Filling My Bucket

This was a big week of celebrating! 

• Celebrating feeling better as the steroids calmed the inflammation in my joints;
• Saying farewell to my friend Kristin as she begins a new chapter in her life; 
• Celebrating my birthday; 
• Welcoming the arrival of fall;
• And celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary.

One of my young patients told his mom she was 'filling his bucket' when she did something for him. It was the perfect metaphor for this week--my bucket is full!

A Great Week on My Feet

Disclaimer: As a Brooks Run Happy Team member, I receive complimentary gear. 

But...the RA flare that I mentioned in last week's rundown continued into this week. While I didn't let it stop me from doing anything, I was in a fair amount of pain at rest. You know...motion is lotion... and all that. While ibuprofen has been taking the edge off, I finally broke down and called my rheumatologist on Friday for a prescription for steroids. 

It's been a long time since I've had to take steroids and as of today, I haven't started them yet. As you read this, I'm on a 'field trip' with my Trail Sisters in Whitewater, Wisconsin on the IAT. Canceled due to rain. I'll see how I feel and if I'm still hurting, I'll start taking them. 

Stubborn? Yes. But I haven't had to curb my activities yet, so fingers crossed (and yes I can do that too) that this thing just burns itself out.

In spite of the flare, I had a great week on my feet! Read on...

Motion is Lotion

I don't know if I'd call it a full-on RA flare, but this week I was really achy. I blame the ridiculous humidity that plagued us at the start of the week. Even with the mid-week temperature and humidity drop, the pain lingered on, but I just kept moving. You know what we RA warriors say: Motion is Lotion. It really does feel better once I get moving and it sure beats sitting on the couch all day. It was a crazy week at work and that was another reason for me to keep moving!

A Taste of Fall

We're heating back up now, but this week provided me with some really nice weather for my runs. I've been struggling with running since Leadville. My foot injury hasn't helped either. Fortunately, the foot is improving. Between being able to run relatively pain free and having some cooler mornings this week, running has started to feel good again. I'm still going to follow up with the foot ortho, just to make sure everything is all good. 

With no races on the calendar for the rest of the year, I'm currently not training for anything. I am working on building up my endurance to prepare myself for the Mammoth Challenge in October. I've got 43 miles to complete on the IAT and I only have 3 weekends free to devote to that. I'm determined to make it happen, and if you know me, you know that once I set my mind to something, I make it happen! Cooler weather will definitely be my friend. Stay tuned for that!

Mini Book Reviews; August 2023

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received an ARC of Happiness Falls from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I received a copy of Don't Forget to Write from Amazon First Reads.

If anything, I read books with really good covers this month! I definitely picked Old Flame based on the cover and, yes it was worth the read. Actually, everything I read except for Happiness Falls was great. The pre-release hype for Happiness Falls was big and I fell for it. Interestingly, this book got great reviews and I just don't get it. If you've read it, comment below and let me know what you thought about it.