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Let's catch up over a cup of coffee! What are you having? Today I'm enjoying a cup of Dark Matter Westown Bakery Blend that I picked up last week while meeting up with Deborah. Freshly roasted, it is just perfection with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. My new coffee maker has made me love coffee even more if that is possible! It's fun to try all the different local roasts.
What would you tell me over coffee?
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Commitment from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post contains affiliate links.
In books as in life, you win some, you lose some. I read 2 disappointing books this month. Both of them were quick reads, so I stuck it out, finishing them both. There was a big, fun surprise on my TBR from 2020 that had me asking myself why it took me so long to pick it up. Last but not least was Jenna's pick for January, a book that started out meh but made me smile as I read the last lines. I love when a book redeems itself!
In spite of the wild weather we had once again this week, I managed to get all my runs outside. It seems like all we do is talk about the weather, but I think most of you will agree with me that what we've been experiencing is anything but normal. Winter in the Midwest is always turbulent, but this season has been unprecedented, with more to come next week. At least it gives us something to talk about!
What I haven't been able to do is get some quality runs on the trails. Between the ice and the mud, training for my hilly April race is not optimal. I continue to focus on quality time in the gym and on the road, hoping that will be enough.
No matter what, getting outside definitely helps me manage all the stress in my life. As always, I am so grateful my body lets me do this!
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| thanks to Deborah for this fabulous photo! |
Can you believe it's already time to runfess? Since February is the shortest month, it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is how many runfessions I came up with for such a short month! Oh well..when you gotta runfess, you gotta runfess! Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional so we can cleanse our soles and start fresh at the beginning of a new month.
What do you have to runfess?
Work has completely gotten out of control. Just when we got a chance to catch our breath after the onslaught of illnesses last fall, we started seeing a lot of non-English-speaking asylum seekers from war-torn areas across the globe. These patients present all kinds of challenges. The language barrier is just one struggle. The mental health crisis continues and resources are scarce. I've also recently had a couple of my young patients experience horrific abuse and that has really taken a toll on me.
On the home front, both my parents are starting to have major health issues that require me to accompany them to appointments and help them with medical decision-making. My sisters are supportive, but as they are all out of town, the burden falls on me.
I am doing my best to stay positive and focused on the good things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I have had my share of meltdowns, usually over the littlest things. But no matter how overwhelmed I feel or how busy I get, I vow to always make time to get all my workouts in. It is my therapy that gives me the strength to push through my day.
You probably won't be surprised by this revelation: this is not my favorite time of year. As a devoted outdoor runner, late winter poses a struggle to find a satisfying place to run. While I love the growing warmth of the sun, the freeze/thaw cycle makes for treacherous conditions. In anticipation of my upcoming trail race in April, I need to start building miles again and climbing hills. Ideally, that would be on the trails, but for the next couple of weeks at least, I think I'll be lacing up my road shoes. I'm not complaining--it is what it is. But I can't help but be a little envious of runners who live in places that don't have ice!
Ain't nothin' gonna slow me down. Oh no! I got to keep on moving...
Nothing, you ask? As you sing along with this earworm...
I've been struggling with some right shoulder pain over the past couple of months. I haven't mentioned it because up until recently, it hasn't been enough to affect my activities, although sometimes it does wake me up at night, forcing me to find a position that I can lie in without discomfort. Lately, though, it's gotten worse, probably because we've been doing more overhead lifting in the gym. I'm feeling a snapping sensation when I move my shoulder a certain way. The PT at the gym told me what I already knew, that I have shoulder impingement and as a result, my right scapula is winged. I've started doing some stretches and PT shoulder work to prevent a rotator cuff tear. Because no one needs that.
Fortunately, it hasn't affected my running. Yet.
So if you see me walking around with my shoulders back and chest out, just know that I'm not trying to attract attention. I'm just dropping my scapulae. Or if I'm sitting and I have my arms wrapped around the back of the chair, just know that I'm trying to open my pecs and roll my shoulders back. The exercises are simple but effective! They kind of remind me of the old chest opener we used to do in gym class: "we must, we must, we must increase our bust!"
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| Wednesday's trail run |
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Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm having some Colectivo Bucky Badger blend that we picked up in Madison last week. Since it's Colectivo, it's as good as you'd expect it to be. Add a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half and it's heaven in a coffee mug.
What would you tell me over coffee?
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