What A Week!

I was home this week to work on continuing education. In the past, I would travel to attend an in-person conference, but my CME allowance has been cut substantially. My pediatric nurse practitioner professional organization allows members to attend their annual conference virtually, so I did that, which was a much more affordable option. The conference content didn't disappoint and I was able to obtain over 20 CME hours. I even spent one of the days sitting outside on my deck while watching lectures--it sure beats sitting in a conference hall! I also liked scheduling my sessions around my workouts. 

My week wasn't without some bumps in the road, though. On Sunday, I was scratching an itch behind my ear and felt a sharp pain. I asked my hubs to look at it and he told me it was a pimple. I had him snap a photo and sure enough, I had a tick bite behind my ear. I didn't see a tick in the lesion--hopefully, I dislodged it when I scratched it. Just to be safe, on Monday, I contacted one of my partners at work and asked her to call in an antibiotic for Lyme disease prophylaxis. The area behind my ear hurt for several days and it was a good reminder that I need to apply repellant not only to my arms and legs but also to my neck and behind my ears. And to wear a hat!

On Friday, I drove my parents downtown to Northwestern University Medical Center so my dad could see a neuro-ophthalmologist. A few weeks ago, he woke up in the middle of the night with a sharp pain on the left side of his head. The next morning, he had double vision. I sent him to the ER, where they did a CT scan and an MRI, which showed no pathology. Since he's still been having issues, his local neurologist recommended he see the specialist. The good news is that he said my dad didn't have a stroke and that the double vision should resolve soon. I'm so glad for the positive diagnosis. We were stuck in heavy traffic both in and out of the city, which gave us a lot of time to catch up. It was nice to spend the day with them.

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: yoga with Adriene

Monday: run 7.5 miles

Tuesday: CrossFit

Wednesday: trail run 6 miles

Thursday: CrossFit with 400m sprints!

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday:

May miles: 100!

Sunday was a washout. Literally. It rained all day. So when I headed to the trails on Monday, I knew it was going to be muddy and wore my gore-tex Cascadias. My legs were still very sore from Saturday's Murph workout, so this was a slow go around the preserve. No fawn sightings, but the deer were out! I kept seeing the same pair all over the preserve. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they were following me. I also enjoyed lots of wildflowers, some interesting mushrooms, the sandhill crane couple, and a snapping turtle sitting on her eggs on the trail. Poor thing--all that work and I don't think her eggs will survive where she put them. 

I just love when they throw random lifts into the WOD! On Tuesday, we did power cleans. The strength portion of the WOD had us doing 20 power cleans every 30 seconds for 10 minutes at 65-75%. I built to 75# but I probably could have gone heavier. The MetCon was a 12 minute AMRAP of 12 medball GHD situps (I did regular situps), 100m medball carry, and 12 wallballs. i chose a 10# wall ball, which enabled me to run with the ball on my shoulder. I finished 5 full rounds plus an additional set of situps. I arrived early for class and worked on my toes to bar movements. 

More mud and water was the theme for Wednesday's trail run. Ugh. This was a slog because I didn't want to get my feet completely soaked. Going slow allowed me to soak up (pun intended) all the beauty around me. I saw a doe and her fawn! I couldn't get close though--mama was very watchful as they ran into the woods. I also saw the same pair of deer that I saw on Sunday. The male was pretty chuffed up as he stomped his front foot furiously and snorted at me. Geez and I wasn't even close! I also noticed little holes in the trails and realized it was from the cicadas who coated every piece of foliage along the trail. I could hear them singing loudly in spots, too. 

On Thursday at CrossFit, there was running in the WOD! The strength portion had us doing a 12 minute on the clock of 3-5 Dragon Flags, 15 seconds of plank flutter kicks (elbows on a box, legs kicking on a band stretched across the rig), and 100m run. I completed 3 rounds of this. The MetCon was Helen, 3 rounds for time of 400m run, 21 kettlebell swings (30#), and 12 pull-ups (I did them on the bands from the strength portion). I finished in 13:14. 

I'm not sure why but Friday's run on the bike path felt hard. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from the night before? The extra glass of wine I had? The anxiety I had about accompanying my parents to my upcoming dad's appointment downtown later in the day? Whatever it was, my legs felt heavy and my heart rate was high. I pushed through it because I wanted to hit 100 miles for the month and I needed the stress relief. 

Off the Road

We wrapped up the week at the lake on a very rainy Saturday. After lunch at one of the local brewpubs, we took it easy. It's my rest day, after all! We were treated to a sighting of a doe and her two fawns who took up residence in the backyard next door. Sorry for the not-so-great picture quality, but I couldn't get any closer without scaring her off.  Last year, we had a mama and her fawn--I'm not sure why they pick this backyard for their child rearing!

How was your week? Have you been experiencing a lot of rain? Have you ever been bit by a tick? Do you have any races coming up?

Coming up on Tuesday are my Mini Bood Reviews for May! Not only did I have a lot of miles, this month, I also read a lot of books!

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