About Me

Sunday, July 19, 2020

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:

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?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

42 comments:

  1. Congrats on another great week of workouts! Poor Gustavas, have you gotten his tire fixed yet? It's great that you can ride Pat's bike. Bill is 8 inches taller than me so it would be really hard for me to ride his bike.

    Thanks for the linkup and have a great week!

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    1. The hubby is taking Gustavas' tire in tomorrow, so I may be riding the hubby's bike for a few more days. Oh well...that's a first world prob LOL

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  2. That foils pic is the best. And yes, team mirror selfie
    Glad you were able to ride even though Gustavus was misbehaving himself.
    I love wind. That's my new 2020 learning. It can make such a difference

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    1. Aren't those foils flattering? ;-) I swear, the wind just seems to find me, no matter what I'm doing...

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  3. Yay blooms and I love the mirror selfie (I have one in my post, too, though a bit harder to see!). Cool and rainy all week here, a bit of warmth and humidity yesterday.

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    1. This lily just amazes me...to have all these "bonus blooms" is pretty incredible ;-)

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  4. Happy birthday to you son! I love seeing all your bike photos. ;-) We had nothing but sunshine here this week — I had to water my flowers several times! I still haven’t gotten my hair cut. Since I’m still working from home, it’s just not worth the hassle or stress.

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    1. The bike photos are a nice diversion from all the running selfies ;-) Gotta keep my pics fresh LOL

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  5. Solid week of workouts for you. Bike riding is really my favorite in this heat. Gotta love the built in breeze. I also don't know how to change my own flat. Happy birthday to your son. Have a great week ahead and sty cool

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    1. Well, at least the hubs knows how to change the flat...we just didn't have time to deal with it this morning. Myself, I need a lesson (or several)...

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  6. It was darn chilly here Friday -- and most welcome! But we're definitely hot, hot, hot now.

    My husband was afraid we'd be rained on for our daytrip tuesday & wanted to cancel but I insisted. And we didn't get rained on. :) But can be so hard to figure out!

    Great week of fitness, Kim!

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    1. The weather is SO unpredictable! Although I can go with the flow (if need be), I really need to plan out my early morning stuff the evening prior, especially if I'm meeting up with someone for a run, etc. It's frustrating to call off a run only to wake up to clear weather the next morning...

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  7. Awww, happy birthday to your handsome son! When I went to the salon last time, I had a different person do my highlights, and oh my, there was sooooooo much blond! I do like blonde, but it makes it hard to keep up when there's too much. Wish I could just do it myself at home. Great week of workouts for you! We'll be seeing a new bike soon, right? :) It just takes one flat tire to make you upgrade. teehee

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    1. My hair turned a little more blond than ideal this time, but I know we'll probably be putting in some low lights next time anyways, so not a big deal. I do want to get a road bike...just not yet. I know the rides would be easier (to some extent), I kind of like the extra work required of a mountain bike...it feels like I'm getting in a more effective workout in less time (if that makes sense?).

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  8. Happy 23rd to your son! How exciting. Glad you'll be ale to celebrate. I still haven't gotten a hair cut, but know I need to. I can't wait until COVID is over or it will be down to my knees :)

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    1. After going four months between appointments (late January - late May), I was really surprised how fast this last cut/color seemed to grow out. Thanks, it was fun celebrating with our son (and family) today ;-)

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  9. Looks like you're going to have to learn how to change a bike tire! I haven't mastered that skill myself, but it's on my to do list. Stay cool!

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    1. Well, the hubby knows how, we just didn't have time to deal with it this morning....but, yes, that's a skill I really need to learn.

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  10. I'm grateful for so many things this year, not the least of which is just being able to get outside. I always found it very sobering to read about places where there were limits on going outside in the lock down, and I don't take that for granted anymore. Green is my favorite color, and it always makes me happy to wear it.

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    1. Right? There are so many restrictions elsewhere that we don't have (yet) in Iowa...I don't take anything for granted either. That said, I am not taking any stupid or careless chances either. There's plenty of others already doing that LOL

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  11. Now Gustavus and Blanche are flat tire mates. I still haven't gotten her in for a fix. Ugh. Happy Birthday to your son!

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    1. The hubby is taking Gustavas' tire in tomorrow, so I may be riding his bike for a few days. I'm thankful the hubby's bike isn't that much different (or "taller") than mine ;-)

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  12. The heat was definitely one FULL blast this week! I opted to do all my workouts indoors because mentally I just didn't want to deal with the heat if I didn't have to lol.

    Happy birthday to your son! Seems like July is a busy time in your house for birthdays :)

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    1. Yes, the summer is busy...my late maternal grandmother's bday was June 26, the oldest daughter is July 5, the son is July 16th (which was also my late paternal grandmother's), and my late father-in-law was July 30th.Can you say cake? ;-)

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  13. Another great week for you! You're logging some nice bike mileage :)

    Happy Birthday to your son!

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    1. Thank you, Michelle ;-) The biking mileage has been fun! I'm always happy with how good it makes my legs feel!

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  14. Thanks for hosting the link-up! Way to get it done despite the humidity! Glad you have a running buddy to keep you company weekly :)

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    1. I'm more than thankful for my running buddy, too! And now, the hubby has been joining me on a lot of my bike rides and most of my stair workouts LOL Never a dull moment!

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  15. I still haven't gotten my hair cut...now its been 14 months! Looks like a great week. The heat and humidity have been rough. I bet its nice to change things up by riding your bike some days!

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    1. The humidity was off the charts last week, everywhere it seems. I'm glad to be biking consistently again. I just am not one to sit still, so biking is a great exercise that doesn't take excessive effort (unless I'm on that hilly route LOL).

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  16. Great week of workouts, Kim. I hope Gustavas gets his flat tire fixed soon. I keep wishing I would make myself get out on my bike more. Even when the weather was nice, I just didn't get out. Yesterday it was close to 100 degrees here with high humidity. I ran early, but even then, I was drenched at the end of 5 miles.

    Happy birthday to your handsome son! Hope your family get together was fun. I just got my hair cut for the first time since the end of January! It felt great.

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    1. Ha ha...Gustavas is at his "urgent care" appointment as I type ;-)

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  17. Happy Birthday to your son! Great workout week with lots of cycling. I hate fixing flats (and haven't since I have ridden in several years) and I'm not very good at it but it's a good skill to have.

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    1. I know I need to learn the fine art of tire changing. The bubs can do it...we just didn't have time yesterday, so it worked out that we had his road bike on standby.

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  18. That mirror selfie came out really well! Happy Birthday to your handsome son! And congratulations to your daughter for her engagement. I see that must have happened after you published the blog! In all this Covid-19 craziness, I love hearing good news.

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    1. Yes, the daughter's "big question" from her guy happened yesterday morning, and we didn't find out until they got to our place for lunch. It's an exciting time!

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  19. I got a haircut about 3 weeks ago? I was going to wait till September but when I took my mother to get hers, there were no other customers so I decided to get mine too.

    I did laugh when I saw your arm warmers. :-)

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    1. I Know the arm warmers probably look crazy, but those temps really felt cold in comparison to what we'd just had the evening prior LOL

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  20. It seems to rain when not predicted and then when it is,dry.

    We had quite a hot weekend but you know I prefer it to cold.

    You have such a variety of activities - run, walk,stairs, bike, weights!!

    I have a hair appt tomorrow.. I haven't gotten foils still Jan but I may still wait $$$

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    1. The rain has been so unpredictable! Like you, I prefer the heat over the cold, so there's not much complaining on my part...though an occasional day with more comfortable temps would be appreciated.

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  21. Aw! Gustavas! I hope he's ok.

    Happy birthday to your son!

    Still opting outside in spite of everything. Sometimes, it's just the best way.

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    1. Gustavas is getting worked on as I type ;-) We're going for a ride as soon as the hubby returns home with him.

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