Stronger Every Day!

While nothing exciting or earth-shattering happened this week, what stood out to me the most is how much I am feeling like myself again. Even the heat can't stop me!

I am beyond thrilled with how my fitness is returning. I'm continuing to feel good again. I had several days this week where I remarked to my husband that if I didn't know I had RA, I wouldn't know I had it. Modern medicine and good nutrition are the best combination.

This morning, I woke up late. I laid in bed and negotiated with myself. A hot day was predicted and I should already have been on the road. Should I bike instead? But I have the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon in 5 weeks. I need to train in the heat. I had 8 miles to do and I considered my options. I convinced myself to go, drank a glass of Tailwind, and by 8 am was out the door. It was already 73 degrees and humid.

I drove to one of the forest preserves where there is an 8 mile loop, parked the car, and started to run. I wanted to test my run/walk intervals in the heat. I sipped my Tailwind on every walk interval and I do believe that was the key. Unfortunately, I miscalculated the distance of my planned route and when I hit 8 miles, my brain was done but I had 2 more miles to run to get back to the car. Don't you hate when that happens? Those last 2 miles were in the sun. I pushed it to 9 miles, but that was it. It's like my brain told the body that it was quitting time. I walked the last mile to my car. I was fine with that. But next time I run there, I'll plan for 10. Overall, though, this was a very successful run, with very consistent splits throughout the entire run.

It was a good week of running. I ran 3 other days this week. I did a fast 5k on Memorial Day. The other 2 runs required some walk intervals. With the shorter distances of those runs, I only walked for a minute after each mile I ran. I'm still not back to where I was before my diagnosis--maybe I won't ever get back there. But I'm still moving forward and I'm grateful for that.

Off the road there were 2 sessions with Becky this week. On Tuesday, I did CrossFit intervals, doing KB swings and atomic situps in between going balls out on the wind bike and doing power pulls on the rower. Becky was extremely pleased with me that day. She commented that I seemed to be doing better because I didn't stop to catch my breath at all as I moved from one activity to the other. On Thursday, it was all about firing the glutes. I pulled the sled, did Romanian deadlifts, flipped the tractor tire, and sidestepped with a very small, tight resistance band. I absolutely believe this is where I am going see the most benefits.

I also went to one class in the yoga studio. I set up my mat next to one of the instructors who teaches there, and at the end of the class she told me that I have "a beautiful practice". Me? What a wonderful compliment! I do love my yoga.

Off the road, there were good things as well. Last night, we took my mom and dad to see Hair--they saw the original version back in 1974! There's a little local theater in town here, and they put on some great shows. This one did not disappoint. We went to the matinee aka the senior citizen show and out to dinner after. The musical was fantastic--I knew a lot of the songs because back in the day, my mom had the album and she used to listen to it while she cleaned house! Actually, you would know a lot of the songs too: Good Morning Starshine, Let the Sun Shine In, and Aquarius. 

On Friday, my youngest son attended his junior prom with his beautiful girlfriend. Actually, they went to her prom. She goes to a different high school and he forgot to get tickets to his. Don't they look great? After an hour of taking pictures, I excused myself and left. I don't know about you all, but some moms are over the top. One of the moms was herding the kids around like cattle for photos and I couldn't take it anymore. When she asked the girls to pose taking selfies of themselves, I had had enough. Maybe it's a girl mom thing? Anyways, it was my issue. Matthew and Diana had a good time.

Wow. Just wow.

Matthew and mom
My dress is from my Stitch Fix! (affiliate link)

Life is good!

How was your week? What's the weather like by you? Have you ever heard of Hair? 

I'm linking up with Holly, Tricia, and their guest host, Mary Beth, for the Weekly Wrap!