathtaking. I rode 10 miles and my legs appreciated the flush-out that biking gives them. I also walked a couple miles later, over lunch and after work.

Another double workout Wednesday
More muggy temps set the scene for the weekly #5at5 with Barb. Just as we were about to meet at our spot, a train came through, blocking the intersection...at 5:00a.m.! In all our years of running at this early hour, we've never encountered a train. Fortunately, we were able to see each other (in between the passing train cars), and we signaled each other to run "parallel" with the train...she had a sidewalk, and I had a parking lot (hey, desperate times). All told, we only lost a couple minutes before the train cleared, and we were able to officially "join up" and run our route.



Later, in keeping with our newest endeavor, the hubby and I returned to the outdoor stairway after work. This week, we did 50 flights. Holy heat, Batman! It was warm, but we had a nice breeze so it wasn't unbearable.

Upper-body strength for Thursday
Again, I had a HIIT workout all ready to go, but my legs said "Please, let's not." In all honesty, I'm kind of getting a good dose of HIIT (with cardio and lower-body strength as a bonus) from the recent stair workouts. Instead, I did about 20 minutes of arm/shoulder/back work, outside on the patio. I'm thankful to have options, especially in terms of taking the workouts outdoors. I take one set of hand weights (these are my 12-pounders) and vary the reps (depending on the intensity of the move) instead of using dumbbells of multiple weights. Doing the moves slowly increases the intensity as well. No gym? No excuses!   

Fighting Momma N Friday
With intermittent rain on tap all day, I decided to beat Momma N at her own game. I grabbed the umbrella and got outside for an early morning 2-mile walk before work. After all, I've run marathons (and ultras!) in the rain, walking is easy-peasy. By mid-afternoon, most of the rain had moved on, so I walked another 2-miles after work (this time with the hubby). 


Long run Saturday
Even though I got a good night's sleep (six hours! That's an "extended"night for me LOL), and I woke up before my alarm, I felt sluggish on Saturday morning. The temps were warm (upper-70's with 81% humidity) so I donned the hydration vest for the first time in 2020. Barb and I met at 6:30 with the hopes of knocking out 10 miles. Let's just suffice it to say this run felt tough from the get-go. We had a few rolling hills, but nothing treacherous. We didn't have much for shade cover, either, nor was there any semblance of a breeze. One of my water bottles was leaking (faulty cap?), so I had to carry that in my hand to keep it from soaking up the hydration vest. It wasn't until the eighth mile that I finally felt a little bit of mojo kick in. I had entertained the option of quitting at eight miles, but that little bit of mojo (and some shade cover, at long last!) motivated me to finish out the entire 10. 


I was a major "glistening & glowing" mess when I made it back home. The hydration pack was thoroughly saturated as well (mostly from me LOL). Both bottles were depleted (one had contained water, the other had Nuun). I drank another bottle of Nuun, this one for recovery/re-hydration, and it took a good 20 minutes, and a slow walk around the block, to cool off. You know it's hot when I'm feeling its effects, right? That said, we all have tough runs. I'm thankful I have the grit to soldier through them and the wisdom to respect them for the lessons they teach us.Thankfully, they don't happen very often.


Recovery-for-the-win Sunday
After feeling zombie-like following that 10-miler, I felt much better as the day wore on. I'd gotten a mid-afternoon nap, and taken a 2-mile walk after dinner. I even went out for a short 5-mile bike ride, just before sunset. As per usual, I ran a short-2-mile recovery run early Sunday morning...and felt like the previous day had never happened. Everything felt great, even with the 95% humidity. The hubs and I went out for an 8-mile ride after I returned home. Then, we took Max for a quick 1-mile walk before the rain moved in (scary clouds!). 


So, all in all, it was a decent week. Running had 20 miles, walking had 19 (with more on tap for later Sunday), and biking had 25 miles. One upper-body workout, which felt great. And, I'm so glad to have weekly stair workouts back in the mix; for myself, they're a great alternative to lower-body strength work. Current stats on the Great Run Across Iowa has me at 154 miles of the 315 grand total ... which includes both running (82) and walking (72).

In case you missed out, here's what all went down on the blog this week:

In other news:
Friday Fashion Flair! Friday was horribly humid, which translates to sub-freezing temps inside our air-conditioned office. I love my sleeveless dresses, but #brrrr!  Instead of the standard cardi, I grabbed my denim jacket this time. I love the distressed wash of the fabric, and the dragonfly brooch represents my blog's namesake, so that's always appropriate LOL. As always, you're welcome to join me on Fridays...post a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).


We celebrated Father's Day, last weekend, and were able to have all three kids back home for the afternoon. Sigh...why do they have to grow up?


And, finally, I almost wet myself when I saw this meme. Jerry Seinfeld is a comedic genius, in my opinion. The reference to Newman is on-point with the 2020 situation. 

So, that's the latest! How was your week? Is it getting hot hot hot where you're running? Did you run long, in the humidity, this weekend? Are you a Seinfeld fan?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

41 comments:

  1. I LOVE Seinfeld! I haven't seen that meme yet so it definitely made me laugh.

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    1. Seinfeld totally makes me laugh. No matter how many times I've seen the episodes, I laugh like it's the first time.

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  2. That's too funny about the train! I love that you just ran parallel until you could connect. I had a similar weather long run today that left me super drenched. I should have used the camel bak again, but only had my handheld. I like the idea of water in one, NUUN in the other!

    Awesome job getting out there this week Kim!

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    1. The train was so weird! Had we left each of out houses 30 seconds earlier, we would have been fine LOL And I detest wearing the hydration vest, so I reserve it only for extreme days. It feel so heavy to me (at least for the first 6-7 miles, before much of the water is gone).

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  3. You did catch some great sunrises this week! It's already quite humid and soupy here. I am determined to make the best of it. Newman-LOL

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    1. The sunrises are so pretty...one of the perks of early-rising ;-) The humidity normally doesn't get to me much, but it was such a beast on Saturday.

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  4. NEWMAN! That's it! Of course. Haha! That's so weird to get a train out of the blue like that. How nice to have the whole clan home for Father's Day!

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    1. The train totally took us by surprise. We've seen many trains before (duh), just never at 5:00 on OUR run route LOL

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  5. I hate when a water bottle leaks! Especially on a hot day when you really need it!

    Our weather was not too bad this week. The heat is coming back -- but not for a little while. The rain is here to stay for a few days, but we really needed it!

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    1. I've noticed one of these bottles leaking before. Not sure if I just didn't have the cap on correctly, or if there's a legit crack or something in the lid. Yeah, that was annoying to have that issue right away in the first 1/4-mile LOL

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  6. Your sunrise photos were superb, especially the one from Tuesday! Yes, we loved watching Seinfeld back in the day.

    Have a great week and thanks for the linkup!

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    1. I am so in love with the sunrises! I feel the need to capture every one of them LOL

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  7. Yes. Loved Seinfeld.

    We had a steamy week...now the comes the rain.

    I ran 10 on Sat too.

    Running is easier now that I can company for at least some of the miles of the long run.

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    1. The humidity really sky-rocketed this week. It gets humid here, so it's no surprise, but UGH. Usually we get a day or two reprieve LOL

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  8. Wow, we had temps in the 80s for two whole days this week, which made me run at 5.10 am one day! Great pics as ever!

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    1. Our temps have been warm, but not unbearable. The humidity, though, got a little steep. Even at 6:30 (on Saturday, for the long run), the humidity really made it uncomfortable at that early hour.

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  9. Ah, I definitely do not miss the office AC! I'm all about raking up the silver linings where we can find them. We've had a lot of heat but we're also having a fair amount of cooler days so summer isn't full force. I just started running with a group and I'm hoping that will help me to get past my struggles with running in the heat.

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    1. The cold office AC really is annoying, especially since it's usually really humid and muggy for the first hour...them #articblast

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  10. You caught a great sunrise! We have not had rain for a while. The humidity rolled in this week and seems to be sticking around.

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    1. We had not had much rain until the past couple weeks, and now the humidity has gone a little nutzo LOL

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  11. As you know, summer running and I are enemies so I was not enjoying the sudden rise in heat and humidity this week, lol.

    Awesome job on your long run yesterday. I know that humidity had to be brutal but you stuck with it and got it done!

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    1. I think a big part of Saturday's run being so tough was my attitude...the leaky water bottle really annoyed me. I was wearing the cumbersome vest, after all, and STILL had to carry one of the bottles in my hand. First world probs, right?

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  12. Your sunrise pic and stories this week reminded me that I need to get out there earlier. They're so worth it. Funny how random surprises happen like a train at a time you never see one.
    I miss the frigid office AC, but it can be so hard to know how to dress. Not sure I knew about the dragon fly tie in your blog name. Awesome.

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    1. The AC at work (and anywhere, actually) on a really hot day is SOOO uncomfortable. I keep a cardi at work, so I'm always prepared, but it's summer...I want to wear my summer clothes in comfort.

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  13. The Midwest humidity was harsh this week! I ran 13 miles in the humidity and finished looking as if I had gone swimming. But humid summers mean fast falls!

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    1. Ugh...it's almost embarrassing how wet the running gear gets...and that's the tech fabric LOL It's so humid, nothing evaporates. I left a really nasty "butt print" on our front porch after my run yesterday...

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  14. That Seinfeld meme is perfect!

    Great job pushing through your 10 miler! I keep saying at some point I'll get back to running long, but it just hasn't happened yet.

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    1. I've been going back and forth with upping my 13.1 registration (for IMT Des Moines, in October) to 26.2. Well, on Saturday, I was almost rolling my eyes at that dilemma LOL

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  15. I'm definitely grateful for the cooler weather I'm having up in Wisconsin! You know I'm not a fan of the heat.

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    1. I can usually tolerate the heat, but Saturday's humidity was off the charts. I'm glad that doesn't happen every time I run.

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  16. You did awesome! It is SO hot and humid here. And now we have this Saharan dust storm, so it's nearly impossible to breathe. I am over it.

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    1. I know our humidity (and heat, for that matter) aren't quite like your's in Florida, but it felt nasty yesterday. Thankfully, it doesn't get that bad on a daily basis.

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  17. That sunrise is incredible! Well worth getting up early (which is no problem for you!)
    Love the family photo - so nice you got all 3 kids at home for Father's Day.

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    1. I'm really loving all the sunrises, and I feel the need to share them with everyone who doesn't get to see them in person LOL

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  18. My long run was a struggle too in the heat! I probably need to start bringing water on my long runs now that its so hot out. Great job this week!

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    1. Usually, the heat/humidity isn't such a burden, but Saturday was really a beast. I do think my attitude was a big factor (I was really annoyed by the leaky bottle AND having to wear the hydration vest is never fun).

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  19. Haha, Newman always got blamed by Seinfeld!!

    The humidity here has been horrible and makes the run even more tough.

    There are train tracks less than a mile from my house and I try to speed up as I get closer to it in case a train decides to come by.

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  20. great week Kim! Loving seeing the hubs with you again in action! Love that photo of the family as well <3 We had it hot and humid in the Netherlands last week too. Way too steamy for my liking! I had to laugh at the Newman Meme :D Yes I love Seinfeld!

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    1. I can tolerate the humidity, but it was pretty intense on Saturday. Thankfully, it's not always so nutzo ;-)

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  21. Wow, that really is a beautiful sunrise! I love the creativity in dealing with the unexpected train :)

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