This is the Way

This was the week that winter almost broke me. The theme of bitter cold and wind continued. This is the kind of cold that penetrates, even through clothing. A few weeks ago, I layered up but was apparently underdressed, for my run on the Ice Age Trail in the bitter, windy, cold and it almost made me cry, it hurt so much. We had that kind of cold again this week and I had to dig deep to get myself back outside. I knew I could have defaulted to the treadmill, but decided to take my chances because I really needed some fresh air and nature. 

I say winter almost broke me because it didn't. There were a lot of positives despite the cold. It was sunny every day and that helped to lift my spirits. Making sure to dress appropriately, I got outside for all my runs and was pleasantly surprised by how much stronger I felt when I ran. The auxiliary strength workouts at the gym seem to be paying off! That's why mixing things up or, as they say at the gym, periodizing your training is important. Keeping the body guessing: this is the way!

Even better: we're starting to warm up! 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: run 5.75 miles

Monday: CrossFit/strength

Tuesday: Fluid running

Wednesday: Trail run 6 miles

Thursday: CrossFit/strength

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: rest/up at the lake

After a snowy Saturday, I woke up Sunday morning to a fresh dusting of more snow. Not a lot, but enough to make me decide to run the roads of my neighborhood. I know, ugh, but a runner's gotta do... I chose the Glycerin Max and they performed well in the snowy conditions. It was 27F when I started my run, but the wind picked up and it got pretty blustery towards the end. I was happy to be done!

Week 3/4 of the second set of strength workouts was a repeat of last Monday. The goal was again to build from last week. We had the same movements from the past 2 Mondays to do in 3 sets in 40 seconds or less:

Set 1: pick a weight in which we'd hit failure in 8-12 reps 

Set 2: drop the weight and complete 8-12 reps to failure 

Set 3: drop the weight and complete 8-12 reps to failure. 

I went a lot heavier this week except on the lunges. 

 

Movement 1: Dumbbell deadlifts 60#, 55#, 50# 

Movement 2: Barbell backward lunges  65#, 60#, 55#

Movement 3: Dumbbell strict press: 25#, 20#, 15# (all strict press; I had to give myself a little assist with the 25# on the left last couple of reps)

Movement 4: Bent over barbell rows: 65#, 60#, 55# (lighter than last week for some reason)

We finished up with a Tabata of jumping rope. 

I slept in on Wednesday, hoping for warmer conditions so I could run outside. My wish came true! I mean, 7F is 14 degrees warmer than the -7F we had on Tuesday. The sun was shining, but it still was cold, so I bundled up and headed to the trails. I had some regrets at the beginning of the run, but I kept telling myself that if I kept moving, I'd warm up and yep, it happened! This turned out to be a very enjoyable run on the snow packed trails at the preserve. The deer were out too. It felt good to be outside, in nature, and my mood lifted as the miles passed!

On Thursday, I had a work meeting in the morning, forcing me to miss class. Fortunately, I was able to attend the 12p strength class and work on my own. This strength workout was a repeat of last week's. Again, we were expected to push to failure on the first set of each movement and do drop sets for reps with the last 2 sets. 

Set 1: Bulgarian Split Squats: 30# each hand-again x 8 reps, I could have done more! Who am I? 25#, 20#

Set 2: dumbbell bench press: 25# x8,  2o# x8, 15# x12

Set 3: Hip thrusts: pushed it to 135# x 8, 125# x8, 115# x10

Set 4: Pull-ups: 3 red band with push off, 4 blue band unassisted, 5 green band unassisted

The sprint work was different from last week. I did 3 :20 sprints on the assault bike with :90 rest between, then 3 :20 banded high knee sprints, with :90 rest between. Those were kind of fun!

Friday morning was cold but oh that sunrise! There was no way I was going to miss it. I bundled up and out the door I went, heading to the bike path with the hope of catching that sunrise. I wore my Hyperion Max and as I had experienced before, my legs sprung into action. I felt strong and fast. Just how I like it. It was also so nice not to run in the dark. What a great start to my day!

Off the road...

I needed those stronger runs this week because I started to fully tackle my mom's medical management. Last Sunday, I was talking with her on the phone and she sounded perfectly fine. But when we started to go over her medications, she became very confused. I discovered that she was missing a few medications and needed some refills. I ordered refills of all her medications, save for one. I could not for the life of me figure out who ordered this medication. Using her patient portal, I did a deep dive into the visit notes. I messaged all the doctors she's seen over the past year and no one admitted to prescribing it. Her primary refused to refill it--I know, I have questions too. Based on my mom's history, I don't think this medication is necessary right now. I will address it with her primary when we go to see her. 

I also asked for a referral to a home health agency for a nurse to visit my mom 1-2x/week to do medication management and blood pressure checks. The primary did finally give me a referral for that. I can't count on my dad and want someone objective to check on her. My mom is seeing speech therapy twice weekly for cognitive training and I have arranged for an appointment with an occupational therapist to evaluate her ability to drive. She had a neuropsychiatric evaluation last fall and it was determined that she should not be driving. She is very upset about this, so the neurologist offered this evaluation as an olive branch. It's out of my hands because if she fails this, the neurologist will report it to the state. 

As stressful as all this sounds, it actually feels better being in control and on top of this. I've added a calendar to mine for all my mom's appointments. My dad and sisters are comfortable with all my interventions and that feels good too. I'm so grateful for my medical background and that my mom's physicians have Epic, which is the EMR we use at work. I'm able to access all her medical records and send messages to all her providers in one place. I can only imagine how difficult this would be if I had to call each office and wait for callbacks. For now, we are in a good place. 

For now. 

We had a beautiful sunset up at the lake. Since the ice is so thick, I walked down the channel to catch a shot over the lake. This lake brings me so much peace. 

How was your week? Has winter broken you? Or are you finding ways to cope? What was your favorite run of the week? 

Next Friday, I'll be posting my monthly book reviews! 

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