Sunday, July 23, 2023

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!

Weekly Rundown
Sunday: hike 2 miles, waterski
Monday: yoga with Adriene Yoga for Renewal
Tuesday: yoga with Adriene Detox and Reset
Wednesday: cycling 20.5 miles
Thursday: waterskiing
Friday: waterskiing
Saturday: waterskiing

Hiking

On Sunday, I wanted to hike in one of my favorite spots, Parfrey's Glen in Wisconsin. You may recall me going there last August while recovering from Covid. This is the OG Wisconsin State Natural Arean and it is adjacent to Devil's Lake State Park. Parfrey's Glen is a deep gorge carved by a stream, which when you see it, is hard to imagine. I like to remind myself of the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the Colorado River. It's a good reminder of the power of water. 


I was able to convince the hubs to visit with me. I promised him no climbing. There is some scrambling over the tumbled boulders in the middle of the gorge and a few stream crossings, but the reward is the waterfall at the end. I always feel so zen when I visit here and I was happy to share it with my hubs, who told my son that it is a 'must visit' before he leaves Madison.


Cycling

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling pretty, pretty, pretty good. I considered going to CrossFit but the MetCon had a chipper with 63 front squats and no, just no. I didn't want to trash my legs for my upcoming weekend waterskiing. So instead, I took my bike for a ride. I considered all my options and chose the one that had the least amount of road riding--the bike path to my beloved preserve, where I planned to ride on the paved trails. Just to be safe, I wore my Brooks Run Visible gear. But no sooner did I pull out on the road from my house did a driver pull out behind me, swerve around me, and speed up so fast she left me in a cloud of exhaust. This. Is. Why. I Don't. Ride. My. Bike. Much. Anymore. And may I just comment that if you are going to drive like an a**hole, you probably shouldn't have vanity plates. They are so much easier to remember.

But I digress. I really enjoyed my ride. The weather was picture-perfect. There were a lot of other cyclists as well as walkers on the path. I was pleased to see that the forest preserve district closed a section of the road and converted it to a paved path. This section used to end in a cul-de-sac where unsavory characters would back in, looking for dates. I'm glad to be rid of that. I finished a very satisfying 20-ish miles.


Waterskiing

On Thursday, I traveled to Alabama to spend the weekend with Holly! After she picked me up at the airport, we stopped for lunch at a winery on the way to her house. Then it was out on the lake for waterskiing. It's hot here, y'all! 


Off the lake...

It's always great to spend time with a good friend and every time I visit Holly, I'm amazed and thrilled at how we pick right back up where we left off. Even though I packed my running shoes, there was no running. This weekend was all about waterskiing and fun. When we weren't skiing, we were mostly floating on the lake or swinging on the porch. It's been a lot of fun and I am sad to leave today. But of course, there will be one more ski before heading to the airport. 


How was your week? Do you take time off after a race to let yourself recover? What is your favorite non-running activity? 

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. I might not get to everyone's post today, but I will before the weekend!



32 comments :

  1. I'm so sorry about all the pain you have been in ... I hope the appointment with the foot ortho gets u some answers. Love the "pretty pretty pretty good" reference 😃

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    1. I'm so glad someone got it--lol!

      I'm not in a ton of pain, but it's not right!

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  2. I'm glad you're enjoying time with Holly. Hope all the niggles vanish and are nothing serious.

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    1. I ran Leadville on it and it didn't bother me, but I'm sure I didn't do it any favors :p

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  3. Ugh, sorry for all the foot pain. Hopefully it's not something super serious. Hi to Hoho!! Sounds like you're having a great time down south ;-)

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful getaway!
    Drivers are so rude to cyclists sometimes. We rented bikes on the island of Guernsey and in Scotland and the difference was incredible. Cycling is such a huge part of the culture in Europe that drivers were 100% more courteous. I was a little nervous riding on the left side of the road, but after just a little while felt completely safe. If they couldn't safely pass us, they waited. They never honked or acted impatient.

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    1. Drivers in the US are just incredibly rude in general! I'm always surprised when someone stops to let me across the crosswalk in busy road that splits the preserve in 2.

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  5. Sorry to hear about your injury, hope you're able to get to the bottom of it. I had picked up my planking and other exercise and was doing lots of yard work. Was using a heavy spud bar and injured my right elbow...so now I'm going backward again. I sometimes think we try to do too much. Frustrating. Glad you're having fun in the water. With these temps being in the water is a good place to be, and being in the water is good for bodies trying to heal. Take Care, and Good luck with your appointment.
    Sandy's Space

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    1. Thanks Sandy! I'm not good at dialing it back but my foot is definitely forcing the issue.

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  6. I hope you can figure out what's up with your foot this week and get back on the road to recovery. Spending the weekend with Holly had to be great therapy!

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  7. Well, that's a bummer about the foot, but it sounds like you have plenty of other things to keep you busy! That hike with your husband looks incredible, and I'm pretty sure you'd choose waterskiing with Holly over running any day. I hope you get a good diagnosis of your foot, and that it heals up quickly!

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    1. I'm really starting to miss running, so yes, I need to figure this out soon. Meanwhile, there are a lot of other things I can do that don't bother my foot. Thank goodness!

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  8. What a beautiful friendship you two have! Did you meet through blogging? I appreciated that with a few friends when I was home, it felt like I had never left, though with a few others, I felt like an outsider trying to figure out my place in the group...and its only been a year!

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    1. Yes, Holly and I met through blogging! I posted a waterskiing photo and she immediately jumped on it. Interestingly, we live such parallel lives--our boys are the same age and we have similar personalities, so our friendship was immediate. I feel so lucky to have her in my life and now that I'm home, I miss her terribly!

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  9. There's just something about time with friends. Sounds like the perfect weekend, mean foot aside. Glad your head pain resolved relatively quickly.

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    1. I think that head thing was due to stress! Funny what that can do to our bodies.

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  10. I am sorry about the foot. I hope that it heals up quickly & isn't a big deal! But yes, you have plenty of other things to keep you active & I'm sure that you had a great time with Holly. I also bet the elevation played some havoc on your body after your race. It's harder (like most everything) as we get older.

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    1. There's no doubt that Leadville beat me up--the terrain and the altitude. I've never needed so much time to bounce back after a race!

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  11. I hope there's nothing behind the niggles. So glad you got to spend some time with Holly :)

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    1. I hope so too! And hopefully it will be healed for Hype Fest!

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  12. I am so glad you have this lake time with Holly. That must do your soul good. What a beautiful hike! I wish we had more things like that here. I'm sorry your recovery isn't going as planned. It's hard when your body doesn't behave as expected :( I hope it gets better soon.

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    1. I knew it was going to be tough, but I had no idea the race would affect me so profoundly! I feel like myself again, except for the foot. :p

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  13. I love that your husband came with you on that hike! Very cool that he then recommended it to your son, haha!
    Good luck with your foot ortho appointment! I'm sure the foot pain will disappear very soon again.
    Where did you prop up the camera for that bike photo? It's an excellent shot!

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    1. Oh thank you! There was a trail marker post that I used for the photo. Put my water bottle on top and set up my phone.

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  14. Sorry for the pain and the injury, I hope you get well soon.
    Even if you don't run I see that you have a healthy style of life with a lot of activities.
    About the headache, I also have this problem but a partial solution was to eat food with no salt.
    And, of course, great photos!!!!!!!!

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    1. I too hope the foot heals quickly. I'll find out this week what the problem is, hopefully.

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  15. Hope your foot is not serious... I've had both a neuroma and a stress fracture - same place but different feet... OUCH! The stres fracture actually was less painful and healed quicker.

    Glad you got to visit Holly and have fun waterskiing.

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    1. I will let you know after I see the ortho on Thursday! I'm getting antsy over here...

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  16. I'm so so glad that you have alternatives to running - it's very ok to take a break! And to see Holly again and spend time on the lake had to be amazing! I know I'm late commenting on blogs but it is Thursday now and I *really* hope it's nothing serious. I don't wish foot problems on anyone!

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    1. I'll share more on Sunday's post. It's always something, isn't it?

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