Keeping Things in Motion

I’m all about movement. 

Especially on my high-fitness days, but also during recovery periods. Movement is magic in my world. It’s what my mind, body and soul know. And it makes me happy. 

Thus, this week saw lots of motion as I babied a few “compromised” body parts. And I smiled through it all. 

Before I dive into all the deets of the week, 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 blog as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

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

Sunday - Moving & grooving with friends 

This was a fun, action-packed day! It started with an early morning  2-mile walk (it wasn't too hot, but it was muggy), a longish bike ride with Amy and Mike (you would not believe the dirt on our legs when we finished), and a 2-mile pre-dinner walk with Jim. Even though, technically, it was the evening of the full moon, I was wiped when I got back home, so the full moon run got postponed to Monday (see below).

Never miss a Monday, and make mine a triple-shower day

With the full moon on tap for the evening (again, see below), I opted for some Pilates and a short upper-body sesh before getting ready for work. Susan and I snuck in a 1-mile walk in the morning, and I added a couple more over lunch.

After work, I was craving some cycle time, so I hit the bike trail for 15 miles. This was RAGBRAI week in Iowa, and it didn't work out for me to take part this year. The next best thing (well, sort of) is doing your own virtual ride, complete with RAGBRAI's daily bike jersey theme. 

Tuesday - Keeping things low-impact

After Monday's antics, I was feeling pretty fatigued upon wake-up. I cued-up a stretching workout, via Peloton, and that eased some of the crankiness from my legs. All told, Tuesday saw five total miles of walking: three at work (mid-morning and over lunch) and two more after dinner. 

Triple-Workout Wednesday

As per usual, I met-up with Hannah and Bill for our weekly 4:45AM shindig (three miles). Wowza, it was humid! Back home, I did a short, but intense, stack from Peloton involving glutes, arms, and shoulders (ouch!). After work, I hit the bike trail again, this time for 10 miles (title pic, above).

Thursday - Low impact, High intensity

The morning started with a healthy serving of iron (lots of upper-body work). A lunch time 2-mile walk (amid the humid air) had me questioning my life choices. The evening, though, included a fun girls night at an outdoor concert at the Jasper Winery in Des Moines.

A full Friday of fitness, friends, and fun

After nearly three weeks of low-mileage running, I laced-up the shoes and set my sights on 4-5 miles. Ugh, the temps may have been in the low 70F's, but the humidity was at 86% and it was sticky and icky. I kept the pace easy and made it back home in just under 50 minutes. I had the day off from work, and a plumber due to arrive at 8:00, so it was a pronto-fast shower (and I was still sweating long after drying off. 

Then, just after lunch, I got to play Iowa Tour Guide for Deb! Her and the hubby were on an extended road trip, and made a stop through Iowa. I took her on a 3-mile (hot and humid) walk. I showed her a few local landmarks, we witnessed a helicopter landing, and sampled some Iowa mulberries along the Chichaqua Valley Trail. After they'd left (dinner/evening plans with some other Iowa friends), I opted for another fitness outing, via 15 miles of biking (just because, LOL).

Saturday - even more Iowa Tour Guide shenanigans

With plans for a mid-morning reconvene with Deb and the hubby, I got out for another humid and hazy 2-mile early morning walk. BTW, I am not a fan of this extreme humidity. My body can tolerate it most days, but my hair is really doing serious battle with all the excess moisture in the air.

Then, a short while later, it was off to do some Iowa cycling! The High Trestle Trail is a favorite biking trail of mine, and it's home to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. This enormous bridge is an architectural thing of beauty and grandeur, and spans a half-mile across the Des Moines River Valley. We did an approximate 26.5-mile out-and-back ride (but I tacked on a few extra miles, since I knew I was close to topping the 100-mile mark for the week).

…and what's happening on Sunday?

The jury is out, as this goes to press, but the weather is looking to be warm and dry (in terms of precip, that is). I may attempt a short run in the wake-up hours, or I may just do another walk. I've been on the bike a lot recently, but it's such a fun (and easy) fitness option, I may do some Sunday cycling anyways. Hey, the summer season is far too short (I know I've said that once or twice), and I refuse to stay inside. 

So, this week had a lot of action, but the bulk of it was low-impact. My legs (and achy joints, etc.) are feeling much better than a week ago. I don't have another race on the calendar until mid-October, so there's no immediate need to be upping the mileage just yet. I plan to keep things (somewhat) easy-peasy for a couple more weeks, then I can reassess the running mileage. This week saw 10 miles of running, 19 miles of walking, and ((drum roll) 101 miles of biking. I also did some extra stretching and had a couple of intense strength sessions. 

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

Making do...

Runfessions, Anyone?

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. As mentioned, Friday was a hot day in Iowa. I fashion-fess that I committed a bad #HotWeatherFashion sin on our walking tour of Bondurant. Silly me, I wore my fashionable khakis instead of a more practical moisture-wicking option. Suffice it to say there were a lot of "water marks" by the time we were finished.   

Not only did Deb and I keep busy during her Iowa pass-through, Garmin gave me a nod and threw a couple more badges my way. The July Step Month badge showed up after our Friday walk, and the July Ride 200K appeared upon completing Saturday's ride.

...and let's not forget the full moon run! This time of year, the full moon doesn't rise until the later part of the evening. It was almost 11:00PM when the moon was high enough to see above the trees and houses. It was so huge in the sky, but it always looks so itty bitty in pics. Garmin humored me with a new personal record...in the 1-km distance (amidst my 2-mile run). I didn't know that was such a significant distance, LOL.

So, that's a wrap on the last full week of July. Gulp. How did that happen???

How did your week play-out? Any fitness achievements to brag about? Have you ever played Tour Guide to a visiting blogging/fitness friend? Did you catch the full moon?

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