More Spring Chillin’

Spring 2026, in Iowa, has been seasonably “unseasonable.”

The calendar is showing Spring, but we keep getting Winter feels-like conditions on repeat. The wind has been downright brutal and rude. At least we haven’t seen any of the white stuff (snow or frost), so there’s that.  

That said, if anyone has a magic weather wand, I’d appreciate a wave or two to set things right, LOL

Before I get to the nitty gritty 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 ;-)

A Simple Sunday…sort of

After a crazy active Saturday (10-mile bike ride, upper-body workout, 8-mile run, and an evening rocking out at a concert), I was a bit tapped for energy. My Garmin showed 28,891 total steps for Saturday! I got out for a 2-mile (windy) walk and opted to stream church. I took a short walk with Max in the afternoon, and maybe snuck in a mid-afternoon nap afterwards. 

Never miss a Monday

With dinner plans after work (see below), the Monday run had to happen in the early hours. Again, it was a bit breezy. Getting to witness the sunrise as I was wrapping up the last mile, though, was pretty sweet. As per usual, I knocked-out a couple miles of walking over lunch.  

A typical Tuesday (well it started that way…)

I was a little short on time (ahem, I blame the busy weekend for an accidental slight sleep-in). A guaranteed go-to, when thee’s limited time, is the elliptical. Adding the weighted vest ups the resistance, intensifies the cardio and increases the muscle burn. After 24-ish minutes (approximately four miles), I called it good and headed off to work. Only, my workday suffered a slight snag en route to the office (see below).    

Wednesday - a change in routine

We had decided to not meet for the usual Wednesday morning run, so I opted for the bike (five miles) and strength work instead.

That evening, I headed over to Pella for the Klompen Classsic 5K. This race is the kickoff to the town’s annual Tulip Time Festival. It’s a big event, with a lot of tulips lining the streets of the route. It had been awhile since I’ve run a 5K, so I had no idea how easy (or hard) those 3.1 miles would feel. There’s a short recap in the works, but suffice it to say all went well on the race course.

Thankful Thursday

It was another business as usual Thursday morning with Deb. I had post-workday plans, so the wee hours were my only option for some outdoor fitness. It was chilly (43F), but I kept the walk quick and hit the bike as soon as I returned to the house. I only had time for 10 miles, due to that pre-ride walk and also an early start happening at the office. I did have time, over lunch, for the usual 2-miles walk, though. All good!

Collage courtesy of Deb

Feeling the Friday (low-impact) fitness 

The plan was another elliptical workout, but as soon as I noticed the sunrise, I pivoted and headed out for a 2-mile walk instead. Wow. The colors were incredible; no need for any filter magic! And, I remembered to grab the weighted vest!

Saturday - a fun-filled day with the M2M relay team

This was a day I had been looking forward to since we last ran it a year ago. The Market-to-Market Relay is such a great event. I was awake and moving and shaking at 3:45AM, and met the gals an hour later. We arrived in Jefferson around 6:00AM, and our first runner crossed the start line at 6:30. We took turns making our way across the 72-mile route, ending in downtown Des Moines about 12 hours later. I ran two of the 17 legs, with a total of 9.3 miles logged for the day (not to mention lots of additional walking). Stay tuned, there will be a recap coming from this as well.

…and what’s on tap for Sunday?

I’m hoping to start the day with a sunrise walk before church. The parents, my sis, the son (and his girlfriend) are joining me for a late-morning brunch. The forecast looks wonderful, so there will be more walking, or maybe some outdoor biking (fingers crossed the wind will play nice!).

All in all, it was a decent week. The biking was a bit lack-luster (15 miles), but I had several early mornings at the office, so my pre-work time was limited. Running saw almost 14-1/2 miles (most of which were form Saturday’s relay. Walking had 18 miles logged. 

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

Feelin’ Good, Feelin’ Fine

Grand Blue Mile-2026 race recap

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Although the temps warmed up outside, it still was a chilly morning in the office. Amazingly, it actually felt like Spring outside by the afternoon!

As I say every year, long before Star Wars was ever a cinematic concept, May 4th has been my dad’s birthday. It’s always great to get together to celebrate!

Finally, Tuesday morning threw me a challenge on my morning commute. A huge rock (boulder?) flew off of a truck and took out my front passenger tire. Within seconds, all the warning lights on the dash were lit-up and everything got loud and bumpy. Rush hour traffic, on I-80, made it impossible to pull over (construction on the left shoulder and three fast-moving lanes of traffic to my right). Somehow, I managed to eventually get over, to the furthest right lane, and take the exit to I-35. The closest exit was a couple miles north, but I was able to made it off the road safely and barely coasted into a gas station. I thought I had a simple flat tire, until I got out of my car and actually saw the damage. Suffice it to say I had to call for my first-ever tow truck, LOL The guys at the tire shop were great, and put the spare on for me, and I made it to work only 90 minutes late. What an ordeal!

So, that’s the latest and greatest! There were some chilly mornings, and plenty of cold wind, but the week did end on a fairly warm note. Here’s hoping the weather continues in that direction!

How did your week play-out? Has your weather been acting “seasonal?” Ever have a tire emergency on a busy road? Any weekend races or events happening?

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