More Rain! More Mud! More Humidity!

The title of this post is not a wish list. It's a lament. I only wish we could get a break from this relentless moisture.

While we aren't getting rains that Wisconsin is--more on that in a minute--we've certainly had more than our share. When it isn't raining, it is oppressively humid. I try to find the good in everything and yes, the flowers and foliage are lush and beautiful. But it's hard to breathe when I run and the mud on my trails is making me slip, slide, and fall. The biting flies are loving the conditions and my repellant isn't as much of a deterrent as I hoped. I broke down and ordered a head net to keep the flies out of my eyes. 

The other bad news is that my upcoming trail race, Dances with Dirt, scheduled for next weekend in Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin, has been canceled. This is due to all the rain, which has led to poor trail conditions and flooding in the park. I've been wanting to run this race for years! I signed up for the 10k to see what it's like. I was hoping to run a half there next year. I have to decide if I will defer or run it virtually. 

Wisconsin has had so much rain that last week our lake was a 'no wake zone'. Boats and piers were freely floating in the water. The water has receded some, but more rain is on the way. The storms just keep tracking across that same area. You know how bummed I am about not being able to ski much this summer! I sure hope things improve.

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: trail run 6.25 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 5.6 miles

Thursday: Trail Sisters Run 4 miles

Friday: Strength training: Carolyn Girvan Beast Mode Lower Body

Saturday: rest day/work

June miles 80

Finally a break from the rain and the heat! On Sunday, I woke up to bright sunshine and 59 degrees. I couldn't wait to lace up and head out to the trails. The trails were mostly dry and the bugs were less pesky than usual. The cool air felt fabulous. I saw a lot of deer out in the woods but couldn't get close enough for photos until I was leaving. One young buck with fuzzy antlers even snorted at me before dashing away. Sadly, I saw 3 dead baby raccoons along the main trail. I wondered what happened to them--if it had been a coyote, they wouldn't have been there. My hubs speculated that the mama must have gone AWOL. Nature can be cruel. But it is also beautiful and I was so happy to enjoy my morning under the bright sunshine!

Monday's CrossFit was a sprint workout. For the Strength/Skill portion, we had an E4MOM of 100m sprints. We did a slow recovery ride on the bike between each sprint. I didn't time my sprints, but they were 100% effort. The MetCon had 4 rounds for time of 15 kettlebell swings (I did 20#) and 10 burpee over KBs. The goal was to finish under 5 minutes. I did 3 rounds in 4 minutes and could not do another round. We took a 10 minute recovery and repeated the same workout. I had the same result. I talked to the coach after and she said I did the workout correctly--they wanted 100% effort. I'm not sure how I felt about this workout--I much prefer more skill-based WODs!

I woke up to rain on Pink Wednesday and decided to wait for it to end before heading out to the trails. It was as muddy and steamy as I expected. The mud was pretty slick and I had to catch myself from falling multiple times, finally slipping to my hands and knees to avoid sliding into a tree. This girl knows how to fall, lol. I was pretty disgusted but once I started running again, I spotted a doe and her twin fawns running through the woods. It's how things balance out, right? The humidity finally did me in and I called it quits at 5.6 miles. I could not wait to hit the shower!

Besides seeing lots of interesting mushrooms, the wildflowers have been beautiful this year. I've seen a lot of new-to-me species, including this Michigan Lily! I've become a nature nerd, using the Seek app to identify plants and flowers. It's free on the app store and uses your phone camera and  GPS to identify plants. 

On Thursday, Independence Day, I met with the Trail Sisters at a local preserve for an early run and 'tailgate' breakfast. It was really humid (94%) and I struggled the entire time. I finally stopped to walk after 3 miles, finishing up with one of the husbands, who was walking their dogs. I didn't feel great but I stayed to chat with the group. It had been a while since I'd run with them and I enjoyed their company!

I was signed up for CrossFit on Friday before work. After checking the WOD when I got up that morning, I saw it was Fran, a WOD with just a lot of thrusters and pull-ups. I decided to take a pass and found a great lower body workout with Carolyn Girvan on YouTube. I love that I can turn the volume down and do the workout to my own music. She makes me laugh when she acts like she's so winded after a set. Seriously, girl? But I appreciate her trying to make us all feel better when we're struggling!!

Some Good News!

On Sunday, we celebrated my oldest son's engagement to his long-time girlfriend with a party hosted by her family. It was a casual get-together with her very large extended family and many of their friends. It was nice to meet everyone, although my hubs and I met many of them last year at a party. You may remember the mechanical bull from last summer! No bull at this party, but it was a wonderful celebration of the upcoming nuptials.

The parents with Tom and Elisa

My Family/Mike's dad and lady friend

On Thursday, we went to my sister's house for an Independence Day lunch. We got to meet my new great- nephew and he's a cutie. My mom is thrilled about being a great-grandmother!

How was your week? Is anyone else dealing with oppressive humidity and lots of rain? Mud? Tell me something good! 

 I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.