It's All Good

On Saturday, I always sit down to finish up my weekly rundown. I write up my workouts in all week long and at the end of the week, I try to find a common theme to come up with a title for my post. This has been a pretty uneventful week and I have to admit that I was at a loss for a title! In fact, it's been all good this week. So there it is...

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: Ice Age Trail run 6 miles/800 ft.

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 5.25 miles

Thursday: CrossFit

Friday: run 6.3 miles

Saturday: rest/work

We were up at the lake last weekend, so on Sunday morning, I was excited to lace up and head to the trails. Which segment to run? I ran Gibraltar the last time we were there...it was a cloudy morning...so it was the Lodi Marsh for me. I parked at the trailhead that connects the 2 portions of the segment and oops! I realized I left my Garmin back at the lake house. I knew I could use Strava. There's no cell signal there, but GPS works, so I was good to go. 

I headed up the hill, walking, which was a good warmup, and started running once I got to the top. It wasn't long before I encountered ice and snow on the trail. I did my best to move past it, but it was at least a 1/2 mile before the trail was clear again. Another section of the trail was completely ripped up by heavy equipment and then I saw the destruction--every tree in that section was torn down and strewn all over the hillside. It kind of bummed me out. I didn't run all the way to the other trailhead because there was more snow and ice to contend with. 

This time of year is always a challenge! But despite the snow and ice, I finished with an average 13:19 m/m pace, which is pretty good for me on this segment. Finding a painted rock in one of the trees put a much needed smile on my face!

I posted a question in the Ice Age Trail group on FB about the demolition in that part of the trail and was surprised by the rude and snarky responses. It was disheartening--I figured nature lovers would all be nice people-- but several people told me the trees were being cleared to help remove invasive trees and plants, restore the oak savanna, and for logging purposes. 

I woke up achy and grumpy on Monday and almost skipped going to CrossFit! I'm glad I didn't. It was one of our classmate's 83rd birthday!!! He is quite an inspiration to all of us. For the strength portion, we built to a heavy 3 RM on power cleans. I am pretty sure I hit a PR today on the 3 RM of 90#! I attempted 95# but couldn't get my elbows up on the second lift and completely failed the 3rd. The Met Con was from an old Open competition. I used 65# for my cleans and subbed downward dog pushups for the handstand pushups and made it to 15 before time was called.

On Valentine's Day, Wednesday, the sun was shining bright when I hit the trails. No more than 1/4 mile in, a buck sporting antlers was standing in the middle of the trail. I stopped to take a photo before he took off into the adjacent woods. I started running again but a doe ran across the trail in front of me. Love was in the air! I saw a few more deer and ran into my friend Aimee, who was walking her viszla Greta. This was my kind of run, scenic and leisurely!

There were deadlifts in the WOD for Thursday. The workout was a 15 minute E3MOM of 5 deadlifts, 3 deadlifts, 1 deadlift, 3 deadlifts, and 5 deadlifts. We built to a heavy one rep deadlift--85% or more of our 1 RM. We haven't deadlifted in a while, so my goal was 185# for that one deadlift. It felt heavy but I got it up without a problem. The MetCon was a 4 X 3 minute with 1 minute of work/2 minutes of rest. We rode the assault bike for 8 calories, then did hops over a barrier for a total of one minute, all out. It was BRUTAL. Even with the 2 minutes of rest, I was still winded before we had to hop back on the bike. But I was consistent, hopping 19-20 times over the barrier each time I completed my ride. 

It was cold and blustery when I headed out for my Friday run on the bike path. I guess I forgot what February is supposed to feel like. Despite the cold or maybe because of it, this was a really nicely paced run with negative splits on the way back, thanks to a tailwind. Since it was so chilly, I only stopped for a bathroom break and to take photos. I was really pleased to run without any walk breaks.

Off the road...

A few weeks ago, I had my cholesterol checked. Much to my surprise, my total cholesterol and my LDL were both high. This is new for me--chalk that one up to menopause, I guess. It's just the gift that keeps on giving. Maybe genetics, too. When discussing the results with me, my doctor was reassuring--she told me that since my HDL was also high, it 'offsets' the LDL, and my risk for heart disease is very low. She offered to order a Coronary Calcium Scan,  a CT scan that looks for plaque deposits in the arteries around the heart. My score was zero, which means my arteries are clear. Good to know!

I also received some surprising and exciting news at work. I was invited to join the General Pediatrics Leadership Council for the children's hospital group where I work. The council will be responsible for making clinical decisions for the medical group. The council will be made up of 5 physicians and one pediatric nurse practitioner--me! I am honored to be chosen and to represent my profession. 

My clinic celebrates all the holidays and Valentine's Day was no exception. I'm sharing a photo of my team--our nurse, 3 medical assistants, and me--wearing our Valentine's apparel. On Friday night, we went out to dinner. These ladies are the absolute best group I've ever worked with. 

How was your week? Did you celebrate Valentine's Day? I worked that evening...but the hubs made me dinner on Thursday night. What do you do if you forget your watch on a run? Who's ready for spring?

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