Summer at its Sultry Best

The heat was on in Iowa this past week.

Believe me, that's not a complaint...but it certainly was a steamy week, weather-wise. I'm grateful for air-conditioning, and the creative ability to cleverly find new ways to deal with my hair when the humidity tries to wreak havoc with it.

Above all else, I'm just thankful we don't have to worry about snow, ice or sub-freezing wind chill. It's really the little things... 

Before I share all the sultry 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 ;-)

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

Sunday - a last-minute double-ride day!

I'd survived a crazy hot and humid Midnight Madness 10K (recap), and was craving some easy miles, on the bike, to shake-out the legs. The sunrise was a thing of beauty (title pic, above) for 12 miles on wheels. A short while later, I got a text from Amy asking if I was interested in joining her and her hubby for a ride in nearby Marshalltown. Well, who am I to pass up a ride with friends? So, another 17 miles were added to the count and we ended the day with 29 total miles, thank you very much.

Never miss a Monday

The morning began with some light rain (and a short 1-milewalk, under the umbrella). By mid-morning, the rain was outta here, so my co-worker and I ventured out for a walk on our morning break. After work, I elected (you read that correctly, LOL) to go to the track for some speedwork. I'm still flirting with the learning curve with my new Garmin (Forerunner 255), so I kind of winged the 30-second and 60-second tempo intervals instead of programming them. My splits were all over the place...my target was 8:35,but I was well under (and over) for most of them. With the warm-up and cool-down, I finished with four total miles. Thankfully, doing these intervals on the track made the time go fast because I was more focused on my watch than all of the circles I was running. Glass half full.

Not my typical Tuesday

After Monday's speedwork, my legs were feeling a little weary upon wakeup come Tuesday. I decided to start the day with a Barre workout (via Peloton) and a 1-mile walk with Max. Also, I got in a couple more 1-mile walks at work. Amy and I switched our "hilly bike path" ride to Tuesday this week, so that was on tap after work. This was (already) our 10th such ride of the season, and it was a doozy. The temps were crazy hot (no surprise there), and the wind was out of the northwest, so we had that in our faces for the trek out to the lake (in other words, there was no coasting on any of the downhills). The return trip was a bit easier with the tail wind...15 total miles of biking.

A slightly out-of-whack Wednesday

With a full moon run on tap for the evening (see below), our usual #5at5 didn't happen. Instead, I took Gustavas (or did he take me?) for an early morning 8-mile ride. The early morning temps had been cool, but were rising quickly after my workday began. My co-worker, Michele, and I took a "once-and-done" 1-mile walk and called it good. I also gutted out a 2-mile walk after work.

Thankful Thursday

Again, my legs were craving some recovery time (from the evening's 6-mile full moon run).  I opted for some upper-body and core work, outside on the deck. Afterwards, I did a quick 1-mile walk before work, and then two additional 1-milers on my breaks (at work).

Finally Friday

Not feeling too ambitious (and also kind of in need of a low-key recovery day), I grabbed a hat and took a chance on a 2-mile walk. It had been raining and storming (a few hours prior) and the sky still looked rather threatening. But, low and behold, a few minutes into my walk, the dark clouds parted and the bright sunrise showed through. It did rain again, an hour later, but then the sky cleared for the remainder of the day. After work, I saddled-up Gustavas, for 10 easy miles in the humid late afternoon temps. The evening ended with a 20-minute Barre workout before bed.

Saturday: all kinds of spontaneity at play

Mid-morning, on Friday, Barb had texted me. She'd registered for a 5K race, but had forgotten about it until the pre-race email had landed in her inbox that morning. She asked if I was interested in joining her...and I'll give you three guesses as to what my answer was. So, Saturday morning had us at the Clive Running Festival (a suburb of Des Moines, an hour away). The temps were mild (mid-70F's), but the humidity was 86% and there was barely a breeze. I'm not a fan of the 5K distance, but I do like the challenge of getting out of my comfort zone. It was a crowded event, on a somewhat narrow trail, with absolutely no air movement. I even sweated off my headband long before the finish line. None the less, I was happy with my finish time of 28:03 (on a 3.24 "5K" course) and 3rd place AG. I'm not sure if I'll be doing a recap or not...stay tuned.

 

While I was running, a text message had popped in from Amy. I didn't read the message until after I'd finished the race, but she was inviting me to join her and her hubby (again, LOL) for another long bike ride later in the morning. My hubby was out of town, so I checked with the youngest daughter (who was already planning to come to town anyways) to ensure Max would have some company while I was riding. Barb and I rushed home, and I had about 10 minutes to clean-up, change clothes, let Max out for a minute, and then load my bike onto Mike's truck. We road-tripped to Adel, and arrived at the Raccoon River Valley Trail around 11:30. We had cloud cover for most of the day, which made for ideal riding conditions amidst the humid weather. Long story short, we ended the day with 50 miles!

...and what's on tap for Sunday?

The jury is still out, but I'll (most likely) get out to enjoy the sunrise in some capacity. It may be a walk, a short recovery run, or another bike ride. Stay tuned for that as well.

So, the weather was hot, and it was was humid this week. Guess what? That's typical for July in Iowa, LOL. There definitely was plenty of sweat equity earned...running saw only 13 miles, but walking had 15 and biking dominated with 112. I passed on lower-body-focused strength this week, due to all the biking, but had a great upper-body workout (Thursday) and some Barre classes served me well. Ironically, the lower running mileage doesn't seem to be affecting my "racing" performance, probably due to all the biking I'm doing instead...so why mess with a good thing?

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

Make Mine a DOUBLE

Midnight Madness 10K race recap

Let's #ExploreIowa!

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Hot temps call for cool dressing. This favorite tank top is not only sleeveless, but the cool tones of the bright turquoise color just looks (and feels) refreshing. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

As mentioned, there was another full moon run this week, on Wednesday evening. Only, the super moon (also referred to as the Buck Moon) played Hide & Seek behind the clouds. This also happened for June's full moon run. Barb and Allison met me at 8:30, planning on five miles (on our usual #5at5 route). When we didn't see the moon upon finishing, we ran another mile or so...and finally white-flagged it. Later, around 10:30, when I took Max out for his pre-bedtime business, there it was!

So, there you have it! Another week of fun and fitness all wrapped up and tied with a bow.

How did your week play out? Have you been enjoying (or dealing with) some heat and humidity? Did you catch the super moon? Any racing this weekend? 

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