Can't Stop, Won't Stop

Disclaimer: As a RockNBlogger, I received a complimentary race entry and VIP experience to the Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon. All opinions are my own.

I don't know if you were hoping for my race recap, but as I lay on the couch recovering from today's Rock 'n Roll Chicago Half Marathon, I'm still absorbing what was an epic experience. No, I didn't PR or AG, but RnR treated me like a celebrity. I'm not referring to the VIP experience, which was wonderful and would be worth the extra $$. No, in addition to all that, RnR and sponsor Humana wanted to interview me about running with RA. This also included meeting Kathrine Switzer, which was more than I could have hoped for.

Pinch me, because I can't believe all this has happened!

So while I process my race weekend, for today's post I'm going to recap my week of workouts. I'm not being a tease--I just need to get my thoughts together. In addition, I'm waiting for race photos to include in my recap. I have so much to share! For now, here's how my week leading up to the race went down.

For a couple of reasons, my workouts were hit or miss this week. No worries, because I should have been laying low the week before a big race, right?

Cocoa, my crazy cocker, hurt her back. On Monday, she was miserable, so instead of going to yoga, I took her to the vet. A mom's gotta do...Turns out she herniated a disc. I'm not surprised because she's such a jumper. We have a birdhouse hanging on the fence in our backyard and she can't pass it by without jumping up to see what's inside. The vet prescribed a medication, Rimadyl, which is doggie-Advil. The medication has really helped. She still won't go up stairs (we have to carry her) and cries if you pet her back.

Such a sad face!

On Wednesday, I awoke with 2 boxing gloves for hands. Hello, RA flare. I was miserable. Not only did I skip yoga that day, I also skipped work. Cocoa and I hung out together waiting for our anti-inflammatories to work. Fortunately, the flare was short-lived and I felt much better the next day.

Channeling the mantras, hoping for a little mind over matter!

I talked with my rheumatologist, and she thought maybe my increase in RA symptoms could be due to the weather. We had wild thunderstorms and when all was said and done, about 5 inches of rain. Some places got more than that and there has been major flooding in those areas. Our street was flooded but our basement stayed dry.

Swinging from the rings
I had to stop after 2 sets because my hands were hurting. Grrrrr.

While there was no yoga this week, Steph and I didn't skip a beat with CrossFit. Coach Kate, who is going to be in charge of our training, can only meet with us on Tuesdays. Tuesdays will be more interval-type training, while on Thursdays, we'll be doing more strength-type training. On Thursday, we worked with a new coach, Sammie Jo, who was really great as well. I feel like we are in really good hands! Both coaches told us that Becky did a good job with us. Of course!

Supermans

I got in all 4 of my runs this week, including that RnR Chicago half marathon. I had to work on Saturday morning, so I wasn't able to do the remix challenge and run the 5k. I did do a virtual 5k, which I named the I Can't Do the RnR 5k because I Have to Work 5k, at home, and I crushed it! I surprised myself with a finish time of 26:19! Would I have done that well on the course? Wouldn't that have been awesome?

And that's all for now, folks! I'll share more about my RnR Chicago experience later in the week!

How was your week? Did you have crazy weather? Is your running affected by the weather?

I'm linking up with Janelle from Run with No Regrets (guest host), Holly, and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap!