Sunday, February 21, 2021

Hello, Sunshine!

In spite of the continued cold temperatures and yet another snowstorm on our doorstep, optimism is in the air. The sun has been shining most days this week and that always makes the coldest day feel warm, right? I'm not downplaying the devastating conditions that have hit our friends in the south. Living in the midwest, we know how to "do" winter and while we may complain about it, we are able to move through the snow and life goes on. 

Sadly, though, winter proved to be a formidable foe as last weekend my husband drove up to the lake to check on the house and walked into burst pipes and water everywhere. We always leave the heat and water on as a preventative measure, but due to this prolonged bitter cold spell, the frost line is too deep. What a mess! He was able to get a cleaning service and a plumber to get the repairs started. Dealing with the insurance company was much more difficult and they reminded him that they are busy with the Texas disaster. The good thing is that we will be able to do some much needed purging and renovations. My hubs is back up there this weekend, pulling out the carpet and filling up a dumpster with years of accumulated stuff. Me, I stayed home with Cocoa, who would have only gotten in the way of this big project. 

Weekly Rundown
Monday: CrossFit
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Run 8 miles
Thursday: unscheduled rest
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: trail run 6 miles
Sunday: cross country skiing 4 miles

Running

Wednesday was cold but the sun was shining! Determined to get 8 miles done, I started out on the bike path, planning to connect to another section I hoped would be plowed. Unfortunately, I was out of luck and instead looped around the neighborhood before I returned to the bike path and headed home. The bike path was mostly packed snow with some clear spots and a few icy patches. Towards the end of my run, I was pretty warm and had to strip off some of my layers. It's funny how 24 degrees feels 'warm'. 


I woke up in time to catch the sunrise for Friday's pre-work run. I ran my neighborhood route and was treated to a very pretty sky! It was really cold, and the charge on my phone drained, so I was without music for most of this run. I also forgot to restart my Garmin after stopping to snap my selfie, so I lost track of my miles. Geez. When I got home and uploaded my Garmin data, Strava filled in the gaps. I don't love Strava, but it is a great backup app.


I was so excited to run the trails on Saturday! I knew the snow would be packed down and with another sunny morning, it was sure to be a good run. Even the snow on the single track was nicely packed down, although the trail was really narrow and I slipped off multiple times into the deep snow. Packed snow or not, my effort was high and I was ready to call it quits when I looped back to my car. As always, I am so grateful for these beautiful trails!

CrossFit/Strength

I went back to CrossFit! On Monday, we did a Presidents' Day-themed WOD. I was a little confused about how they derived the numbers-math is hard--but I was pleasantly surprised that I did so well, wearing a mask. We started with the MetCon, a 16 min AMRAP of 67 wallball shots, 56 power cleans (35#), 67 push-ups, and a 56 calorie row (I got to 12). Those push-ups did me in. The strength portion was an 8 minute EMOM alternating 45 second of OH slam ball holds and 45 second flutter kicks. We finished up with a 2 minute AMRAP of slamballs. I did 54. 


SJ was out of town on Thursday. Thank goodness, because I probably would have had to beg off our regularly scheduled strength session. When I got back from my run on Wednesday, it was so nice out that I decided to dig my son's car out from under the foot of snow it was buried under. This was a way bigger project than I anticipated. In fact, about halfway through, I was having serious regrets. While I felt totally accomplished, I was exhausted on Thursday, not to mention really sore. RA wasn't very happy with me either. I'm going to call this my strength workout for the week!

before
after

Cross Country Skiing

The trails were calling me again on Sunday. RA hasn't been playing nice with me this week, so opted to ski instead of run. I had a few humorous moments when I fell--there are steep, narrow declines on some of the single track trails and I couldn't control my skis. Thankfully no one was around to see me lose my balance. Getting up is a whole other thing, lol. Anyways, it was a beautiful morning, relatively warm, and I really enjoyed it. Who knows how much longer the snow will stick around? I'm ok with it melting but as long as we have it, I want to get out there as much as I can!

Follow up to last week's post:

Thank you to everyone who commented and reached out to offer support after I shared my recent struggles with anxiety. It's easy to feel isolated when you're suffering internally. I was surprised by how many others are feeling like I am. Yesterday, I found this article published earlier this month that completely captured how I am feeling--how this anxiety seemingly came out of nowhere. It helps to know that it isn't just me. The good news is that I'm feeling better and am looking forward to better days ahead. 


How was your week? Have you been enjoying sunshine? Are you warming up? Would you have dug out the car or just let it thaw naturally? 

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






40 comments :

  1. I remember some days of apartment living when I would park in a parking lot during a snow storm and have to dig out. Sometimes neighbors would throw more snow on top of my car. The snow plows would push more snow in front of it too. In 2010 we had 2 back to back storms and I just remember being out there for hours digging out. I'm so glad to have a garage now!

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    1. My car gets the garage; my husband and the boys always have to park outside, lol!

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  2. Oh no about the pipes! That is such a mess in Winter; my sympathies. Glad you got plenty of sunshine. Well, at least it's shining here today, not so much for much of the week!

    I can't imagine the stuff you have to deal with due to your job, Wendy, so it's hardly surprising you've been feeling anxious. Glad to hear that the measures you're taking are working for you!

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    1. Thanks Judy! I'm just grateful to be feeling more like myself again.

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  3. I was so happy to finally see the sun shining this weekend. It's been so cloudy and snowy here all week.

    I'm so sorry to hear about the pipes and damage to your lake home :( The super cold weather has really wrecked havoc in so many places.

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    1. I thought it was kind of ironic that the insurance adjuster kind of blew off my husband because of the Texas deep freeze. Hello, this is Wisconsin?

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  4. Sorry about the pipes, slips and falls, very glad your anxiety is lifting a little. I have had some decent days this week, and been able to concentrate on work, which always helps. It's less cold here and no ice, phew. We do NOT know how to deal with it here!

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    1. Ice is never fun but I am grateful that we manage pretty well here in the Midwest.

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  5. Love the chair pic.

    I'm glad you had some wonderful runs, and glad you didn't slip on any ice :)

    So sorry about your cabin! How frustrating! The prolonged cold spell was a beast...glad you're seeing the bright side of it as a reason to do some renovations. Hoping all goes smoothly!

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    1. I can't help but smile inside where my husband can't see it. LOL

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  6. I smiled when I saw your title...sunshine is the best medicine.

    Sorry about those pipes freezing ...ouch.

    As you know I did escape to heat and humidity and it was lovely...but I am back to reality - cold, grey skies and wind. Snow tomorrow.

    But I saw the sun...made all the difference in my mood.

    Chin up!!

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    1. I think about going somewhere warm but then I'd have to come back here...would it make me feel worse?

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    2. nope...I'm savoring it and looking at my pics often.

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  7. That picture of the car is so funny- no wonder you were sore! I would definitely count that as strength training. I took a page from your book and got out for some trail running today- so much better than roads. Hope you have a good week!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed your trail run! I love seeing how different everyone's trails are.

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  8. Mom of the Year award goes to you for digging out Matt's car! Seriously though I'd likely have done the same because if you don't get to it fast, it gets icy and impossible. Glad the sunshine and fresh air are lifting your spirits.I had a grouper sandwich at the Ugly Grouper in your honor! :D

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  9. I would definitely count that as a strength workout. Shoveling snow is really a lot of work. How fun that you got to go for a little ski today. I was really hoping to be able to use my snow shoes this year but no such luck. Glad you are feeling more optimistic this week! Thanks for linking up and have a great week

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    1. I thought the snow would just push right off but there was so much of it, I had to remove it in layers. I'll never let that happen again, lol

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  10. Great work on the car dig-out. Totally a legit, full-body workout in my opinion. I'm quite thankful for the sunshine, too...makes all those daily post-workday walks bearable.

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  11. Yay for getting back into the gym! Glad you got in some good runs and cross country skiing as well. I hope you feel better this week.

    Once I get started shoveling I can't seem to stop so I would have probably dug the car out as well. The things we do for our kids...

    So sorry about your cabin. It sounds like the weather being worse than normal caused problems that wouldn't normally arise. We have to drain the pipes in our beach house when we winterize it (and put a special antifreeze in the toilet tanks), but we don't use it in the winter so that makes it easier to totally shut everything off. Hope you're able to get everything fixed and back to working order quickly.

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    1. We have plans to retire there--so how much do we do to the old cabin? It's a point of contention right now, but I think we need to at least do the bare minimum to make it liveable until we retire!

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    2. How exciting! Sounds like a beautiful place to retire.

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  12. So sorry about your pipes! Winter has definitely overstayed its welcome.

    That was some serious digging out you took on - your son is pretty lucky :)

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  13. Ugh, I remember my single days all too well when I would have to dig my way in and out of my driveway. My deal with the hubs is that he never has to clean a toilet and I never have to touch a snow shovel, rake a leaf, or mow a lawn until death do us part. It's a serious strength workout for sure!

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    1. I love that agreement! I actually don't mind pushing snow, tho...

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  14. OMG, I forgot to mention that after shoveling that little bit of snow, I was sore for days. Even my boobs hurt when I was running. I am sorry to hear about the lake house. That is horrible. Yep, we are more prepared for this Winter but those people in the South had it much worse.

    As always, hugs to you!!

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  15. Yikes on the burst pipes. That’s not a fun way to started cleaning out old stuff! You had some solid runs this week. The skiing looks fun!

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  16. Great pics of the sunshine and snow. I was able to finally put on my cross country skis for a couple of treks around Horner Park. I'll be kinda sad when the snow is all gone.

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    1. I have mixed feelings! I've enjoyed the snowy trails, that's for sure. The melt-off is already ugly. Glad you were able to get out on your skis too!

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  17. The sunshine makes everything so much better. Anxiety is just so hard to navigate and can be so isolating. :(

    I'm so glad you are feeling a little brighter this week. And yes. I feel that chair in my soul. <3

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  18. I'm jelly about your cross country skis. What a great option to have when running isn't working out. I'm so sorry about the busted pipes! What a mess.

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    1. I don't get to use the skis much, but this year has been great for it!

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  19. snow shoveling is no joke. I only had about half of that a couple of weeks ago and I was SPENT. I know quite a lot of people suffering from anxiety at the moment and more than usual. I am glad you are feeling a wee bit better! Loving the cross-country skiing (and the InB top!)!

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    1. I was pretty excited when Inknburn shared my photo on their IG!

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