Fitness Fun With or Without the Sun

It was another interesting week in Iowa.

There were some hot days, and there were some pleasantly cool mornings. Some with sunshine, and some without. And, again, I was able to take most of my fitness outdoors. 

I am ever thankful for the opportunities, and pretty grateful for the privilege.

Before I share all (or most) of the details, 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 ;-)

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

Never miss a Monday, and make mine a double

It was a beautiful Monday morning. With pleasant mid-60F's temps, I felt the temptation to push my usual Monday 3-miler up to four miles. After all, why not? The temps would be rising, I  thought it best to take advantage of the somewhat cool temps.

After work, I decided to go for a ride with Gustavas, and I decided it was time to conquer the hilly bike path. Now, typically, I use my rides more as a recovery vice, but this was a legit workout ride. It's a 14-mile round-trip out to Rock Creek State Park. The first two miles out (and the last two miles on the return trip back) are relatively flat, but the middle 10 miles are mega hilly. I made it out and back in 68 minutes, and there was no coasting on the return trip (thanks to the SE wind). That said, it felt good to finally get that first tough ride of the season done.

Typical Tuesday, sort of

I got out for a 2-mile walk in the early hours, before work, and was momentarily blinded by the sunrise. The thick cloud cover remained for most of the day, though, and the temps remained warm. After work, I did an easy 6-mile bike ride ...but didn't beat the impending rain in the final mile. Oops.

Whatever Wednesday

The forecast was showing heavy rain, beginning around 3:00 a.m., and lasting throughout most of the morning. It particularly showed 65% chance of thunderstorms at 5:00, so Barb and I decided to postpone our weekly #5at5 to Thursday. Only, there wasn't much rain that actually happened, and certainly no thunderstorms (gee thanks, Momma N for playing me for a fool, yet again). I did get out for a 2-mile walk, with umbrella, before work. And, I selfie'd in an alley mirror along said walk (wouldn't you do the same?).

After work, I did a short circuit workout with jump-roping, upper-body strength and abs/core intervals. And, yes, I took it outside to the deck.

#5at5 on Thursday

Although the humidity was at 96%, the 61F temps felt pretty nice for our early-morning 5-miler. Yes, those are arm warmers...because 61F was a near 30-degree temperature drop from the previous day LOL.

Total boredom after work led me to take Gustavas out for a ride while we waited for the hubby to return home. Gotta love an easy 12-miler after a long day at the office, right?

Another #HotHotHot Friday

Up and out the door, and over to the outdoor stairway. A brick workout of sorts... two 1-mile walks (to and from), with 50 intense flights of stairs sandwiched in between. Let's just say the breeze, on the walk home, felt refreshing on our sweat-drenched clothing. I also took a 2-mile walk after work, and returned home looking (and feeling) like I'd run six miles instead. 

A sunny (and saturated) Saturday

With a major heat advisory starting at noon (and in effect until evening), Barb and I met up at 6:00 a.m. for some Saturday miles. We'd initially planned on eight miles, but agreed we'd possibly up that distance to 10 if things went well. It was hot, no doubt, already at 6:00 and the humidity was high (93%), but we had a strong wind to keep us moderately cool. We were able to do 10 miles, and were a bit surprised to see our pace was faster than it felt. And, ironically, even though the temps had  climbed (from 75F to 81F), the humidity had gone down a bit during our run. 

Simply Sunday

Eager for some recovery miles (via the bike), I was a bit dismayed to find Gustavas waiting for me with a flat rear tire Sunday morning. The hubby opted for his road bike, so I could use his mountain bike...problem solved. We took a different out-and-back route, and were plagued with a crazy 15mph WNW wind for the return trip home. Ugh. I'm always amazed at how much stronger the wind feels when you have to battle it on wheels. Anyways, 15 sunrise miles for breakfast, as well as a 2-mile walk afterwards.

Don't be deceived by the camera angle...his mountain bike is actually the same height as the road bike, and he's quite a bit taller than me LOL

 

So, a decent week, despite the erratic weather. Running saw 19 miles and walking  had 15. Biking capped out at 47 miles. My hammies were feeling kind of cranky Tuesday and Wednesday (from Monday's hilly ride?), so I kept the lower-body work pretty low-key. Thankfully, things were all better for Friday's stair workout. Another gut punch this week...my beloved DAM to DSM 20K has now gone virtual as well. It had been postponed to September 5th (originally scheduled for May 30th), and the point-to-point route had been modified to a 10K looped course...but it wasn't meant to be. The Great Run Across Iowa currently has me at 265 total miles (running and walking combined). I needed 249 to reach my finish line, but I have until August 10th... so I'm curious to see just how much farther I can go.  

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

Keeping in Stride by Opting Outside

Favorite Running Places & Spaces

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair...It was a balmy day (we're talking mid-90's feels-like by noon), so I went with sleeveless and flowing. The lime/kiwi green took me awhile to embrace when it first hit the scene (20+ years ago), but it's one of my favorites now. It looks especially bright when paired with this Aztec-print skirt...and I see nothing wrong with that. Go bright or go home! 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).

Although I had gone almost four months between hair appointments, (thank you, COVID-19), it already was time for a touch-up this week. Had it only been eight weeks since my return to the chair?

On the family front, our son celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday. We're having a family get-together this afternoon to celebrate.

And, finally....this beautiful lily. We inherited it with our house, and for many years it bloomed (with a single flower). Then, it went dormant, and we didn't see anything of it for a few years. When I came home from the hospital, three years ago, following my emergency surgery, the blooming returned. Last year it had three blooms, and this year it has six total!

So, that's another week all wrapped and packaged with a bow.

How are things in your world? Hot temps? Humidity? Opting outside, or keeping cool inside?

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