After the Steroids

Cue the violins and sing along!

"So it's back to the same old

after the steroids,

With stiffness and swollen hands,

As I ease out of bed, 

Stretching my knees and rising to stand. 

It's so hard to explain

everything that I'm feeling,

Without sounding as if it's a whine,

'Cause it hurts me so much

To just want to feel fine.

Thanks for making me

Realize that I'm the lucky one

And thanks for turning me

Into a grateful someone

So it's back to the same old

after the steroids,

I lace up my shoes for a run.

The feel of the road, the wind in my face,

Reminds me of what I have won.

And I know that my song 

Isn't saying anything new

Oh but after the steroids,

I  just love what I can do.

~adapted from After the Lovin' 

and apologizes to Engelbert Humperdinck,
although it was a pretty cheesy song to begin with.

Could I be any cheesier? After last weekend's half marathon, I promised myself an easy week and easy is what I did. I finished the steroid pack on Tuesday and yes, while mild symptoms of RA returned, I felt overall pretty good. It's always scary to go off the steroids and after such a painful flare, I am so grateful to basically be back at my baseline.

Running

I did a little running--on Wednesday, I did a 4 mile run out in the snow. That wrapped up my month of November with 72.25 miles. On Sunday, I did a nicely paced 10k in the drizzle and slop. If I could run in 40-50 degree weather all year around, you'd never hear a peep out of me.

This was Monday. It's pretty much gone now.

Yoga
There was a lot of yoga. On Monday, I did that Five Parks Yoga Yin Fusion class that I love and on Tuesday, I did a Recovery Flow class. The stretching and strengthening of yoga really felt good after that race. 

Trikonasana in the muck on Sunday

CrossFit

I returned to strength training and bootcamp on Thursday. Coach Sammy Jo and I focused on upper body strength with static presses 55# 4 sets of 6 reps, dumbbell flys, kipping ring swings, toes to ring, and rope climb practice. I felt much stronger this week and the rope climb practice went really well! Bootcamp consisted of 3 8 minute AMRAPS. I forgot to take a picture of the workout, so I don't remember everything we did, but one thing I loved was lateral box step ups on a low box. It reminded me of step aerobics--remember that? I found myself hopping up onto the box and over. We need to bring that back!

Off the Road
On Saturday, I went on a blogging field trip! I had an opportunity for a body composition analysis at DexaFit and it was just the coolest thing. I'll share my experience on Friday's blog post, so check back for that.

Also off the road, I received some really exciting news. Someone sent me a tweet of an article on Everyday Health where I was named one of 5 Inspiring Rheumatoid Arthritis Social Media Accounts to Follow. I am honored to be recognized on a health website and in such good company as the American College of Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foundation. I hope that RA lets me continue to inspire!!! Considering that I have been wavering about continuing to blog, this was a much-needed boost for me. I guess you guys are stuck with me for a while.

~~~~~~~~Welcome to the Weekly Wrap~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap! Holly and I host this really supportive, fun linkup where fitness bloggers can link up their weekly fitness and/or race recaps. New to the linkup? Check out the rules above. Remember to link back to us and comment on our posts. Comment on a few others and check back on Wednesday to comment on late linkers. You might find a new blog that you love!

An InLinkz Link-up