Taking Care of Myself

My mom is home from rehab, and with 24 hour care, I was able to step back a bit from my duties and resume some of my normal activities, including returning to the gym. I had a lot of things I wanted to do at home, but instead, I spent most of my time resting and reading on the couch, Cocoa by my side. There were still some challenges, especially with my father, but for the most part, being at home helped lessen the impact.

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 3.5 miles

Monday: strength training

Tuesday: trail run 6.5 miles

Wednesday: Yoga with Adriene

Thursday: strength training

Friday: run 6.2 miles

Saturday: Ice Age Trail hike 3 miles

I took a short, but sweet Easter morning run around the preserve. I was pleasantly surprised to see all the deer out and about. It's as if they knew I was going to be there--lol. With all the rain we have had lately, it was muddy and wet. The creeks were high, and the logs I normally use to cross them were submerged, making it a strategic challenge to get to the other side. I only fell in once, thankfully, but it was cold! There was a brisk wind that made it chilly despite the bright sunshine. I was happy to get a few miles in before heading out to see my mom and dad for an Easter lunch. 

With around-the-clock caregivers in place for my mom and no appointments on Monday, I stayed home and tackled my to-do list. I also returned to the gym for strength class!! I was so excited to be there. Sammy Jo gave me a big hug. We're working on Olympic lifting, and today we worked on snatches. The coaches led us through a thorough warmup to open our shoulders. We did an 18 minute 6 x 3 position snatches: high (at the upper thighs), mid (at the knees), and low (mid shin).  I was pleased with my muscle memory as I moved through these with an empty (35#) barbell. I will add more weight as we repeat the movements. The MetCon for auxiliary strength was an EMOM of 3 movements: pendalay rows (55#), barrier hops, and sit-up wallball throws. Whew!!!

Tuesday was bright and sunny, but it was cold! I headed to the trails a little later than normal, but it didn't warm up much at all. No surprise, the trails were empty, which was fine with me! The solitude, the bird songs, and the crickets singing in the marshes around the preserve made me happy.  I didn't think I'd see any deer, but near the end of my run, I saw a few in the woods, munching on some foliage. They weren't as happy to see me as I was to see them--I got a few leg stomps-- so I kept moving. 

I sure needed to go to the gym on Thursday. There's nothing better than hoisting some heavy weights to lift my mood. Similar to what we did on Monday with the snatches, we worked on cleans. Before the workout, we did another thorough warm up to prepare our bodies for these technical lifts. We did three position cleans: from the hips, the knees, and the shins (the floor), 6 sets in 18 minutes. It had been a while since I've done cleans--I think my 1 RM is 95#--but I started with 65#. Those felt adequately heavy to work on my form. By the last 2 sets, I felt really good about them. After this, we did a 10m AMRAP: landmine thrusters (55#) x 14 (7 per side), box jumps (16") x 10, and hollow holds with overhead banded lat pulldowns x 12. I completed 3 full sets + 5 box jumps. 

Friday was gray, chilly, and drizzly. I had planned a bike path run, but my access to the bike path has been cut off due to road construction. Instead, I drove to the retention pond/park with the 2 mile loop around it. My legs wanted to go, so I let them, running this fast 10k in 58:18. I left it all out there on the pavement. Sometimes, you just have to go.

We drove up to the lake on Saturday. My youngest son joined us. While the weather wasn't great, it wasn't bad either, and my son and I went for a hike on the Lodi Marsh segment of the IAT. He had never been on this trail, and I was excited to show him some of my favorite spots, including the marsh. The spring at the bottom of the bluff was flowing strongly. We also saw a few marsh marigolds blooming! After we finished, we joined the hubs for lunch and a pint at the local brewpub. 

Off the road...

To a certain extent, things have improved now that my mom is home. My mom is happy to be home, and she is getting stronger.  My dad, however, continues to be a challenge, pushing back on everything he previously agreed on to keep my mom safe. He doesn't like her sleeping in the hospital bed. Wouldn't allow them to put an alarm on the bed in case she decides to get up by herself. Doesn't like the 24-hour caregivers. These are just a few of his many complaints. After having a really ugly confrontation with him, I made the difficult decision to protect my mental health and, for the time being, no longer go out to their house unless I was transporting my mom to an appointment. I spoke to the geriatric care manager and asked her to take on a bigger role with my parents. It does, and it doesn't feel right to be less involved, if that makes sense. But with me going back to work this week, I can't afford to engage in this level of conflict with him. It will be interesting to see how he behaves with her overseeing my mom's care.

I do have some good news to share! My youngest son has made the decision to attend the University of Illinois Chicago Medical School and had his white coat fitting on Friday. The white coat ceremony, which will take place in August, is a time honored tradition welcoming medical students to the practice of medicine. It's getting real!!!

This next bit of good news I've known about for a while, but I didn't want to share it too soon: I'm going to be a grandmother! My oldest son and his wife, who were married in September, will be welcoming a baby in October! My hubs and I are over the moon with this news, and we're looking forward to this addition to our family!

How was your week? Are you seeing signs of spring? What was your best workout or run this week? Do you have any good news to share?

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