Remind Me Why I Do This...

While last week was probably one of the more difficult weeks I've had at work in a long time, this week I paid for all that stress. Over the weekend, I had time to process the events of the past week. While I felt pretty good on Sunday and enjoyed a really nice hilly trail run, Monday was a different story.

My body responded to all the stress by going into an RA flare. It wasn't so bad that I was stuck on the couch, but all week I've been achy, fatigued, and queasy. I continued with my workouts, but I couldn't push myself as hard as I usually do. While it probably would have been better for me to rest, I needed to move my body as a way to cope with stress. Overall, the work week was much better and as the week wrapped up, my flare started to calm down.

And then there was that run on Friday morning...read on...

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: Ice Age Trail run 10.22 miles, 1250 ft

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Yoga with Adriene

Wednesday: trail run 6 miles

Thursday; Strength training

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: waterskiing!

Running

We were back up at the lake last weekend and I had a plan to chase some vert on a segment of the IAT that I hadn't run since 2021. I was up and out the door at 6:30 to take the ferry across the Wisconsin River once again, but this time I was heading to the Sauk Point segment, a hilly, rocky climb that ends at Devils Lake State Park. The morning was cool, which I knew would keep the flies at bay, but I still covered myself in spray. I didn't feel well when I first started--I was sweating profusely and felt faint, but I kept going, hoping it would pass. The first 2 miles are a steady climb with an elevation gain of 800 feet, so there wasn't much running happening anyway. By the time I got to mile 3, I felt much better but regretted not wearing my hydration vest. The rest of the run was a lot of up and down and agility work as I shuffled over tree roots and lots of big rocks. I stumbled a few times but I didn't fall. I did have one scary moment when I came upon a raccoon carcass on the trail. Ewwww. Nature is cruel! Overall, this was a very satisfying run and I am so glad I pushed through whatever was happening to me at the beginning of the run. I was happy with my pacing after that. I won't wait 2 years to come back to this segment! 

Feeling fatigued and achy from RA, on Wednesday's trail run, I took it easy. Besides feeling blah, it was warm and humid and we had another air quality alert from the Canadian wildfires. See, I had so many excuses for going slow! It was sunny and I saw a lot of deer on this run, including a mama with her fawn. No photos though, as they were very cautious this morning. I marveled at how dry the trail was-we need rain so badly! All-in-all, I really enjoyed this run. 

On Friday morning, I was up and out the door right after the sunrise. The predicted high was close to 90 and I didn't want to deal with rapidly rising temperatures. I was treated to a gorgeous sky and a nice breeze out of the east (thank you, Lake Michigan!). We're still dealing with poor air quality and I had to stop a few times to walk and let my heart rate slow down. But overall, I had a great run and it was a reminder that THIS is why I do this. 

CrossFit and Strength

As I mentioned, I woke up in an RA flare on Monday. When I looked at the WOD, I debated whether or not I should even go. I'll just share the screenshot of the workout from the website here. As you can see, even the name gave a good indication of what we were in for. It didn't help that it was a million degrees in the gym, even with the doors open and the fans blowing. But guys, when I started, I had delusions of finishing before time was called. I underestimated how hard those 50! clusters (cluster=a clean, front squat, and thruster) would be, even with the empty barbell (35#). The amount of rowing was also insane. So when I completed my 40 calories of rowing and SJ gave us the 5 minute warning, I asked if I could finish the workout after time was called. She told me no. I sat down on a box and let the tears fall. She came over to see if I was ok and I told her I was, but that I was frustrated with my inability to finish this thing. She reminded me of how much I hate to quit. So I got back up and got those 30 front squats done and rowed 10 more calories in the time I had left. Looking around after class, I don't think I was the only one who left it all in the gym. 

On Thursday, SJ had a little bit of a different kind of workout for me. She rolled out the agility ladder and had me do 4 sets of different agility movements. In between sets, I carried the 75# sandbag for 2 laps and did dumbbell flies, 10# x 10 reps. After that, I did 8 cal sprints on the assault bike x4. She was very pleased with my consistency, as I completed all 4 of them in 23 seconds. I won't lie. They were brutal and I felt a little sick for a while after. But making my coach happy was worth all the nausea. 

Off the Road

We were back up at the lake on Saturday and first thing, the hubs took me out for a ski. It's nice to go early when we have the lake to ourselves and the water is calm. I had an amazing run on the bay--the best I've had all summer so far. Our youngest son drove out from Madison for lunch and then we went back out on the lake. I was so excited to see him get up on the first try and then ski like he'd been doing it forever! The water was a little rougher on this run, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. We took turns skiing, which is really nice because it gives you a rest between runs. He couldn't stay longer, because he had to work, but it sure was nice to spend time with him!

All in all, this was a much better week for me! How was your week? Are you still dealing with poor air quality? We're supposed to get rain tomorrow, which we need anyway, but I'm hoping it cleans our air! What is your why?

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