Can't Stop, Won't Stop!

Hot enough for you? This week, Mother Nature unleashed a fury of scorching, steamy weather on top of what has been an already hot summer for us Midwesterners. While a few weeks back I wrote a post about embracing the summer heat, loving these conditions is a challenge for even the most summer loving of us!

But you know the mantra: the weather might be hot but the workouts don't stop!

Ok, I just made that up.

But truly, the workouts haven't stopped. I just can't, you know....

The Workouts

Interestingly, after I wrote that very well received post about considering not running, I got in 3 runs this week. Make that 3 pain-free runs. Yes, my PF seems to be, once again, calming down. The weather conditions have forced me to slow down my pace and that leads to less strain on the foot. I was able to complete 5 miles with each run, and I'm hoping that this upcoming week will have a few more miles. I want to thank everyone who read and commented on that post--who knew that so many of us were feeling the same way? I always say that the support of this community is amazing.

But you knew I could never give up running, right?

On two of those runs, I stopped at the playground to do my upper body workouts--again, those hollow hangs, scapular pull ups, body rows, and this week I added some body swings from the parallel bars. Dare I say things are getting a little easier? Although you wouldn't know that from the look on my face:

Deceptively tough!

I only got to the yoga studio once this week, but I did do that SeaWheeze 2014 video at home. I've been feeling really stiff this week--Mother Nature, I'm looking at you--it's almost as if I need my joints oiled! WD40, anyone? My studio class on Friday was again taught by a sub. While the class was good, the instructor was a little bit....how do I say this...let's just say, she made comments such as: "oh you guys aren't afraid to use props, that's great" and "I was going to do a different arm balance, but I don't think you guys are ready for it". Afterward, she came up to me to tell me she normally teaches a more "athletic class". Isn't yoga about the light in me honoring the light in you?

Saturday, I took the bike out for a solo 30 mile ride on my favorite route. Although it was humid, it was cloudy, which kept the temperatures down to a tolerable level. It was breezy and I headed out into a pretty strong headwind. On the way home, I had the wind at my back and had a 3/minute mile! Yes, I was flying!

Does dog walking count as working out? Cocoa and I get out for a 2-ish mile walk almost every night after dinner. I've never walked any of my cockers, but out of all the pups I've had, she's my most energetic. She's also a little shy, almost skittish, and I'm working on socializing her. She's doing great! I bring along treats for people to feed her and that seems to be helping. A few weeks ago, her tail was down and she wouldn't even approach people. There was a little growling too. Now she will sniff their hand and the tail is wagging. She's also approaching other dogs, cautiously. I'm really pleased. She also had her first grooming, which was a challenge. But when I picked her up, she was preening. She's cute and she knows it...

Exhausted after our 2 miler. It's a ruff life.

Life

Matthew had his surgery on Thursday and he's doing great! I expected him to be in a lot of pain, but the pain has been minimal. He's on crutches until we see his surgeon in a week, and then hopefully he can start walking again. I'm relieved. He's talking rugby. We'll see...

I've been watching the Olympics. This morning I watched the women's marathon. I was happy to see Shalane and Desi take 6th and 7th, but wouldn't it have been nice to see them 1st and 2d? Still, I loved Desi's smile when she spotted Shalane waiting at the finish for her. That's running at it's best. My absolute favorite event is the women's gymnastics. Overall, the athleticism is incredible. Simone Biles is amazing. But I have to admit that I had tears when Aly Raisman finished her floor routine! I can't believe I cried--but something in her performance touched me. How about Michael Phelps? My favorite moment was when he beat his rival in the 200m butterfly. And showed that jerk in lane 1 what winning is all about. I loved all the memes that came out of that encounter, but my favorite is this emoji:

If you don't know what this is all about, you can chase this link to find out.

I hosted my first ever Instagram giveaway--I'm giving away Tailwind stick packs. Tomorrow is the last day, so head over to my IG page to enter. It's easy! 

And finally, I'm on a podcast! Denny Krahe, who writes the blog at Diz Runs, interviewed me a few weeks ago. I was a little reluctant to participate--I don't think I'm the same league as some of the other folks he's interviewed, but I listened to my interview and I think I held my own. It was pretty fun, too! He's super easy to talk to. If you get a chance to listen, let me know what you think! By the way, Denny also interviewed Elizabeth Clor, who is the author of this month's book club selection. If you want to learn more, you can check out her interview as well!

So what's new in your world? Getting your workouts in? How are you managing in the heat? What's your favorite Olympic event?

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap as well as Angela and Ilka on their Sunday Fitness and Food Link Up!