Saturday, July 16, 2022

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:

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? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

31 comments:

  1. I am glad you decided to try out some of the run workouts and I know you are going to like them. Figuring out the Garmin programming is huge. I also focus more on just getting it done and forget what I am doing. It helps! Busy week for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll be doing Monday's workout early tomorrow, since we're headed into another steamy week. I can save the bike ride for the after-work heat, LOL

      Delete
  2. We had a mixed bag of weather this week--there were some hot days, but we had a really awful cool, rainy Friday. Very odd for this time of year! That moon was amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're still badly in need of rain. The little we've gotten hasn't been enough.

      Delete
  3. Yay for being able to get out with your friends for a ride yesterday after your race. How did your legs feel after you were done? You've been doing a lot of doubles lately so they may have said, "We've got this!"

    From your Sunday picture, it appears you've mastered the art of taking a selfie while riding your bike - I'm impressed! I'm sure I'd crash, but now I want to try. My hubby can ride forever without holding onto the handlebars while taking out his GoPro, extending the selfie stick, shooting video, and then putting it all back together and putting it back in his back pocket. Goals!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My legs were fine after the ride yesterday, but I was just overall tired this morning. Yeah, my biking selfies just involve holding the phone in front of me, LOL. I do most of it one-handed (tapping the app, camera, timer, etc. on my phone's screen). The trick is to take a few shots on the "live" camera setting, which allows for several thumbnails to choose from.

      Delete
  4. That's what I love about speedwork: It flies by! Nice job! I caught the Buck moon as it set in the early morning and it was amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! The speedwork sessions do go nice and fast! I wasn't able to catch the moon in the morning (again, more low-lying clouds), but it looked amazing when it came out of hiding late Wednesday evening.

      Delete
  5. Love last minute races!!! Nice job. We tried to see the Buck Moon but it was cloudy at night. How fun it was during your full moon run!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Last-minutes races can be fun, because I usually go into them with ZERO expectations ;-)

      Delete
  6. Congrats on the last minute 5K and last minute long bike ride afterwards! Sounds like a hectic transition but worth it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was stressful getting back home (though they were willing to wait for me), but just getting all the "transition" details done in those 10 minutes was crazy!

      Delete
  7. Hot here this week and dry!!

    Not complaining... I just need to do my runs before work... but most of my grop runs are scheduled after work. Dilemma.

    I would have said yes to that race too! Who cares what your finish time was... It's a race!!

    There are a few 5ks around that I could run but I'm hesitating because I need long runs for those fall half marathons...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was hoping to get in an 8-mile long run, and contemplated doing a few extra miles after the race...but when the biking invite came in, I gladly passed on the extra running ;-)

      Delete
  8. I was looking for the Super Moon (in the morning) but it was hiding with clouds. We actually had a lot of lovely weather this week, but that's outta here and the heat & humidity are taking up residence. We've had a mostly great Summer so far so not complaining (yet!).

    Congrats on the spontaneous 5k & your AG award! Not to mention a 50 mile bike ride afterward!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, as you'll see in my recap...all I got for that 3rd place AG was bragging rights, LOL. Only the first place peeps got mentioned at the awards presentation. Oh well....

      Delete
  9. Ha, I'm kind of wondering what kind of day you had planned for Saturday, before you spontaneously decided to do a 5k race and 50 mile bike ride! The race conditions sound less than ideal, but you did great. Yes, I always wonder why people complain about the heat in July- it's supposed to be hot! That's what summer is.
    That tank top is so pretty- I love turquoise!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had an 8-mile run planned for Saturday, until the race opp came in. I was contemplating a long ride either Saturday or Sunday afternoon...but that all worked out as well.

      Delete
  10. Gustavus definitely takes you.
    Hot winds are crazy and like the anti refreshing.
    Always say yes. Especially to fun and mischief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gustavas has definitely been seeing more action recently! I'm riding him a couple times, each week, for the low-maintenance rides around town.

      Delete
  11. Amazing work in the heat, although I think cycling might be cooler than running because of the wind you create as the air goes past you? Maybe? We are having a very unaccustomed heatwave here so I'm taking it very gently. It was in the 80s on last Tues and Weds and 86 currently here today at 5.15 pm as I type this, then horrifically due to be 95-99 tomorrow and Tuesday before it breaks - not running or workout weather as we're just not used to it. I ran on Thursday morning, which was actually pleasant and breezy, and ran to parkrun and some of the way back on Saturday and that has to do for me while it's hot, then will run from Wednesday next week. I did walk to my friends' allotment and back this morning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're absolutely correct...cycling is much more bearable in the hot temps due to the "wind" from the air flow. Also, cycling is such a great low-impact workout, but has all the cardio benefits, and it requires much less effort than running (except for those steep hills, LOL).

      Delete
  12. Love your spontaneous plans on Saturday! 50 miles is quite a good riding day indeed. I see we have some days of 90 degrees coming at us this week. Gotta love them (I guess).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have mostly 90-days in this week's forecast...so it's gonna be hot and steamy ((again)). The 50-mile ride was awesome...we're working on a century ride in the next couple weeks!

      Delete
  13. The summer heat was also in full effect here as well this week. Next week looks extra steamy as well. Ugh - just bring me Fall weather already! lol.
    Wow - you had a jam packed Saturday, that's for sure! I don't know how you always manage to fit it all in, especially those long bike ride. You're amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll gladly take your summer heat and you can have my fall weather, deal? ;-) Saturday was busy, but fun! It always feels great to get it ALL done and look back and say "Whew!"

      Delete
  14. Lots of great activity for you as always :) Congrats on your 5K AG!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'll take this heat over icy roads any day! How wonderful that you are keeping up the full moon runs, even if the moon was hiding :) Great week Kim!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes!!!! This heat trumps the ice and cold of Winter, any day!!!

      Delete
  16. So great! I was out of town in the mountains, and while it was warm, it was nothing like we have in Florida.

    ReplyDelete