Life Happens

This week, I finally felt like myself again. Not just physically, but also mentally. I have had a huge to-do list looming over me, and as much as I wanted to avoid it, instead I started to tackle things one item at a time. I took care of some medical issues, both my own and my mom's. My dad is also on that list, but his issues are a lower priority right now. In addition, I need to renew my PALS/CPR before the end of the month, and I started working on that on Saturday. I'm training a nurse practitioner student in clinic. I am doing a presentation at Grand Rounds in March--eeek!-- and started working on that as well. 

Selfishly, I have a lot of pre-releases to read this month and in March, and I will read them, but maybe not before the publication date. Life happens, right? 

No matter what is on my to-do list, I always put my runs and my workouts first. Because if I can push through a hard run or a workout, I can do anything! You feel me on this?

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 7.25, 35 pushups

Monday: Yoga with Adriene, auxiliary strength, 37 pushups

Tuesday: Fluid running, 36 pushups

Wednesday: trail run 6~ish miles, 36 pushups

Thursday: unplanned rest day, 36 pushups

Friday: treadmill speed intervals, 5 miles, 36 pushups

Saturday: 36 pushups

Sunday morning was sunny with bright bluebird skies. The temperatures were predicted to hit the upper 20Fs, but when I got to the preserve for my run, it was 8F. Besides the sunshine, there was little to no wind, and I left my thermoball jacket at home, opting instead for some layers I could peel off as I ran. It was a great choice because the black jacket came off after about 1 mile. I was very comfortable!

As soon as I stepped onto the trail, I spied a coyote watching me. I stopped, and he ran off into the woods. He was so beautiful, but after seeing him, I didn't think I'd see any deer. Surprise! Even before I hit that first mile, I saw the big buck in the woods! Then I saw a group of about 6-8 deer on the other side of the trail. I was so excited. I saw deer the entire time I ran. Some were close to the trail, some were in the woods. 

My favorite was the sighting of the twin bucks! Don't laugh, but I remember when they were fawns--of course, who knew they were both boys at the time. The following year, I saw them playing together in the woods. They both had little antlers. I've seen them a few times since, but now, they're big boys and so striking! Even after that, I saw more deer. I'm pretty sure the whole herd was out, enjoying the perfect day. What a great run this was!

New month, new Auxiliary Strength track. This time we're lifting heavy dumbbells!

Set 1 (E2MOM x 6 minutes)

-Dumbbell Deadlifts: 

--round 1 choose a weight at which you'll hit failure between 8-12 reps: 50# each hand 10 reps

--round 2 drop weight, rep until failure: 45# each hand 10 reps

--round 3 drop weight, rep until failure: 40# each hand 10 reps

Set 2 (E2MOM x  6 minutes)--same scheme as above

-Barbell lunges

--50# 12 reps

--45# 12 reps

--40# 12 reps

Set 3 (E2MOM x 6 minutes)

-Dumbbell Strict Press

--20# 10 reps

--15# 10 reps

--12# 10 reps

Set 4 (E2MOM x 6 minutes)

-Bent over barbell rows

--65# 12 reps

--60# 12 reps

--55# 12 reps

Assault Bike Sprints

-5 rounds x:20 all out/2:40 rest

Wednesday's trail run almost didn't happen. I had to turn the car around twice to go back home--once because I forgot my jacket and again because I forgot my Garmin. DOH! Then, when I got to the trailhead, I saw my watch had only 11% battery. And yes, it did shut off during my run, so my actual miles are a guestimate. Still, I persevered, having the trails to myself and an enjoyable trip around the woods. It was a cool, cloudy 20F but no wind made it tolerable. It was interesting to me that my run on Sunday was in the same conditions, but with the addition of full sun, it felt almost balmy!

Almost as soon as I started my run, I happened upon a group of about 5 does munching on sticks. They weren't as happy to see me as I was to see them, but they didn't travel too far from me. It was pretty quiet out there, with only a few squirrels and birds spotted. Despite my rough start, this was a really nice respite from the busyness that is my life right now!

"Why won't she just go away?!"

This Friday morning treadmill date has become A THING for me, lol. I could have used the blustery dark morning as an excuse, but really, I have been enjoying pushing myself with intervals on the mill. Plus--access to a bathroom is key. This morning, I did 4:1 'pick-up- intervals for an hour. The first 3 minutes were 'recovery' paced, followed by 1 minute of sprinting. As with my other interval runs on the treadmill, the time passed quickly. Here's to hoping that these treadmill runs pay off come spring!

The pushup challenge is pushing along. Pun completely intended. After doing the math, we realized that we would need to do 35.71 pushups per day in February to equal 1000 for the month. Obviously, you can't do 35.71, so further calculations revealed that we will need to do 36 pushups for the first 20 days of the month, then 35 for the final 8 days. Math is hard! So are pushups! I'm on track for a successful finish.

Off the Road...

My impromptu rest day on Thursday happened because I had to accompany my mom (and dad) to a physical therapy evaluation. My mom has taken a few hard falls over the past couple of months. The most recent one wasn't witnessed by anyone, and my mom doesn't remember falling. The only reason we knew was that she had bruising on her face. I shared this with her neurology NP, who recommended physical therapy. My dad has been downplaying this, and that's why I went with. My mom did really well with her evaluation-she's very active- but she didn't do so well with balance. The PT is going to do some work with her on fall prevention strategies, which I hope will be helpful!

This week, I took care of some of my own health issues. I had a follow-up with the periodontist on Monday. Thankfully, the bone graft is healing well! I am so grateful to be able to keep my tooth and not have to opt for an implant, which is what she wanted to do. Fingers crossed the healing continues. On Thursday, I saw a cardiologist to discuss my high cholesterol (thanks, Mom!), my risks, and my options. My rheumatologist wants me to take a statin. My primary doesn't think I need to. After a lengthy discussion, I ultimately decided that I will start rosuvastatin. Hopefully, this will be protective for cardiovascular disease and ultimately, dementia. 

Have you seen the latest Instagram AI trend? The prompt is to tell ChatGPT to "create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me" and upload a photo of yourself. Well, ChatGPT doesn't know much about me, so I added a few details to the prompt. I think the result is pretty accurate! I do love that I look so young, lol....

My son, who is still working on the 74th floor of the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago, sent me this gorgeous sunrise photo on Thursday. 

Whew! How was your week? How do you tackle an overwhelming to-do list? Do you prioritize your workouts or push them to the side? Did you participate in the IG AI cariacture trend?

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