Mini Book Reviews: July 2023

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of The Many Lives of Mama Love from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post has affiliate links.

What a great month of reading! Last month, I complained that I couldn't find much good to read. Well, that all turned around in July. For one thing, all my library holds came in at once. What to do? When this happens, I usually prioritize which book I'll get through the quickest, to get one off my list. Sometimes I have to return one to the library and get back on the list. Fortunately this month, I had a week off work plus I was traveling, which gave me a lot of downtime to read. 

Although I do admit to watching Cocaine Bear on one flight. I couldn't help myself and it was entertaining. 

Anyways, I read 7 good books this month, and August is starting off on the right foot as well. Two of them, The Seed Keeper and The Many Lives of Mama Love, were 5 star reads for me. The rest garnered a 4 star rating. Let me know if you find anything interesting here!

I Wish My Foot Was Broken

Before you ask me if I'm nuts, let me explain. As you know, I've had mild pain in my left foot for about a month after landing on a rock on the trails. I ran Leadville with the pain, which didn't bother me at all. I waterskied all last weekend with the pain, again, very mild. Yet, I have this point tenderness around my second metatarsal and the ball of my foot. My foot swells at times. As I always say, I know enough to be dangerous, and based on my symptoms, I thought this was a stress fracture.

Turns out, I was wrong. It's most likely not a neuroma either.

I saw the ortho on Thursday. He did an x-ray and an exam and thinks that I have a plantar plate tear. I need to schedule an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. But basically, there's not a whole lot to do for this injury except wait for it to heal. This is why I would have preferred a fracture-- I'd already be halfway to being healed. Believe it or not, my ortho said the same thing.

My doctor did tell me to 'let the pain guide you' when it comes to activities. So nothing is forbidden--I just have to be smart and listen to my foot. I have some metatarsal pads to put in my shoes, which should help support the ball of my foot.

I probably will start some run/walk intervals in the next week or so. Otherwise, I have my arsenal of activities to keep me moving--pool running, cycling, waterskiing, CrossFit, and strength training. As always, I am so grateful for what I CAN do.

I'm not doing anything tricky here, just hitting some rough water. 
I thought it was a cool shot, tho!

On the Road Again

No, not that road. I'm still sidelined from running, nursing my sore foot. But as you read this, I'm in Alabama with Holly, spending a lot of time on the water. It's always great to reunite and we always seem to pick back up as if we just saw each other yesterday!

I hate to admit this, but since Leadville, I've struggled to bounce back. Besides feeling fatigued, on Monday I woke up with severe pain on one side of the base of my head. I'm not sure if it was due to my sleep position or the virus I've been fighting, but the pain made me feel queasy. I took ibuprofen and used a heating pad and by the end of the day, it was down to a dull roar. I still had residual neck stiffness on Tuesday. So for the second time this week, I bailed on CrossFit and took to my yoga mat.  

I'm also concerned about my left foot, which was bothering me prior to my race. I knew that I would pay a price for running on it. My second toe is stiff and swollen and my third toe won't bend unless I do it manually. There is pain in the ball of my foot. My differential diagnoses: stress fracture vs neuroma. Hopefully, I'm wrong with both. I had my annual joint ultrasound at my rheumatologist's and all she could tell me is that there is no inflammation in the joint. Seriously not helpful, so I made an appointment with the foot ortho for next week. 

Meanwhile, there is still no running. I think I poked the bear enough and I'll wait to see what I'm dealing with. It's a good thing there are a lot of other things to keep me active!

Post-Leadville Recovery

After what was an incredibly fun but also incredibly active weekend, I promised myself no running this week. That was not a hard promise to keep as I was exhausted after I arrived home. It didn't help that on Monday night after I got home, Cocoa made friends with a skunk. Ugh. The hubs and I were up late scrubbing her fur with Dawn, baking powder, and peroxide. We were able to avoid most of the stink in the house, fortunately. I had trouble sleeping that night and the next day, had a very challenging day at work. 

As the week went on, I started sleeping better but still felt really fatigued. The hubs noted on Saturday that I told him how tired I was about "10 times". I guess the race and the altitude really took a toll on me. I'm not regretting the race--it was definitely worth it! I feel no guilt about taking time off from running. I'm not sure if I'll run at all next week either, but I will be active. I'm heading to Alabama for a long weekend of waterskiing with Holly! 

To be honest, I haven't missed running at all this week. Sometimes, a little time off is a good thing. Running will be there for me when I get back.

Race Recap: Leadville Silver 15 mile trail race

About 6 months ago, the leader of Trail Sisters Chicago Northwest asked me if I wanted to join her for Leadville Silver. She was planning on running the 50 mile race but told me there was a 15 mile option. Several of the other women were considering it as well. Since I'm writing this recap, you know what I decided. I asked my youngest son if he would be interested in running with me and to my surprise, he said yes! My oldest son and his girlfriend also joined us for a fun weekend in Colorado.

A Bundle of Nerves

It's been a long time since I've had pre-race jitters like I've had this week. I think it's because Leadville is the first destination race I've gone to in a long time. There's so much more to a destination race than just showing up at the start line, which is why I don't do them very often. There's all the travel, the logistics of getting from point A to point B, and wrangling the 4 young adults who have accompanied me on this trip. Not to mention that one of my niggles, toe pain that I didn't mention a few weeks ago, decided to get really angry (see below). As the week went on, the pain lessened, but it didn't completely resolve.

My goal was to finish and I did that! I'll share more in a full recap soon. For most of the race, my foot behaved. As expected, the altitude was my nemesis, but I did better than I hoped. My son crushed his race and made me cry when he met me at the finish line. I was able to celebrate with my Trail Sisters. This was just such a great experience! If you want a sneak peek before I post the recap, check out my IG post, 

Coffee Talk

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Today, I'm sipping on Dunkin! For nurses' week back in May, I was given a gift card to Dunkin' and bought a pound of beans. Only $11! Such a bargain and oh so tasty. Of course, I have the usual scoop of collagen and splash of half and half to top it off. Old habits die hard...

What would you tell me over coffee? 

Mini Book Reviews: June 2023

 Disclaimer: I received an ARC of La Vie, According to Rose from Amazon First Reads. This post contains affiliate links.

After my first book this month, I fell into a slump. Is it just me or are a lot of the new releases lately kind of a slog? After reading several books this month that were highly reviewed and wondering what I was missing, I decided to dig into my TBR and found an absolutely delightful romance story. I ended the month with another backlist book that was recommended by Erica and it was a winner. 

I did have 2 DNFs this month. After making it to the 50% point with both, I called it quits. I just can't waste time reading a book that doesn't draw me in. There are too many books out there for that!

Wrapping Up My Training Cycle

One week to go until the Leadville Silver 15 miler! I wrapped up my training cycle this week, very pleased with how it all went. You might ask when I officially started training. And I would answer that's a good question. While Earth Day wasn't my goal race, I did put in the work for that one too. It could count for training. Realistically, it wasn't until May that I really began to focus on my mileage, building on the work I did for Earth Day. Even more so, I put emphasis on getting lots of elevation. 

So here are the stats for the past 8 weeks:

Total miles: 208 miles

Total elevation: 7285 ft

I am so grateful to have access to those Wisco trails. When I totaled up my vert, the Illinois trails didn't even make a dent. The total elevation at Leadville is 1676 ft. With all my climbing, I am definitely ready for that! What I'm not ready for is the altitude, which at its peak on the course is 10,896 ft. Chicago sits at 597 ft. There's really no way for me to prepare for that. 

I wonder if I can bring portable oxygen in my hydration vest? 

What I have done: I've been 'doping' aka taking iron supplements for the past 3 months with the hopes of getting my hemoglobin higher, which would increase my blood's oxygen-carrying capacity. My son brags that his hemoglobin is 17, so he's hoping for success with that. I've also been taking creatine, along with my usual supplements, hoping to build a little more muscle mass to help me run strong. Research on running at altitude lead me to plan to arrive the day before the race, to allow as little time as possible to let the altitude affect me. 

With no goals but to finish and have fun, I am looking forward to running on some different trails and spending quality time with my boy. What else could a runner ask for?