Whacky Weather Roulette

Well,well,well. Momma N was most indecisive this week.

We’re talking heat, humidity, wind, more humidity, rain, even more humidity and storms. Oh, and did I mention extreme humidiy? Lots and lots of humidity?

 Life in the Midwest ain’t for the weak, LOL.

Before  I get into the nitty gritty deets, 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 little corner of the universe:

Sunday…hitting the trails

After a 2-mile sunrise walk, I loaded Krystal into the car and we met-up with Drew and Molly for some trail time. On the agenda: pre-RAGBRAI riding, via the High Trestle Trail. Although the air was humid, the temps were wonderful and the wind was well-behaved! Our out-and-back 27-miler to Slater was without incident and made for a fabulous Sunday morning outing. Later, I got out for some bonus walking with Max and on my own. It was such a beautiful day!

Never miss a Monday

It was a pretty typical Monday, with a sunrise 3-mile run to start the day. Max took me for a couple of short walks, and I finished the day with a solo 2-miler after dinner.

Tuesday-taking charge!

After a mucho humid (weighted vest) walk, I hit the basement and cranked the cooling fan. In addition to a basic upper-body session, I added a bonus biceps-focused workout…just because. Later, I got out for a late lunch walk. Oof, that was a crazy hot mess of an idea, LOL!

Wild weather Wednesday

There was a lot of overnight rain. Thunder was still rumbling at wake-up (at 4:AM), so Hannah and I decided to pass on meeting. When I got up later, the rain was long gone, so I headed out for five miles. Although the humidity still remained (my app said it was 100%), as did the wind (13mph),  the sun was poking through the clouds in the final mile. I’m calling it a win. The temps were somewhat cooler, but the heavy humidity wasn’t going anywhere. Even Max was less than excited about walking in it. 

Thursday - Holy Temperature Plummet!

Believe it or not, the temps were sitting at 61F upon wake-up! I had to layer-up with a 1/4-zip for my morning 3-mile walk (yes, it was that cold). Afterwards, I did some strength work for my glutes and legs, and more upper-body work as well). By lunchtime, the sun had finally emerged, so the temps were more comfortable (though they still felt more autumn-like than mid-summer).

A near-freezeout for Friday…

Similar to Thursday’s chilly morning nonsense, Friday also felt rather cold (low-60F temps as well). With an evening race on the roster, I kept the fitness low-impact, via walking (three morning miles and two at lunchtime). Thankfully, the weather warmed up substantially for that evening’s Midnight Madness 5K (see below).

 

Saturday - more erratic weather to witness

My weather alert alarm woke me up around 4:00AM, followed by heavy rain and thunder. I’d thought of going for a mid-morning bike ride, but conceded to sleep-in a bit (I’d had a somewhat late evening at the race). Although the storm(s) had moved, the air was majorly humid when I got up. I surmised the trails would be a muddy and mucky mess, so it was down to the basement I went for 20 miles on the spinner. I did get out for a lunchtime walk, and it was hot in the sunshine! The humidity felt even more muggy, later in the day and continued into the evening.

…and what’s on deck for Sunday?

There are plans for a morning ride with my RAGBRAI crew (more on that below), but that’s a bit contingent on the weather. There will probably be some afternoon and/or evening walking as well. It’s summer, after all! It’s such a short season in Iowa, I make it a priority to get outside as much as possible especially on the weekends.

Anyways, despite the crazy weather, it still was a decent week of fitness (most of which was outdoors). Biking had 47 total miles. Running was a bit conservative, with 11 miles, but I opted to keep things low-key in prep for Friday’s race. Walking was dominant, with 28 miles. The 3X1Minute is still going strong (three 1-minute “holds” everyday —>forearm side planks and wall sits). I’m still doing the daily Wall Pilates Challenge and I’m still not convinced it’s doing much for me, LOL. 

Coming up this week is RAGBRAI! Sponsored by the Des Moines Register, RAGBRAI (acronym for the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) is a huge cycling event that takes place during the last full week of July. Sunday is the official Day-1, and myself (and a few friends) are planning to ride the 52-mile route on Thursday (Day-5). 

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

Feelin’ All The Feels

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Although I could not control the crazy weather on Friday (20+degree temperature hike by evening), I could at least control the wardrobe choices. Pay no attention to the flat, ultra-straight hair (thanks, humidity!), but the bright green top added some color to my day and the cheetah-print cardi gave it a touch of funk. Problem solved.

Midnight Madness 5K! Barb, Chuck, and myself returned to this fun evening race Friday night. Race time wasn’t until 8:00PM, and let me assure you the heat (nor humidity) cut us any slack.This race went much better than I could have ever hoped or expected, though. I guess the heat serves me well…I finished with a time of 26:32, and snagged a second place AG. Magically, I had ZERO aches or pains or DOMS Saturday morning. Maybe I need to run speedy 5K’s daily, in the summer heat, to keep that cranky hip happy? Stay tuned - the recap is coming soon!

Finally, here’s a peek at my flowers. I can’t remember when I planted the seeds (late May?), but things are coming into bloom now, and I’m loving the colors.

So, that’s a wrap-up from a week of weather roulette. You never know what you’re gonna get, even the forecast changes hourly. There’s much to be said about going with the flow. As I’ve said numerous times, at least it ain’t snowing. 

Enough about me and my Iowa reality…how are things elsewhere? Are you experiencing crazy, erratic weather as well? Are you staying inside, or getting out and making the best of it? Any races this weekend, or on the horizon? Any training highlights to brag about? 

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