Sunday, September 20, 2020

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.





34 comments :

  1. I am so not good at listening to my body. That is probably why I get injured so often. I hope I've learned my lesson this time. Glad you are feeling better and way to go on that long run today.

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    1. Last week was such an aberration--it makes sense that I wasn't feeling good. I think I'm still having PTSD from last year!

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  2. We had some haze from the smoke from the wildfires.

    I'm not always good at listening to the aches & pains, but I am very good at listening when I don't feel good. I was a really sickly kid, so I learned how to do that early. Thankfully it's something I outgrew!

    Sounds like your definitely back & also sounds like you had a great run today! Congrats!

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    1. Since I live with aches and pains on the daily, I tend to push through it. I'm so happy about my run today!

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  3. I'm glad that you started the feel better later on in the week. My mom said that a few students in her school called out sick this past week due to stomach issues so I think something must be going around. i've been so concerned with Covid that I forgot this is the time of year where most people get the common cold or a stomach bug.

    As you mentioned, this was another hard week. Thanks for the reminder to just breathe. I feel like I need to dig deep and possibly do more meditation classes to help ease my anxiety/stress.

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    1. I heard that there was a stomach bug going around this week--that made sense and I was glad to see my fitness return as the week went on!

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  4. Glad you're feeling better and that you took some rest. Love your sunrise chasing - I've been either dashing down to the park when I see it coming or taking a longer loop then whizzing round the park to catch that photo!

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  5. I definitely had a spell of fatigue this week, which I chalked up to allergies. I was more than happy to take some extra rest and do shorter runs until it passed. A good runner knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em and for me it was a fold 'em kind of week. But you still got a 10 miler in! That's fantastic.

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    1. I've got another half coming up in 2 weeks. I needed a win. I got one!

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  6. That wildfire haze has made it to Europe. It's nuts. I've learned the hard way to listen to my body. Now I'm pretty good about it. Sounds like those buds are winners!

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  7. Glad you're feeling better! I admit I'm still learning to listen to my body and being willing to pull back. Like you said, I don't always like what my body's trying to tell me ;)

    Hope you have a good week!

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    1. Yeah, that tummy bug came out of nowhere! I'm glad it was a temporary issue. I hope you have a good week too! <3

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  8. Lately I've been very stressed and more tired than usual. Most of my runs are easy and that helps. I like running 3-4 miles. To me it is just enough.

    Glad you are feeling better. Impressive on your 10 miles - way to go!

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    1. Thanks! It was really really great to have a run like this. I do love the long slow run and today reminded me why!

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  9. So glad you are feeling better! I have been better about listening to my body but still not always great. It can be hard to know when to back off and when its ok to keep going. We had some very hazy sunrises this week too from the wildfires.

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    1. I can't believe the smoke has made it's way across the country to the east coast. Crazy!

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  10. It's great that you're feeling better. Listening to one's body is always a wise thing to do, but it's definitely tough to do. Unfortunately, that beautiful California haze has been in Iowa for awhile as well. It makes the sunrises look so pretty, but it's a tragedy knowing when it's come from...

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    1. We had a few bluebird days this week--it was nice to see the smoke clear, even if it was temporary!

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  11. oh no, any chance it was Covid? My sister's friend just had slight stomach issues and got tested and was positive! The stomach issues got worse, but that was her only symptom. Crazy how this virus is...

    Great job on that 10 miler- speedy!

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    1. I considered that this GI thing might be COVID. I didn't lose my sense of taste or smell, so I chalked up to something else.I have the opportunity to be tested for antibodies at work, but I took a pass. I'll keep masking and goggling until the vaccine is available!

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  12. Listening to my body? Who me? Not good at it but so proud of myself this week. Skipped runs and just walked in hope that my back pain would go away. I finally ran slowly and felt so much better.. not cured but better. It was tough not to run especially when the weather was perfect.

    Great job on that 10 miler!!!

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    1. Glad to hear you're feeling better. Are you doing stretching/yoga?

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  13. I’m so glad you’re feeling better and had a fantastic run! I am trying to get better at listening to my body. Ignoring it never turns out well.

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  14. I'm glad you listened to your body and that you were rewarded with a great run!

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  15. You already know I'm terrible at paying attention to cues from my body.

    We do have smoke effects here, the sky has been incredibly hazy and according to the US National Weather Service, it's all due to the wildfires.

    I don't have a specific song but rather a genre. I love trance, house and EDM so if those playlists sound good through my speakers or ear buds or what have you, then I'm happy.

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    1. My oldest son loves the same music as you although he also likes my music-we're pretty open here as well as the music sounds good!

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  16. The hazy skies were just so odd here in Ohio. I was mesmerized by the way the sun looked (and then blind from staring at the sun. LOL!!!!) I'm taking a "slow week" from running right now. It's so hard to take a break sometimes!

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  17. Right now, I'm very good at listening to my body. I have to be.

    RBG's passing was just too much to bear. I feel like I've been in a fog since it happened. I'm grateful that my running buddy is like-minded and we can talk about our plans and feelings while we're running.

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    1. It's hard to believe that so many bad things have happened this year. I hate to ask what's next because sure as shit, there's some other tragedy right around the corner.

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