The Heat is On

The heat is on, at least in Iowa.

It's totally crazy how hot (and humid) it got so quickly. Our temps catapulted to the upper 80's/90's a couple of weeks ago, and have not returned to "normal." I'm not complaining, because I much prefer the heat to the cold, but it's been a bit much (even for me). I even heard a meteorologist make the comment that we're actually about a month ahead of schedule in terms of the temps! May 2018 was our second warmest May on record, ironic that April 2018 had been our second coldest April on record. Isn't that crazy???


This past week kept me plenty warm and well-sweated. Here's the proof:

Monday was Memorial Day.In honor of the day, several locals (and myself) met up at the lake, which is adjacent to our town's cemetery. For the past several years, we have been doing this tribute run...we observe the flags on display and wear ourselves out on the hilly paths through the grounds. Oh gosh, was it hot! We're talking temps in the 80's already at 8:00, with a very elevated heat index.

Three miles of tribute running

When Tuesday rolled around, my entire body was feeling ready for a good old day of active rest/recovery. In addition to the three miles on Monday, I had also run four miles on the Sunday prior...and those miles were hot and humid as well. I got out on Tuesday morning for a sunrise walk, and that's all she wrote.

Doesn't the sunrise make you want to dance?

Wednesday was another weather-app-fail. We had a #5at5 (five miles at 5:00 a.m.) on tap, but the app showed rain coming. Although it wasn't raining in my yard, it was raining elsewhere in town. Not wanting to waste that early wake-up, I got outside and did a mini HIIT workout on my front porch. Push-ups, burpees, squats, and jump squats. Four circuits with 10 reps of each movement. And a very sweaty persona when finished. Onward!

Front porch HIIT, anyone?

Thursday wound up being a perfect-timing-scenario for our routine #5at5. Dang, the temps were in the mid/upper 60's, but the heat index was much, much higher. The air didn't feel that warm as we were running, but as soon as I stopped (and walked into my air-conditioned house) all of my sweat equity dampness came to the surface and I had to head back outside to cool down or risk hypothermia.

You know you've sweated profusely when you have to "cool off" outside instead of inside your house

Active recovery/rest day for Friday. With my 20K race on Saturday (and my hammy/piriformis still a bit cranky), it was a perfect opportunity for some TLC. A morning walk, some push-ups, tri dips, and how about a wall sit (against a fence post LOL)?

In one of my (many) vintage Dam to Dam shirts

Saturday arrived. It was Dam to Dam race day, and all the weather apps (and local meteorologists) did not have good news for us Dam racers. I had been stalking the weather for several days, in hopes that Momma N would show us some love, but Saturday morning it looked pretty ugly...thunderstorms all morning, with a 100% precipitation forecast for 7:00 (start time). There even was the threat of a delayed start time due to potential lightning.

The race is a 20K (12.4 miles), and is a point-to-point course. All racers are shuttled out to the start line (which is, coincidentally, on a dam north of Des Moines). My youngest daughter (the recent high school graduate) was along for the journey, and I felt bad that this had to be her first race (ever!) with such nasty weather conditions. It seriously looked and felt like a hurricane...extreme wind, rain, and debris blowing everywhere around us. Long story short, after the first couple of miles, the weather mellowed and the sun eventually broke through! And, best of all? I got to celebrate the daughter's first race, and run her into the finish line. How's that for a proud mom moment? (Stay tuned...there's  a full race recap coming)

Totally proud!!!!

Sunday surprised us with a drop in temps and humidity. I got out for a walk with the hubby and Max (with a short recovery run planned for later). My body didn't feel too achy from the previous day's epic race, and the cooler temps and walk left me feeling quite refreshed.

All is calm, all is bright

So, the week's running mileage tallied around 21 (plus a couple of miles happening later on Sunday), but there also were numerous (daily) walking miles and some strength work. Nothing grandiose, but my hamstring has been so tight lately, I wanted to give it some TLC this week. Now that Dam to Dam is done, there are only a couple smaller races happening before RnR Chicago (July 21-22), so I can give my body a little break. I still will be doing long runs on the weekends, to maintain a 10-mile base, but those are easy-peasy at this point. I will be doing a little more yoga (see below) as well as extra stretching and foam rolling to fine tune everything before marathon training commences (late July).

In case you missed out, here's my posts from last week:

Riding out the storm

6 Favorite Tunes that Move & Groove My Runs

Shall We Chat?

In other news:

Did you catch my #FridayFashionFlair (on Instagram)? I'm all about color, but once in awhile I do embrace a neutral colored outfit, especially if it has funky detailing. Also, this distressed/faded denim skirt is one of my favorite go-to pieces because it can be dressed up or dressed down depending on what accessories I mix into the picture. Every Friday, I post a pic of a featured outfit....you're welcome to join the party! Follow the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and give me a tag (@runningonthefly). After all, we may be fitness-minded friends, but we don't spend every waking minute in fitness clothing, do we?

Neutral top, frayed skirt, funky sandals

Finally, I came up with a few goals for June. As mentioned, I'll be doing some TLC maintenance, so there will be some daily yoga (flexibility) and wall sits (leg strength) added in. I will be keeping the early morning daily cardio (usually a run or a walk). Rachel is hosting an upper-body strength challenge that I plan to follow (push-ups, tri dips, and core work). I'm also adding gratitude journaling, just to help me keep things in perspective. I'm a glass-half-full gal, but if I see or experience snarkiness or rudeness, it does get to me. Focusing on gratitude is more healthy than "snarking" back, right?

Well, that's the latest! How are things in your little corner of the universe? Hot weather? Summer training? Any races happening soon? Ever tried gratitude journaling?

I'm linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. This weekly check-in is such a great place to connect with fellow fitness-minded peeps. Please join us!