Sunday, July 11, 2021

Rain Dance...Anyone?


Not quite sure what Momma N was thinking this week, but she could not make up her mind.

We had a lot of rain in the forecast, but quite a lot of it missed us. While I don't love a rainy run, I can tolerate those conditions once in awhile. In all honesty, a little bit of rain does feel good on a hot summer day (so long as it's not a torrential downpour or has lightning along for the ride).

I did get a little wet, though, but not all of that was from precipitation. The humidity remained high and certainly kept things interesting, so the "glistening & glowing" was full-on. 

Before I share 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 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 ;-)



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

Sunny Sunday & 4th of July with friends
The morning began with a short 2-mile shakeout run, then we loaded up the bikes and headed to the trailhead in Mingo (about 25ish miles away). We rode 10 miles, along the Chichaqua Valley Trail, to Baxter and back (with a brief refuel stop), then headed the other direction to Bondurant (about 13 miles). After a fun lunch (more refueling LOL), we rode the 13 miles back to the trailhead. We got back home mid-afternoon and crashed for an hour before heading to the town's 4th of July parade. We did stay up to see the fireworks, but after a long warm and humid day, we didn't have any trouble falling asleep afterwards.


Never miss a Monday!
It's not every Monday there's a 4th of July race (on the 5th, none the less). I got out for an early morning 1-mile walk, then we picked up Barb and headed to Sully. The Sully Freedom Fun Run 5K (recap HERE) has become a pretty long-standing tradition. Another local friend, Allison, met us there. The three gals did a 1-mile warm-up run before hitting the start line. Suffice it to say the race went well, and all four of us brought home age group hardware.


A big-time Take It Easy Tuesday
I've been keeping my Tuesdays low-key, and this week it was much needed. I did a 2-mile walk for breakfast, and another 1-mile walk at work (morning break). And that was it. Nothing else. No regrets.

Double Workout Day Wednesday
As of Tuesday, there was rain in the forecast for the next several days. By bedtime, though, the heavy rain had gotten pushed back and it was showing only 33% chance of rain before 7:00AM on Wednesday. Barb and I decided to chance it, and met up for our weekly #5at5. Boy-Oh-Boy, was it a balmy morning (70F temps with 93% humidity)! And, believe it or not, little to no rain ever fell (though the humidity remained quite high). After work, I took Gustavas (the mountain bike) out for 10.5 miles before dinner.

This & That Thursday
Overnight rain had left the streets wet and the air damp (again). I did some strength/core/balance work (via leg lifts) on the deck, then Max took the hubby and I for a 2-mile walk before work.
 

After work, I met up with Amy for our weekly ride on the hilly bike path. I'm not kidding when I say these hills are humbling LOL, but I'm ever-so-thankful to be tackling those hills with Fritz (the hybrid bike) instead of Gustavas. The hills encompass about 12 miles of the ride, but I ride a few extra miles (on city streets) when I return to town...so about 15 total miles.


Finally Friday
There was a light rain falling, so I just did a quick 1-mile walk before work. The rain halted for a while, so a few of us took advantage and went for our usual mid-morning walk. When I got home, around 4:30, the sun was shining! I quickly got into my running gear, in hopes of scoring a couple miles. Well, you can probably guess how this ends...not even 1/4-mile into the run, the sun suddenly disappeared and rain started coming down. They were big drops, but they were falling pretty light...so I pressed on. I got to my turn-around, and by the time I'd gone about 1.5 total miles, it was dry again (you know, when I was just about back home). The weird rain kept coming and going all evening, and actually (finally) rained pretty hard overnight. 


Super Sweaty Saturday
I awoke to rain (as forecast), so I took my time in getting up for the day. With a 10K planned for the evening, I didn't want to run very many morning miles anyways. Then, a short while later, I noticed the rain had stopped. My app showed a much lower percentage of rain probability than before (17%), so I grabbed the running gear and hit the streets. This run felt slow and sluggish from the start. Even with some stretching and a warm-up, my right hip decided to give me a little bit of attitude (nothing painful, but it definitely felt "off"). I didn't have the Garmin with me, so I don't know my pace...and that's probably a good thing LOL. It was horrendously humid (100%, thank you very much), so I know that was a factor. I also had not slept well (#WhompWhomp). I ran five miles and called it good.


Sunday on deck...
Not sure what's on the roster for Sunday. There will probably be a short recovery run in the early morning, and possibly a long(ish) bike ride in the afternoon. All rain, that had been forecast, has now left the scene. Woot!

So, in summery it was an alright week. The biking miles (72) were a little lower than usual, but that's alright. The running miles were decent (21), but walking is still looking rather meager (just 9 miles this week). Somehow,  I spaced off on upper-body strength this week (#MyBad),  but the lower-body balance workout was legit.

In case you missed out, here's what else went down on the blog this week:

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! Can you ever go wrong with a denim jacket? I've had this baby for upwards of 15 years, and it's still a staple. I'm also a fan of a funky Aztec print, especially paired with the sparkly sandals.  


Here's a peak at this week's flower display. The daylilies are going nutzo, as are the purple/pink coneflowers and balloon flowers. Also, the tiger lilies made their appearance, and some roses. 


Finally, Saturday evening was Midnight Madness. I was all set for the 10K...only the crazy weather (heavy rain and thunder storms) had the race director scrambling. It was decided to delay the start time (to 8:30PM) and have all the 10K racers run the 5K. Not what I was hoping for, but it was all in the name of safety and prevented canceling the event altogether. Wouldn't you know? By the time 8:30 rolled around, the storms (and all rain) had passed. The temps had dropped (65F), the wind had picked up (10mph) and the humidity remained (93%). I'm not quite sure what happened, but I clocked a 25:06 and brought home a 3rd place age group medal. Stay tuned, this warrants a recap...


So, that's a wrap! How did your week play out? Any races? Crazy weather?

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40 comments:

  1. Great job this week! Glad you got to do your race last night, even it it was a 5k instead of a 10k. I don't think I could race that late! (I was getting ready to go to bed at that time lol...)

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    1. The 5K news was a bit of a buzzkill because I was really looking forward to running a 10K, but I guess that worked in my favor LOL

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  2. Yay on your 5K! You know, those hills would be even easier if you clipped in. ;-) We drove in crazy weather on Thursday. I’d rather be running in it — but not in the lightning!

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    1. Well, my non-clipping strategy has worked well for me...if it ain't broke, I'm not about to fix it ;-) Ironically, I know a lot of cyclists (with much more experience than myself) who are going clipless these days....so maybe I'm on to something LOL

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  3. This was a glisten & glow week alright! I think my running clothes were soaked through every day this week and not from rain if ya know what I'm saying;-)

    Congrats on your 5k!!! I too would be disappointed if I showed up for a 10k and just got 5 but for a result like that...I can't wait to read that recap.

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    1. At least we were forewarned (the email popped in while we were driving there), but yes...a little disappointing. I'm just grateful they were able to make the event still happen and that the weather cleared!

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  4. Great job on that race! I met someone at our Ladies Ride who had multiuse pedals. One side was regular shoe and the other side was for clipping in. I thought of you :) She hadn't taken the leap to clipping in yet, but would be prepared when she wanted to. I thought that was a great idea. We had a ride cut short from a storm that rolled through. It was crazy!!

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    1. My hybrid came with the slide-in straps (I'm sure there's a more technical name for them), but the hubby swapped them out for me. Honestly, I really have no interest in clip-ins at this point. Too many of my friends have had nasty wipe-outs, all of them much more experienced cyclists than myself, and it's just not a risk I want to take. We had such crazy rain and pop-up storms the past couple days...my weather app was working overtime, refreshing every 20 minutes with all the quick changes.

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    2. I actually felt more "trapped" when I tried the cages on my pedals. They got in my way a bit. My clips are very similar to downhill skiing boot bindings (at least the action to put in and take off) so that part was a bit easier for me. But whatever works best for you is the right choice!

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  5. Well done on your race! We had rain a lot of the week, and on Friday a weird thing where it was sunny and bright first thing for my run then went overcast the rest of the day. It's now gone hot (for here) again - all a bit hard to adapt to!

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    1. It's tough when the weather is so sporadic! Last night's race has a history of always being hot and humid, and it was just that until the last wave of rain went through...then the temps plummeted almost 20-degrees when we lined up to run. Brrr!

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  6. Congrats on the race!
    In this part of Italy no rain at all!!! I need a run under a light rain: it seems like a kind of magic.

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    1. I honestly don't mind a run with light rain, so long as the temps are warm. As long as I have some kind of a hat or visor (to deflect the raindrops off my face), it IS quite a magically refreshing experience!

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  7. None of the rain reached us here, although it was in the forecast! Guess you guys took most of it, lol. Congrats on your speedy 5k!

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    1. We got a small fraction of what was forecast, but it was badly needed. Now we're good for awhile LOL

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  8. Congrats on your speedy 5K! I can't wait to read your recap!

    I think you skipped your upper body workout in solidarity with me since I can't lift with my left arm yet. LOL

    I love you Friday outfit. I'm sick that I donated my denim jacket a few years ago... :-(

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    1. That's it!! I was #DebTwinning ;-) I love my upper-body workouts (much more than lower-body) so I'm not sure how that totally slipped my mind.

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  9. A night race sounds challenging! That's why I don't think I'll ever do the Vegas marathon :) Starting at 4 pm sounds so tough. Great job though on the PR! Very exciting.

    I'm not a big cyclist and clipping in scares me :)

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    1. I've done this night race a few times before, and it's really a fun event. It is tough to fuel for, though, and the quirky time is a challenge for having dinner (or at least something to eat beforehand). Clipping-in simply ain't gonna happen for me, unless I find myself doing a very long (50+ mile) ride with no cross traffic to worry about. And even then, it will not be a guarantee.

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  10. The weather has been all over the place here too and the humidity has been downright rude LOL

    Congrats on a speedy 5K!

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    1. The humidity has been downright rude here as well. I should not be sweating SO MUCH for all these early morning runs with the "cooler" temps in the 60-70 range...

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  11. Another busy week for you! 2 races in one week. I am really having race fever but nothing until September for me. My August one was just cancelled. Way to crush it this week!

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    1. I hadn't even thought of the "two races in one week" aspect until the second race took place. Since the first one was a 4th of July event, it didn't seem like a true race since it wasn't actually on the weekend LOL

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  12. Way to go on your 5k! I never race at night.

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    1. I don't have many evening races, but they are fun...just a challenge to eat/fuel at a proper time, and not over-doing the morning workout(s).

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  13. I've pretty much given up looking at the weather forecast because it's NEVER right! The weather in Texas was weirdly almost identical to Florida- warm, muggy, with showers popping up here and there but never when the forecast predicted them.
    Funny, when I was reading this post I suddenly realized that with all the PT for my hip, I haven't done any upper body strength in a couple weeks! Oops. I'll have to fit something in this week.
    Looking forward to your race recap!

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    1. Oh gosh, the weather forecast has not been on-point here, either. Although I'm usually pleasantly surprised the precip is never as intense as forecast, it is a bit stressful waiting and wondering what will actually happen.

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  14. We were cooler this week, but high humidity and some rain, but not a ton...except last night was pretty torrential. Great job with your workouts and race!

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    1. It got downright cold last night, just before the race. I had not anticipated the temps dropping so much after the rain and storms had passed.

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  15. Sounds like you had a great week Kim, weather notwithstanding. Nice job on your AG awards.

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    1. Thank you, Judy ;-) I Just need to figure out how to get back to more walking...can't seem to fit that in these days.

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  16. Nice job on your 5k. What a bummer that you could not do the 10k. We are supposed to get rain these next few days. Could that be because of Elsa?

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    1. It was a bummer to not have the 10K happening, but it worked out with the 5K. The rain has been crazy...not showing when forecast, then being so sporadic when it does show...

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  17. Great job on your 5k. You rocked it!!

    Similar weather here. Chance of rain every single day. I did get wet but it's summer.

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    1. I haven't even looked ahead to see what's on tap for this week. It was nice that we didn't get as much rain as what was forecast last week, but the humidity really needs to lighten one of these days...

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  18. Nicely done on your races my friend!
    This weather was all over the map

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    1. Yeah, it would be nice to have the weather stabilize, just a little ;-)

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  19. Reading this blog post, I know why Ngoni's comment on my blog resonated with you so much! Your weather was just all over the place this week! But so glad you powered through it and had a good week. Also, can't wait to hear about that your midnight madness and that sizzling 5K time!

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  20. The rain last week was kind of crazy. Momma N was definitely not happy with us, lol.
    That's a bummer that the nighttime race had to change the distance but totally understand due to all the storms.

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  21. Congratulations on all your AG placements! That's huge!

    I am so sick of the rain. Usually, in Florida, we get an hour of rain in the afternoon and then it's done. Not this year! It's just constant, soaking storms. Enough already.

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