Holly Jolly Holy Moley

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Despite the festive season, the hits just kept on hitting this week. After a visit last week to my PCP, I received my blood test results and found out that I am prediabetic. Not only that, but I carry a gene that makes me at high risk for heart disease. As you can imagine, I was very upset by this news. I hope that eating well and exercising are enough to overcome my genetics. I have scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist in February to discuss my risks and my options.

I also had a couple of really challenging incidents at work this week. While I won't go into details, the antivaccine and antiscience sentiment is increasingly impacting our practice. Vaccines are a hill I will die on, and if this week was a sample of what's to come, then retirement will happen much sooner than I wanted. 

And after Christmas, I fell sick again, with fever, body aches, and congestion. I spent Friday and Saturday on the couch. I thought it was influenza, because one of my partners has influenza B. The hubs went to the pharmacy to pick up a test, but there were none left! I had some old Covid tests, and I tested positive. When I messaged my partners, another one messaged that she has influenza A! We are the trifecta, lol. 

What a way to wind up 2025.

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 6.2 miles

Monday: auxiliary strength

Tuesday: Fluid running

Wednesday: run 6.5 miles

Thursday: Trail Sisters run 3.5 miles

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

When I woke up on Sunday, I wasn't feeling up to a group run. But I knew I'd feel better-I always do- and so I drove to the trailhead where my Trail Sisters were meeting for a run. I shared the news of my bloodwork with the group, and wouldn't you know it--one of the other women, who is my age but is still a competitive triathlete, has been prediabetic for the past couple of years. We ended up running together and talked a lot about this. 

The run itself was meh--the trail was covered with ice in most spots, so we ended up doing a lot of walking. But none of us minded--the sun was shining bright, and there was no wind. Plus, we had the warmth of the company of friends! Plus, there were deer! We welcomed a new runner to the group-I hope she continues to join us!

photo courtesy of Ilisa

Monday's aux strength workout was a 'preview' of our upcoming return to auxiliary strength:

Done as an E3MOM:

-weighted GHDs (15#) 4 x8

-Bulgarian split squats (20#) 4 x6

-bent over barbell rows (55#) 4 x6

These felt pretty easy, but then we had a spicy kettlebell (25#) complex EMOM 8 minutes:

-3 KB squat cleans

-3 KB front squats

-3 KB swings

-3 KB shoulder to overhead left arm

-3 KB shoulder to overhead right arm

It took me about 40 seconds to complete each round, which only left me 20 seconds of recovery. This was TOUGH. It's been a long time since we've done anything like this!

On Tuesday, I went to the pool for a Fluid Running session, and on Wednesday, after picking up my roast from Whole Foods, I laced up, turned my Shokz up to 11, fired up my new Garmin, and headed out to the bike path for a run. It was close to 40F, which felt like a heat wave. The sun was even trying to peek out from behind the clouds! I was still a little sore from Monday's strength workout, and it took me a mile or so to find my groove. But once I did, everything fell into place. I came home and continued my Christmas preparations.

The Trail Sisters planned an early Christmas morning run, and 5 of us braved the blustery conditions. It was the perfect way to alleviate some of the pre-holiday stress. I know I felt much better getting some miles outside before diving into my chores for the day!

Off the Road...

Christmas was nice! My family, including my boys, daughter-in-law, and my youngest son's girlfriend, came early. We were joined by my sister and her hubs, my parents, and my father-in-law and his lady friend. My hubs did most of the cooking, as always, but I made dessert, a Whiskey-soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake (NYT gift link). IT WAS SO GOOD. Gifts were fun, and then everyone just hung out. My DIL and I did the dishes, and I passed out afterwards. I couldn't believe how tired I was. No photos because we were all having too much fun to think about it!

I did well in the gift department. We do a gift exchange, and my brother-in-law bought me Katoola Micro Spikes. I've been wanting them for a long time, and of course, right now, we have no snow or ice! That will most likely change. My hubs bought me all kinds of locally roasted coffee, which should get me through the winter. 

How was your week? Anyone else battling viral illnesses? Did you celebrate Christmas? Did you get any fun running-related gifts? I was able to try out my new Garmin Forerunner 165 this week. So far, so good, and I sure love that bright screen!

Come back on Tuesday for my December book reviews as well as the yearly recap!

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