Embracing all that's Tough

This past week was an interesting one, to say the least.

It was a great week, but it also had some tough moments. Battles fought. Hills conquered. Heat endured. Victories won. Care to hear the nitty gritty?

Monday surprised me with temps in the mid-60's for my pre-dawn run. As much as I like the reprieve of cooler temps, it's always a challenge knowing how to dress for them (especially when it's been 30-degrees warmer for the majority of my runs lately). I was only going three miles, and I was not "racing" them. With the sun so low in the sky, the air felt pretty calm and cool...I opted for my trusty arm sleeves, and all felt perfect.

#nevermissaMonday

Tuesdays are usually a rest/recovery day from all things running, but I seldom ever sit idle. I designed a short HIIT workout and got busy for about 25 minutes on my front porch/patio.

I called it my 20's X 10 HIIT Circuit, and I did two complete circuits:

-20 squats

-20 push-ups

-20 burpees

-20 bicep curls

-20 sumo squats

-20 push-ups

-20 plank jacks

-20 triceps dips

-20 walking lunges (each leg)

-20 jumping jacks

done and satisfied with that little mini HIIT workout

The workout didn't seem that challenging until I got to the final set of walking lunges in the second set. I finished, and felt really good, but not all that "worked over." Spoiler: hold that thought...

Wednesday morning, upon rolling over and crawling out of bed, I almost screamed. I had felt a little achy when I went to bed the evening prior. Apparently, as I slept, the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) snuck in and invaded my glutes and hamstrings. And I had a 5K on tap for that morning.

I have run the Sully Freedom Fun Run several times, and each time I have placed 2nd in my age group...a nice honor, but second place does get a little old when it happens every year (I know, first world probs LOL). This year, I finally snagged a first place finish in my age group. My finish time (26:57) was nothing spectacular, in comparison to previous years, but I'm satisfied with it. The temps were very hot and very humid. Unfortunately, I ran the first mile too fast (8:03) without realizing it and my mojo quickly took a nose-dive during the second mile. I even white-flagged it (briefly in the final mile) and walked for a bit, before rallying to the finish line, because it was just so hot. Thankfully, the DOMS didn't affect my running, but they were very angry with me for the remainder of the day.

Finally, a first place AG!

My friend, Barb, also placed first in her AG, and the hubby got to race for the first time since his injury (four months ago)

Thursday morning, Barb and I met up for our weekly 5-miler. Though the DOMS were still messing with my ongoing comfort, they weren't much of an issue while running (thank goodness!). We did have warm and humid temps, though, even at 5:00 a.m.

yes, I'm all "aglow" following those early morning miles

When Friday rolled around, my body had simply had it. The DOMS were still wreaking havoc on my ability to stand up or sit down like a normal person. I don't remember the DOMS ever hanging around for that long before, and all from just 25-minutes of HIIT work three days prior. I did some early morning walking, and continued to stretch and foam roll...and that's all she wrote.

still riding the DOMS...

Ah, Saturday! When Barb and I had finished our race on Wednesday, we'd seen a flyer for another race, the Lake Red Rock Balloon Fest 5K/10K, happening on Saturday, so we decided, "why not?" We don't get the opportunity to run many 10K's, so this was a no-brainer. I'll share a bit more in a race recap later, but I'll just suffice it to say this race course had a lot going on. It was on a trail (combination of grass, asphalt, and cement). It had constant curves and nonstop hills, so it was anything but fast or flat. Although the DOMS had finally vacated my body, this course felt tough! But, we had hot air balloons overhead, beautiful woodland to run through, and a pancake breakfast immediately following.

I have never run with hot air balloons overhead before!

Upon returning home, I crashed for a couple hours. I hadn't been up super late on Friday, and the 5:30 a.m. wake-up (for our 6:15 departure) wasn't out of the ordinary...but I was flat-out exhausted. I spent the afternoon catching up on blog reading and did a good 90 minutes of garden squats (aka --> major weed-pulling) and fell asleep on the couch before 9:00 p.m. End of story.

Sunday blessed Iowa with still mild temps and very low/no humidity. I got out for a couple of early morning recovery miles, and (again) battled with what to wear. All I can say is whoever invented arm sleeves deserves huge accolades. I am totally in love with them. In addition to the run, Sunday also had me doing some extra walking in the afternoon and even more garden squatting. Don't be jealous.

Just me and the road all to myself

So, I mentioned earlier how tough this week seemed. The weather definitely was pretty hot and humid until Thursday evening, when we finally got a nice break with cooler temps and hardly any humidity. Word on the street is that the heat/humidity will be returning this next week. Alas, it is July after all. Bring it, Momma N! I'll gladly take some excessive heat over the excessive cold you dumped on us this past winter.

My two races were also tough. Granted, I usually can hold my own in the heat, but Wednesday's 5K was one of the hottest races I've ever done. Saturday's 10K had decent weather, but the nonstop hills were relentless. Again, I run hills frequently, but not usually for six continuous miles.

And, those DOMS! I wasn't surprised to experience them after that HIIT workout, but I certainly didn't think they'd linger for three days. Ugh. Thankfully, my running wasn't really affected by the aches and pains in my glutes and hammies, but I probably looked like an arthritic penguin every time I walked.

My mileage is starting to creep up as I approach the start of marathon training. My running mileage (Monday-Sunday) topped off at 21. At the time this post goes live, my walking mileage is currently at 13 miles, but there will easily be another 2-3 miles added before nightfall. As usual, there were daily planks, push-ups, leg lifts, wall sits and some occasional burpees as well. Onward!

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

Let's RALLY!

Summer Running Coping Strategies

Chatting over coffee...

In other news:

Did you catch my #FridayFashionFlair post on Instagram? Even with the cooler temps on Friday, our office's air conditioning system was still running at full capacity. Brrr! Thankfully, I have a lot of colorful cardigans to choose from, and my hot pink one is a favorite (especially when it just happens to match my manicure LOL). Do you have to grab a sweater to keep warm in the summer, due to over-zealous air conditioning, whenever you head inside? How do you cope? Anyways, you're invited to join me...post a pic of a featured outfit, use the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and give me a tag (@runningonthefly). Surely, you don't live in workout gear 24/7, right?

I have spent the past two weeks thinking about (and flashing back to) the Summer of 2017. It was a tough time, but I think I did alright dealing with the reality of being a runner sidelined (more details of my recovery are HERE). Sunday morning (July 8th), this pic popped up on Facebook and it caught my attention. I had only been home from the hospital for two days at that point. I was juggling the recovery thing for my knee, the IV infusions on my arm, and the prospect of not being able to run for a few months.

It's pretty amazing the things you can do when it's your only option

Lastly, July 5th was our oldest daughter's birthday. She's 24 years old! How the heck did that happen???

the daughter with her baby, Lola

And, that's a wrap! How was the past week for you? Any 4th of July celebrating or racing? Have you have a break in the heat yet? Ever registered for a race that was happening only a few days later?

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!