Much to Smile About

Have you smiled lately?

This past week had me smiling all over the place. Sure, I'm a glass-half-full kind of person and I usually can find something to smile about. But this week? The smiles just came all on their own.
Care to hear the details?


#nevermissaMonday
After a rather steamy weekend, Monday's morning temps were mild, though still every bit as humid.

I got out the door early and did three medium-paced miles with pick-ups. Nothing super hard, but definitely a worthwhile effort. These Monday morning runs have become a welcome "start" to my week because they usually follow two continuous days of running from the weekend. And when I finish those runs, I know I get a rest/recovery day the next day!

Monday morning sweat equity

Tricky Tuesday

Most Tuesdays involve an early morning walk, and usually a little bit of fatigue from the three previous days. I didn't realize my RUN tank actually kind of looked like it said RUM...It got a lot of laughs on Instagram.

RUN or RUM...which would you choose?

Later, in the evening, I got busy with another HIIT workout, this time in my backyard. I have really been having fun with these! I love the challenge of mixing intense cardio drills (that also have strengthening and toning capabilities) with intervals of less intense free weight moves.

Here's what happened:

30 jumping jacks

20 burpees

20 push-ups

30 squats

20 reps of arm work

20 reps of shoulder work

30 plank jacks

20 burpees

20 push-ups

30 sumo squats

20 reps of arm work

20 reps of shoulder work

**two full sets of each circuit netted me a whole lot of sweating and a night of very sound sleep

HIIT'ing in the backyard

Wednesday workout

I met my friend Barb for our weekly #5at5 (five miles at 5:00 a.m.). This was the first time I noticed that it's already a tiny bit darker at 5:00 than it had been just a few weeks ago.  Thankfully, we had pretty much full daylight for the majority of our run, but still ugh. I don't want my summer to end!

guess how many miles?

A crazy Thursday

We had rain and thunder storms most of the night, and our little Max was not happy. When he doesn't sleep well, the rest of us don't either. Usually, he's really good about staying at the foot of our bed, but he was all over the place Wednesday night, and kept trying to wedge himself between my head and the headboard (yeah, totally NOT comfortable). It was still raining when we got up, and I was less than enthusiastic about attempting speedwork on the wet pavement. I did go for a short walk, though....

...and finally got out around 7:30 p.m. for a couple miles of fartleks. Truthfully, I almost no-showed the fartlek. I had a long day at the office, and we had to pick up the daughter from a retreat she's been at since Sunday (an hour away). Oh, and there were a few tornadoes happening (thankfully, they missed us). My body was feeling a little achy and tired from lack of sleep. I even coined the term DOMS'ing (you know, when you're enjoying a case of the DOMS, but are still doing all the things). None the less, the fartleks were just what I needed to recharge for the weekend.

fartleks for the win!

Finally Friday!

My weekend started with a 2-mile power walk through the hood (in the rain). Fun times, don't be jealous. Little did I know, this was a preview of what was to come...

rain, anyone?

A short while later, I was on a train, and arrived at Union Station in downtown Chicago! I took a pass on publishing a blog post, and elected to relax and enjoy the ride (besides, I knew I was going to be too busy to read and/or reply to other blogs while in the Windy City). There was a big runners-that-blog meet-up happening, and I was ever so excited! The festivities began with dinner (and lots of Chicago walking), in the company of Michelle, Kim and Deborah.

Dinner with Michelle, Kim and Deborah

Sensational Saturday
Momma N gave Chicago some attitude. Saturday morning had a bunch of us running the Rock'n'Roll 5K. There was a little bit of light rain before the race itself. Fortunately, the rain tapered off, but did leave us with some nasty humid air. Alas, it was still Chicago, and there were all kinds of fabulous blogging friends there, so it still was an awesome morning!

Soaking Wet Sunday
Sunday morning was the Rock'n'Roll 10K and Half Marathon, and Momma N's rudeness really came out in full force. First, she fooled us into believing all the "scattered showers" showing up on our weather apps would be a no-show...only to dump the first of several showers on us just as the race was beginning. The rainfall kept coming intermittently, leaving all of us extremely wet and our clothes water-logged. Stay tuned...the recap of the weekend is coming!

Elvis lives!

So, as I mentioned, there was plenty to smile about this week. I had a lot of great workouts (daily planks, push-ups, leg work, an intense HIIT sweat session, a rewarding fartlek run, and a whole lotta fun in the Windy City. My running mileage totaled out at 26, and my walking miles tallied at 30 (we did a lot of walking in those two days in Chicago, just saying).

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

Sweat Equity:101

Midnight Madness 15K recap

In other news:
My #FridayFashionFlair (on my Instagram page) actually featured my Thursday outfit. Although I'm all about bright colors, I do love a crisp white piece of fashion now and then. And who doesn't love some distressed denim? How about cheetah-print shoes?

Have you seen the commercials about the right vs. the left pieces of Twix bars? I tried each, and I don't know...I might need to sample a few more before I reach a decision on which "side" tasted better...

Our son turned 21 last Monday. Do you ever look at your "kids" and wonder how they have become adults practically overnight? I can remember, in great detail, the day he was born (sigh...).

While in Chicago, the 5-minute Plank Challenge was still going strong. In fact, Michelle and myself made it a point to do our daily 3-minute plank together. Have you ever planked while in Chicago?

And, finally, this beautiful lily. It came with our house (when we bought it 16 years ago). It used to bloom every summer, but has been dormant for a few years. Last summer, about a week after I came home from that unfortunate surgery ordeal, this lily bloomed for me. Well, it bloomed again this past week. 

Anyways, that's the latest! Lots of fun, great workouts and fabulous friends.

So tell me, what has made you smile lately? Great workouts? Fast runs? Fun races? Rainfall?

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!