Mycelium, Steroids, and a Staycation

This week was a staycation for me. I had a long to-do list--but I may have misjudged my body's ability to tolerate what I scheduled for myself. I still accomplished a lot, but thanks to a 'robust' reaction to the steroid injections I had on Monday to help relieve pain and stiffness in my knees, most of my work was from the couch. The side effects continued into Saturday. The household purge will have to wait.

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 4 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene, Strength training

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: run/hike 10k

Thursday: unscheduled rest day

Friday: hike 5 miles, waterskiing

Saturday: rest

It was steamy again on Sunday, and when I headed out to the trails, the humidity was 99%. It was as gross as you would expect. But there was a light breeze, which helped as long as I was running into it. Expecting a short run, I ran the east preserve and vowed to stick to the main trail, but of course, I did some single track too. Glad I did because I saw a ton of mushrooms! I was worried we weren't going to see any this year. 

I've been seeing more butterflies this year, which is really exciting. The preserve has a lot of wildflowers in the meadows, and it looks like it's working to attract more butterflies, including this swallowtail I saw along the trail! I also saw a few deer, including this little buck who has a broken antler. It made me sad for some reason, but it didn't seem to bother him. I read that if they break during the fuzzy state, it can damage the roots, and he may have either a deformed antler or no antler on that side in the future. I hope the does won't mind...

I missed last Monday's strength work, but this week's workout was a repeat of from the previous 2 Mondays. The goal was to increase the weights; however, with my achy knees, I made some modifications. In addtion. we didn't have access to the barbells, so we used dumbbells for all the exercises. 

Drop sets of:

-dumbbell deadlifts: 55# x8, 50# x8 45# x12

-dumbbell strict press: 25# x8, 20# x10, 15# x 14

-dumbbell reverse lunges (I did body weight for each set as these were painful) 8 reps, 10 reps, 12 reps

-bent over dumbbell rows: 30# x8, 25# x10, 20# x12

We finished with an AMRAP x 10 minutes, alternating between shuttle runs (I did the bike) and burpees. I was glad when this was done!

Since I was off this week, I didn't set my alarm for 4:30 am to get to the pool; instead, I woke up naturally early. I was there by 6:30 a.m., but there was a class in the dive well, so I tethered in at the lap pool. Fortunately, the other guy in my lane did not do kick turns, and I avoided getting my face splashed. It's the little things in life. 

Jennifer from Fluid Running asked me to share my post-run photo, taggng it as #ZeroImpactRunDay, a campaign I can get behind! As she continues to provide me with new workouts, I'm always happy to help her out. My trail sister Margaret was there, teaching the 6:30 class, and was happy to take some photos for me. You can see my post HERE. 

After a poor night of sleep--thanks, steroids- I let myself 'sleep in,' aka wake up at 6:30. I was out the door by 8:30, later than I like, but timing is everything, and while I was driving through the preserve to the parking lot, I saw 2 fawns nibbling on grass off the road. I pulled over to watch and get some photos. Much to my surprise, there were 3--one hiding behind the others. It was a nice surprise and set a good tone for my adventure. 

My knees were feeling good, but the rest of me wasn't, and after 2 slow miles, I made the decision to hike the rest of my miles. This worked out well for me, as I spotted so many mushrooms that were hidden under leaves, fallen trees, and in tree stumps. I'll just share a few here, but if you like mushrooms too, you can go to my IG HERE to see more. 

After a good night's sleep, I felt better--not 100%, but good enough to lace up and go for a walk. I went to the east preserve, hoping to get 4-5 miles and maybe see some cool stuff. I did both and felt mostly pretty good. I only saw one deer at the very beginning, saw plenty of interesting things along the way, including more mushrooms, some birds, and a very cool hanging mesh nest, which Google Lens identified as a Baltimore Oriole nest. I've never seen one before, and I was appropriately excited about it! I didn't mind slowing down at all.

We drove up to the lake Friday afternoon, and after dinner, the hubs took me waterskiing! Thunderstorms had passed through earlier that evening, leaving a beautiful sunset and calm conditions. Although I was still not feeling anywhere near 100%, I couldn't say no to that! We drove to the marina after for ice cream. I had another restless night, so Saturday was another rest day. It was windy, and the lake was rough, so at least I didn't miss out on anything!

Off the road...

After a prolonged period of stiff, achy knees, I finally caved and, on Monday, went to see my rheumatologist for steroid injections. I also hoped for the hyaluronic gel too, but my insurance no longer covers it. I've had the injections before, so I knew what to expect. They were ultrasound-guided, but this time, they hurt like hell. After, she did a blood draw. When the phlebotomist left the room, I started to feel off. I stood up to walk out, and I felt nauseous and lightheaded. I dug deep and pushed myself to get outside and to my car. Once inside, I cranked up the AC and sat for about 10 minutes, taking deep breaths, and started to sip the water I brought. By the time I got home, I felt better, just a little shaky, and rested while the hubs took over dinner duties. 

I felt mildly ill for the next couple of days, but continued with my plans. On Tuesday, I had my brows touched up (ombre shading), and on Wednesday, it was Humira day. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? But by Thursday, my Oura ring was sounding the alarm. And I felt really bad, so I took to the couch. I've never reacted to steroid injections like the ones I had on Monday. I kept expecting the symptoms to pass. Heck, I even did a COVID test- it's going around--but it was negative. The steroid side effects lasted through the entire week into Saturday. 

Family drama has flared up again, and without going into details, let's just say that added to my misery. I don't enjoy my role in the middle of the chaos, and I did what I thought was a good job of stepping back from it. But here we are again. I'm learning to say no and working on setting boundaries.

One of the things I did this week that made me happy was submitting my official letter declaring my intent to retire from my position in May. I hadn't planned on doing this so soon, but my manager asked me to, so they could begin to close my patient panel to new patients, notify my current patients, and recruit, onboard, and credential my replacement, which can take time. I've been in my role for almost 15 years and was the first primary care pediatric nurse practitioner employed by the organization. I'm proud of what I've accomplished in my job. It's been a privilege and an honor to have been able to care for the children in my practice. 

I'm going to close out this very long post with a sunset photo from Friday night. It was a nice way to wrap up the week.

How was your week? What nature sightings made you smile this week? Have you ever taken steroids, and if so, how did it go? Do you have anything you want to accomplish before the end of summer?

Next weekend, I'll be in Colorado with my fellow Trail Sisters leaders for the annual leadership summit. It's my first time attending, and I'm excitedly nervous! I won't be posting on Sunday, instead recapping the next 2 weeks in one post on Sunday, September 6. I will be posting my August book reviews on Tuesday, September 1, so be sure to look for that! 

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