Catching My Breath

I spent most of the week recovering from my ill-fated virtual half marathon. I'm pretty sure I must have been fighting some kind of stomach virus, because I didn't feel well for most of the week. Needless to say, I skipped CrossFit on Monday and cut back on my miles this week. I'm not good at listening to my body. Actually, I should say I listen to my body but I don't always like what it is telling me. I think a lot of runners are like this, which is why we end up getting injured. 

I had to keep reminding myself that a few days off here and there are not going to affect my fitness at all and in fact, may even help. Running on fresh legs is a pleasure that we goal-driven runners often forget about. 

It's no good to be injured or ill, especially this time of year when the weather is usually perfect for running. Especially this year, 2020, the year that keeps on giving. As I have all year, this week I needed running to be there for me. It seems like every day brings some new challenge--we barely have time to catch our breath before the next crisis. After the news of RBG's passing, I had to dig deep. The response from my friends and from the community was reassuring. I need to just breathe. 

Weekly Rundown

Monday: Yoga with Adriene

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: Run 4 miles

Thursday: Strength train

Friday: run 5 miles

Saturday: rest

Sunday: run 10 miles

Running

This week would have been a cutback week regardless of how I felt. I finally felt good enough to lace up on Wednesday for an easy 4 around my neighborhood. I was a little anxious about running, which was such an odd feeling. As if I had anything to prove, right? I guess I just didn't want to experience a redux of Sunday. I felt ok, not great but who doesn't love a 4 miler, right? I got to see the rising sun that was hiding behind the haze of the smoke from the California wildfires. It's just crazy to think that it made its way to Chicago!

When I headed out the door early Friday morning, I was greeted by that pre-dawn red tinted sky. Oooh! It was going to be a good sunrise and I changed my plans to run the bike path, instead dashing down the street to the park in my neighborhood. By the time I ran the half mile distance, the sky had already changed. The sun wasn't up over the trees, so I kept going, looping around to catch the sun on my way back home. With the clouds, the sky was pretty dramatic! My body felt great on this run, just some soreness from my strength sesh the day before. I only stopped to take photos. I love runs like this!

I set out Sunday morning for my long run. I have to admit to feeling a little nervous about pushing my distance again, so I made the decision to run the 7 mile loop at one of the local forest preserves. I knew I could do at least 7, but I ended up running 10! The first couple of miles were rough. But this time, I kept my pace under control and by mile 3-4, I felt good. For most of the miles, I used 9:1 run/walk intervals. My average pace for this run was 9:25 and my fastest splits were on the back half. My last mile was my fastest at 8:43, which was a pleasant surprise. What a difference a week makes!

CrossFit/Strength

As I mentioned, I didn't go to CrossFit on Monday, but I made it to my strength sesh with Sammy Jo on Thursday. She announced that we would be doing heavy front squats and my heart sunk. Never one to quit on Sammy Jo, I did the 3 sets of front squats, 3 reps of 105# as prescribed. In between sets, I did an exercise with the band to strengthen my lats. She followed that with hamstring curls on the ball and triceps lifts on the rings. I felt pretty good, just a little dizzy with position changes. 

OFF THE ROAD

I got more fun mail this week!!!!! On Tuesday, I'll be sharing my full review of these Sudio ETT wireless bluetooth noise-canceling earbuds that I am trialing. Spoiler alert: besides that these Swedish earbuds are very cool looking; they've passed the Pink Floyd test which means they sound amazing, they stay in my ears when I run, and I have a discount code! Use 15wendy to save 15% on any items. This code is good until December 9. 

Also on Tuesday, I'm hosting another RA Healthline chat. This chat's topic is Foods to Avoid When You Have RA. Certainly, anyone who is concerned about inflammation would be interested in this topic! I've got a bunch of topics to write about over the winter, don't I? The chat is set to start at 7:30 CST. Don't have the app? Download it here. Let me know if you have any questions. 

Got inflammation? Don't eat these foods... Join me on Tuesday at 7:30 CST for a live chat on the RAHealthline app! https://go.onelink.me/RczE/a1f6bed6 via @oldrunningmom @healthline #curearthritis #rheumatoidarthritis

How was your week? Are you good at taking it easy when your body is asking for it or when you're recovering from an illness? Has the smoke from the California wildfires made it to your area? What song do you like to listen to when you're trying out new speakers, your car stereo, or headphones? I'm listening to Sarah Jarosz's new album while I'm writing this post and it is a great listen!

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