A Clear Head and A Different Perspective

I returned home on Monday night after my fun trip to Alabama to see Holly. I shared on my Runfessions post that even though I packed my running shoes, they never left the suitcase. We spent the entire weekend on the water, mostly waterskiing but also sunning and boating. It was so fun and just what I needed. While I knew that I was stressed from work and feeling burned out, I just didn't realize how much I needed a break. 

I returned to work on Tuesday with a clear head and a different perspective. Later that day, I met with my medical director to discuss some patient care issues. I told her that I am starting to consider finding something different to do. Working in healthcare is more challenging than ever. A few years ago, we were all heroes. Now people come in after 'doing their own research'. They demand treatments and refuse vaccines, filing complaints against us if we don't give them what they want. There's also the increased volume of mental health issues that we are seeing and the lack of resources available to help our patients.  The demands from upper management to see more patients, have high patient satisfaction scores, and provide good care are pushing everyone to the breaking point. 

She and I discussed the 'talking points' that management throws at us in an effort to 'help us' deal with the stress of the job: find ways to cope and maintain work/life balance. I manage my stress just fine outside of the office! By this, I mean that I work out regularly, eat well and sleep well, and I work part-time. I'm fine when I'm not at work. It's not me, it's the job. She completely agreed with me. Unless that changes--which it won't--then I need to make a change. So stay tuned while I sort that out.

Lake Jordan sunset

Little Miss Runfessions

Didn't it seem like July just flew by? It's been a fun, busy month for me. Here we are, on the last Friday of the month, meeting to share our runfessions. I'm always grateful to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us cleanse our soles and our souls. As usual, I have a few things to share.

Can I just kick it off by runfessing how much I love these Little Miss and Little Mr memes? 

Running for Fun

I am wrapping up a much needed week off from work! With the hot humid weather and my knee issue, the timing was perfect to cut back on my running miles and do a few fun things. While my knee is feeling much better this week, t was really nice to chase adventure instead of miles! This week reminded me of how wonderful running really can be.

While I'm posting this in the link-up today, I finished this post earlier in the week. As you read this, I'm wrapping up my fun week with a trip to Alabama to visit Holly. I won't be updating this post while I'm there. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure our activities will include lots of waterskiing, maybe some running or hiking, and maybe some kayaking. You can check my IG for photos or wait until next week when I share some in my weekly rundown!

But Can I Run?

This knee injury is so not my fault. 

I blame the tree root that tripped me up a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the pain is getting worse. On Wednesday (see below), my run was rudely interrupted by searing pain in the base of my left knee, right below the knee cap. As the week went on, the pain lessened but any attempt to run (even to cross a street) made my knee angry again.  

On Friday, I saw a PT, who happens to be a friend of mine and she concurred with what Dr. Skiba told me last week. She noted that my kneecap was out of alignment and taped it for me, using McConnell taping. This is a rigid tape as opposed to the stretchier Kinesio tape we runners like to use. I felt immediately better. She also said I could try to run. I'll probably need to keep taping it for a while until the bruise resolves, but she thinks I'll be able to go back to using my Rock Tape.

Friday's run

Book Review: Running in the Midpack

Disclaimer: This post has an affiliate link.

On my nightstand is a stack of running books, waiting to be read and reviewed. At the top of the pile was Running in the Midpack, a book I won in a giveaway sometime last year. I guess I haven't been in the mood to read another how-to-be a runner book and so it sat along with the other running advice books that I have yet to read. I was joking about my running TBR pile with Liz, a book blogger and fellow runner from Great Britain. She also had a copy in her TBR and suggested that we do tandem reviews. I strung her along for a few more months and she finally pinned me down. So my request is that after you read this review, you go over to her blog to read hers.  She's a full time book reviewer, so her review will be very different from mine!

Throughout all my 30+ years of running, I've always been a middle-of-the-pack runner. In my early running years, I was pretty disappointed by the idea of being in the 'middle'. I'm a perfectionist and as much as I'm loathed to admit it, I always try to bring my best to whatever I do. So being a midpack runner did not fit with my drive to be the best. As an older and more experienced runner, I've grown comfortable with my place in the pack. After all, it's not about competing with others, it's about competing with myself. Right? At least that's what I tell myself.

A Runner Walks Into A Doctor's Office...

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Ok, that title should be the start of a joke... do you remember my fall on the trails from a few weeks ago? The one where I thought I broke my finger? Well, the finger ended up being fine, but my knee has been giving me some trouble since then. With a 5k on Sunday that I wasn't planning on DNSing, I finally broke down and taped my knee, following instructions on YouTube. My knee felt so much better! But on Tuesday, when I returned to the pool, I had pain with some of the pool running movements. I contacted our sports medicine department at my work and the athletic trainer was kind enough to schedule me with Dr. Skiba on Thursday. I am happy to report that he doesn't think anything serious is wrong with my knee except for a bone bruise. He did tell me that it could take several months to resolve. But he and his AT approved of my tape job, so I ordered another box of RockTape to prepare myself for some more taping!

I'm really lucky to have access to Dr. Skiba. He was the medical consultant for the Breaking 2 project, which was sponsored by Nike back in 2017. If you haven't seen the documentary, it is well worth a watch. I refer a lot of my patients to Dr. Skiba and I've always wanted to meet him, but obviously not as a patient! He could not be nicer and more down-to-earth. We talked briefly about that project and he said he really enjoyed working with Eliud and the other two runners. It's pretty exciting having such a well-regarded and knowledgeable sports medicine provider available locally!

Mini Book Reviews: June 2022

Disclaimer: I received a PRC of Carrie Soto is Back from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post contains affiliate links.

I don't normally have a 'theme' for my monthly reads, but reflecting on the books I read in June, I'd say that each book I read is woman-centric. In fact, each of the books has a strong woman (or 2 or 3) as the main character. I'm happy to see such strong representation, in light of what has happened in the US over the past couple of weeks!

Good News, Bad News and a PSA about Lyme Disease Prevention

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So the good news is that I didn't break my pinky after last week's tumble on the trails. It's still a little sore, but thank goodness nothing serious. However, I have had some worsening knee pain since then. I must have bruised it when I hit the ground, but it has been randomly protesting all week. Interestingly, it doesn't hurt when I run. Things all came to a head on Friday, when I woke up with pain in all my joints. Yep, RA decided to flare, I guess, forcing me to dial it back. With a 5k planned for Sunday, I could only hope that things would settle down.  

Thursday's Strength Session