Stormy Weather

Wow, did we get rain this week! Along with the rain, we had severe storms every night. This week alone, we've received almost 4 inches of rain locally — some areas had much more —and there is flooding everywhere. It's been wild. After a final round of storms on Friday night, the summer-like conditions moved on out, and we're back to cool, calm weather again. 

After being off the past 3 weeks to care for my mom (and dad) and prepare for her return home, I resumed work this week. I thought I'd be starting with a full schedule, but we are in a brief seasonal lull and a break in the high demand for appointments. It was the perfect way to return after the recent period of high stress. Was it nice to be back? Yes and no. I found it difficult to focus completely on the job. Despite some really good runs and workouts this week, I still have a lingering unease that I can't shake. Oddly enough, after seeing 3 patients on Saturday morning, the power went out, and we had to cancel clinic for the rest of the morning. 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Ice Age Trail hike/Parfrey's Glen 8.25m/1300 ft

Monday: strength training

Tuesday: Yoga with Adriene

Wednesday: trail run 6.1 miles

Thursday: strength training

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: rest

Still up at the lake house, I woke my son at 7 am on Sunday morning to start our hiking adventure. He complained that it was too early, lol, but got up and by 8 we were on the ferry, crossing the Wisconsin River. Our first stop: Parfrey's Glen in Baraboo, Wisconsin. You've seen me share photos from this magical place before. He'd never been there. We pulled into the parking lot, only one other car there, and enjoyed the solitude--and occasional thunder-- in this magical place!

After that, we hiked the adjacent Sauk Point segment of the IAT. This is a very technical segment of the IAT with exposed tree roots and tumbled rocks strewn throughout the woods and across the trails. We even saw a deer--something I haven't seen very often up there.  After our hike, we stopped for lunch at a local brewpub. I love this segment and enjoyed the companionship of my youngest son. There's nothing better!

Monday's strength training was a repeat of last week's: snatches. This week, we were given 15 minutes to do 4 sets of 3 full snatches, including an overhead squat after each one, from the power (floor) position. The prescribed weight was 60% of 1RM; I did mine with an empty barbell again, which is 35#. 

For our accessory work, Coach put 15 minutes on the clock, and we did 4 rounds of:

-8-12 dumbbell (50#) deadlifts

-: 20-second dot drill

-tempo pull-ups (strict) or body weight rows

-100m sprint

We had terrible storms overnight on Tuesday--the hail was so large, it sounded like someone was dropping rocks on our roof! We ended up with over 2 inches of rain locally; other places received much more. On Wednesday morning, when I parked at the trailhead, it was still lightly raining. I anticipated lots of puddles and standing water. I didn't expect all the deer to be out! As soon as I stepped on the trail, I spied several in the woods. Along with puddle jumping, that would be the theme for my run. I mostly stuck to the main trail, because I knew the single tracks would be filled with water. I found that to be true when I took a detour through the woods. Despite the very wet conditions, I enjoyed this run so much. Everything is turning green. I spotted some wildflowers popping up as well as a few mushrooms. The air was warm, so the rain felt good. 

Thursday morning, it was back to the gym--this time we did cleans and jerks. In the past, I have struggled with jerks, but today they went well. We did a thorough warm up and then were instructed to complete 4 sets of 3 cleans and jerks within 15 minutes. I started with 45# and after 2 successful sets, moved up to 55#. I was really pleased with these, as was SJ!

For the accessory work, we had 4 rounds of:

-8 dumbbell (25#) bench presses

-1 lap farmers carry (45# KB)

-1 length tire flips (307#)

-5 seated box jumps

I ran in the Friday morning fog and witnessed a really cool sunrise! Conditions were favorable for a speedy run, albeit very humid, and I took full advantage. However, my legs were fatigued from my workout the day before, forcing me to push hard on the last couple of miles. This run was such a satisfying start to my day!

Off the road...

On Thursday, I drove out to my parents' to take my mom to the ortho for her follow-up. Earlier in the day, she had told my sister that she 'fell again' and was having a lot of pain. No one from the agency was aware of it. When I arrived at their house, I asked her about it, but my dad interrupted — there was no new fall. I reminded her about the original fall. Oh right... dementia. I'm learning that you have to dig deep before jumping to conclusions.

While my mom kept complaining of pain, she was fairly zipping around with her walker. She easily transferred to my car. I kept marveling at this--while she doesn't think she's getting better, she is! The ortho reassured her that the pain would be present until the fracture is healed. We will go back in a month for a recheck.

I thought we had reached a new place of understanding and acceptance with my dad--don't get me wrong, he keeps asking me how much longer we'd need the caregivers-- but on Friday, while at work, I received a call from the agency telling me that my dad tried to take my mom out of the house to the store. He also told the caregiver she could go home for the rest of the day. Today I had another phone call with him, badgering me to remove the caregivers from their home. It's exhausting.

Thank goodness for the good things happening in my life! On Saturday, my son and daughter-in-law had a gender reveal with her family. They took some professional photos, but I don't have them yet. Here's a snapshot I took of the reveal:

How was your week? Have you been experiencing excessive rain and severe weather? Do you run in the rain? Have you ever been to a gender reveal? 

More to come!

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