Sunday, June 27, 2021

Going to Extremes


It was a week of extremes.

I'm not one to sit still, but I may have pushed the fitness a bit this week. Oh well, I'm still feeling good and not too weary for the ride.

The weather did it's own dance of heat, cold, humidity and wind...many of which were all on the same day. That was all fine and dandy as well. It is what it is, and there's no sense fighting it.

Before I share all the happenings, 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 8:00AM (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 ;-)


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

Never miss a Monday!
The 58F temps (and 13mph wind) were comfortable for my morning run (3-miles of hills and speed surges). Fast-forward 11 hours later, and the wind had picked up. Those temps felt downright chilly on the bike, just saying. Gustavas and I met up with Barb and rode 12 post-workday miles. Brrr...


Easy-peasy (chilly) Tuesday.
Holy Brrr, Batman! This was only the second day of Summer, but it felt like we'd jumped ahead to football season. Yes, that's a fleece jacket. Max and I walked a fast 1/2-mile before work, and there were a couple of additional 1-mile walks (morning break and after work). But ugh. I love football season temps, but during the actual football season. End of story.


Triple Workout Wednesday!
All was calm, all was bright for the weekly #5at5 with Barb. We got a nice amount of rain overnight, so all was quite humid as well (61F temps with 98%). Twelve hours later, the temps had climbed to the upper 70F's, but the wind was blowing strong (19mph). Amy and I did our weekly ride on the hilly bike path, and OMG. How we stayed vertical is beyond wonder. Then, at 9:00PM, a few of us met for the Almost Full Moon Run (See below)...by then the wind had calmed down and was a welcome relief on the warm summer evening. So, in summary... 5 morning miles + 15 windy biking miles + 6 additional evening miles. And I slept like a rock.


Low-maintenance recovery for Thursday.
Let's just say it's a crap shoot when the weather app is spot-on, and Thursday morning wasn't one of them. There was rain in the forecast, but the app showed a "light showers" window for about 45 minutes before the real heavy rain was due to fall. I grabbed a jacket and cap and headed out for a walk. I got almost a mile when the heavens opened up and Momma N decided to have her way with me. I did find a place to hang for about 10 minutes, and power-walked like a beast back home before the next torrential downpour hit. The legs got a nice recovery walk, and I did some upper-body work in the evening (inside LOL). Glass half full.


Fartlek run (and filter fun) Friday.
How about some fun speedwork? I was up and out the door, before 6:00AM, for a couple miles with Fartlek intervals. The 70F temps didn't feel that bad (in the 100% humidity) until I stopped. Let's just say I was glistening & glowing in all my glory.
 

Long run Saturday.
Again, the weather was giving us a bit of stress. We had rain and scattered storms in the forecast, all day. Barb and I'd thought of postponing our long run to Sunday, but when we awoke on Saturday the rain showed "only" 35% at 6:00. We decided to risk it, and met at 6:30. Similar temps to Friday (70F with 100% humidity), but the rain never showed! We made it eight miles and called it good. It felt pretty victorious beating the rain (and also the train).
 

Couple time Sunday.
With the new earlier start time for the WRD link-up, I'll be saving most of my Sunday fitness pics for the following week's post, but I'll give you a preview. For this week, Saturday's delayed rain did allow for my long run, but it was too risky to attempt a long bike ride with the impending storms. So, the long ride will be  happening on Sunday. We have about 30 miles on deck, but we did start the day with a 2-mile run.



So, how did fitness add up? Running saw 26 miles (including Sunday morning's shakeout run, before the bike ride). Walking...kind of bleak, but better than nothing (7 miles). Biking miles came in at 27 miles (with 30+/- on tap for Sunday). One upper-body session and 50 stair flights (as part of my running warm-up routine). 
 
In case you missed out, here's what else went down on the blog this week:

In other news: 

Baby, it's cold inside when it's so hot (and humid) outside. Such is the summer reality. I love the contrast of turquoise with these "mustard-ish" brown shorts. It's a given the cheetah-print cardi was on standby. As per usual, you're welcome to join the Friday Fashion Flair party on Instagram...post a pic, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and give me a tag (@runningonthefly). 


The flowers are coming to life! The Achillea (upper left) is actually from our house in Michigan...it survived the change in location when we moved back to Iowa in 2002. Some of the lilies are blooming, and the first of the pink cone flowers just opened up this week.


As mentioned, there was another full moon run this week! With storms in Thursday's evening forecast, I got the idea to do an Almost Full Moon Run (on Wednesday evening) instead. There was a lot of cloud cover, but the moon emerged as we were starting our final mile...so I'd call that a success.


How were things in your world this week? Did your weather get a little extreme as well? Ever had a week where it just worked out to have a few extra workouts filter in?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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41 comments:

  1. wow can't believe you were wearing a fleece a few days ago! I just love how you and your hubs are running together and matching too! looks like another active and productive week for you! have a good one

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    1. It honestly felt like mid-October last Monday and Tuesday...ugh! Way too cold for Summer LOL The hubby cracked me up this morning...he wanted to run with me, and then came downstairs in the matching colors. I can assure you, it was totally by accident ;-)

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  2. Wow on the fleece! I did wear a light sweatshirt on one of my morning walks with Scooby, but that didn't last long! Love all your cycling miles. Very cool on the moon run!

    Thanks for opening the link up earlier.

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    1. Monday's ride (after work) was really chilly with the wind and "cool" summer temps. I'm glad that didn't last LOL The cycling is going well! I'm glad I have friends who want to ride with me, as well as the hubby, but "d be alright riding solo if I had to. Such a great compliment to running (as you know).

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  3. Long sleeves Wednesday morning here too, although it wasn't a fleece. Maybe I ushered in the football temps buying two sets of NYG tickets this week? Please give me back that weather. You know I don't do 90s well.
    Congrats on another solid week and glad the wind didn't blow you off. Gusts for Gustavus?

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    1. Ha! Both Gustavas and Fritz had the honor of fighting the wind last week LOL Especially the ride (with Fritz) out on the trail...out in the wide open, with no wind shelter whatsoever. It was crazy!

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  4. Yes. The weather definitely got extreme. Extremely humid and rainy for the most part. The cool days I loved, although not summery at all. The flowers are gorgeous right now. I wish the lilies would stay in bloom awhile longer!

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    1. Oh, I wish the lilies would stay in bloom much longer, too. Thankfully, I have a few different varieties of daylilies (as well as others) so the color is ongoing for almost a month. But still.

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  5. I hate when the radar shows no rain and you get poured on. :( If it's already raining it's a little easier to say just go for it.

    I'm sure the full moon runs are lots of fun, but this gal just doesn't stay up that late (and it would actually make it extremely difficult for me to sleep, too).

    Great week, Kim!

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    1. There were light sprinkles when I went out for that walk on Tuesday, but those light sprinkles quickly morphed into something much more fierce...when I was the furthest from my house. There also have been numerous times when my apps (both!) showed rain or storms approaching, but nothing ever shows. That's equally as frustrating.

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  6. It sure has been a crazy weather roller coaster ride. So many extremes!

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  7. Wow, your weather was CRAZY!!! It must be so hard to try to fit everything in around the rain, but you did it. We've entered into our summer weather pattern which is lots of hot, steamy days mixed in with lot of rain. The rain doesn't cool anything down- it just seems to make it steamier!
    I hope you're gifted with some beautiful weather this coming week!

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    1. I agree...the rain makes it feel even more humid! At least we've had some "moderately cool" morning temps...but then humidity really sneaks up on you because you don't feel it as much until you stop moving LOL

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  8. It was weird weather around here too. Too much rain, very windy and now muggy! Good job getting in your workout this week. Fun night run, and that's great the clouds finally parted to show you that moon!!

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    1. We had some rain...sometimes heavy for very short periods, and other times barely a sprinkle. More often than not, though, we got barely a fraction of what was forecast.

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  9. Lovely flowers! Our app always goes on about thunderstorms which then never turn up. Thursday night, we had a HUGE one with no warning!

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    1. I sometimes just ignore the weather app unless it says 90% (or greater) chance of storms or rain...so often nothing ever shows, and it's not worth waiting around to see what will transpire.

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  10. We ran the gamut on weather this week. One morning it was cool enough that I felt chilly the entire time (and it was wonderful), and this morning I ran my hottest race ever (not wonderful but hey it's summer). Aah the chilly summer office...yet another thing that I do not miss in the WFH era. I had to chose between being painfully cold all day or wearing long sleeves and pants which was such a buzzkill in the summer.

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    1. Oh gosh, I hate the freezing cold indoor temps! Going to the grocery store (as if it isn't painful enough already) is SUCH an annoying ordeal.

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  11. Great week of workouts! Your weather was even wackier than ours. No fleeces here! Just high humidity every day. Gotta love summer running!

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    1. Our humidity was unusually high, almost every day, as well. Even the "cooler" days felt weird.

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  12. You definitely had your fair share of every type of weather this week! Lots of great stuff on the fitness front for you. Hope you and your hubby had a great ride today!

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    1. The ride, this late morning/afternoon went well! We actually rode to a restaurant, and met two of our kids there for a late lunch (they drove LOL). The temps were warm, but the humidity had dropped a little, so it was quite comfortable.

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  13. We were also cool Tuesday! And then pleasant Wednesday and HOT the rest of the week. Being pregnant and attempting to run in hot weather is HARD but still better than winter in my opinion.

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    1. I had two July babies, so I know how challenging that can be. I wasn't a runner back then, but I did a lot of walking...definitely an uncomfortable situation!

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  14. It was breezy and less humid the middle of the week and now it's super hot and humid and icky - yuck! Definitely some weather extremes going on here too.

    Great job on al of your workouts this week!

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    1. It hasn't gotten super hot (yet), but the humidity definitely has been on "high" this week.

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  15. Love your pink and blue combo on your bike ride. Crazy how the weather was all over the place!

    Earlier start time! Good to note, thanks for hosting!

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    1. Yeah, we had a little bit of everything...except for the white stuff we see in winter (I'm leery of saying it out loud or typing it).

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  16. We had a windy week both at the beach and at home. Yesterday's and today's headwinds on my bike rides were crazy. The humidity was also pretty low during most of the week and that's always a plus!

    I love your idea of a full moon run and I'm glad it made an appearance during your final mile for you.

    Have a great week and thanks for the linkup!

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    1. Isn't the wind something of a beast when you're on the bike? OMG, I'd gladly choose hills over wind LOL

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  17. Great week for you! So many types of weather for you but that's what makes it more interesting, right? So the linkup will earlier from now on? Good to know. I thought it was just on "special" occasions.

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    1. The various weather conditions do keep things interesting, no argument there! Deborah and I decided to open the link-up early (at least for the time being) since many of us are busy with weekend activities anyways. We thought it would give everyone a little more flexibility in getting their posts published and linked.

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  18. Glad you were able to beat the rain!

    I would never have thought to pair turquoise with mustard, but it works and looks great!

    Have a great week!

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    1. Ironically, all the rain in Saturday's forecast was very late to the party. We were out of town, but I believe it did rain a little in the early evening because the streets were wet when we returned home. Not the day-long intermittent storms that we were expecting LOL

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  19. A very solid week of fitness, congrats!
    Here the weather is only .... heat and humidity, what a pity no rain!!!!!!!
    Beautiful idea the "Full moon run" I will plan this "event" with my running friends!

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    1. Oh, have fun running under the full moon! A lot of people think we're crazy (and won't even give it a try, ha!), but it's a fun thing to do once a month ;-) We'd gone quite awhile without any substantial rainfall, so we're finally getting some of that much-needed precipitation. But the air has been horribly humid...much more that usual.

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  20. Crazy weather here too. Hot!! And then actually chilly. I never got rained on since I ignored the forecast lol.

    I love how you match all your colors. We have that in common.

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    1. Yes, we gotta keep that colors happening...life is too short for blah attire ;-) The unseasonable chill (early last week) was a total shock to us all.

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  21. You are wearing Jags colors in your Fashion Friday post! Duuuuuuval!

    Why is the weather so out of control everywhere? It's crazy here! Crazy there! Crazy, crazy everywhere!

    Great work with the miles and the stairs. Now that I'm kind of back, it's time to get back to my upper body workouts.

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