Time on the Water is Time Well Spent

What a whirlwind of a week, with lots of traveling--to Wisconsin and then to Alabama. I had family time, followed by friend time. There was a lot of time on the water between kayaking, waterskiing, floating, and boating. I couldn't have asked for more. Summer is so short, and we have to squeeze it all in!!!

Vacation Time!

I worked Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and then I started my stretch of 10 days off. WOO HOO! I got a lot of busy work done on Thursday, and on Friday, we hit the road for a long weekend with the boys and girls in Door County, Wisconsin. You may remember my parents had a lake house up there for many years. Sadly, my parents decided a few years ago to sell it. It was really hard to say goodbye to a place that was part of my life for so long. My youngest son was sad as well; he has returned there several times since. 

Earlier this year, he proposed a family vacation to my hubs and his brother, citing the big changes that will be affecting them this fall. He will be starting medical school, and his brother and wife will be welcoming their first child! Life will certainly be different for all of us, and he thought it would be great for all of us to go away together. The hubs and I told him to look for a place, and he found one, on Lake Michigan. It's time to make new memories!

An Uneventful Week

What? Uneventful? It was nice to get a break from the daily onslaught of family drama. I don't think it's over yet, but it was nice to focus on other things. 

It was back to running for me on Wednesday! The blister has mostly healed, and shhhh... my knees have been quiet. Now if the humidity would drop...

My 20 Mile Hike...and the rest of the week

What a week! It started off well, with my successful completion of the 20 mile Mammoth March in Wisconsin on Sunday.  But when I returned home, I discovered a very large blister on the back of my heel. My tendinitis in my right knee also flared up. I took a rest day on Monday and went to the pool on Tuesday, which helped me feel better. There was no running this week, while I allowed myself to recover. A brutal heat wave arrived on Monday, with 'feels like' temperatures into the 100s, making it a lot easier to lie low!

Mini Book Reviews: June 2026

Disclaimer: I received copies of The Children, Heather, and Villa Coco from NetGalley and the publishers. This post contains affiliate links.

I started this month with high expectations for my reading. I had some really good NetGalley reads lined up and hoped to catch up on some backlist reads. But The Calamity Club found its way into my library holds, and excited, I dug in. I probably should have DNF'd it, but I was determined to see it to the end. It took me a long time to read, and heading into July, it leaves me falling behind on my prereleases again. So many books, so little time!

Hands down, my favorite book this month was Whistler. Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors--her prose is beautiful and tells a compelling story like so few authors. Reading it reminded me of how much I love to read!

In My Head

I dialed my miles back this week in anticipation of tomorrow's 20 mile Mammoth March Wisconsin. I'm also nursing a few niggles and did not want to make things worse. Off the road, the family situation continues to weigh on me, and I believe that the stress is taking a physical toll. I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me, but my confidence has also dropped (see my strength fails below). 

I'm looking forward to a full day in the woods, off the grid. Hopefully, this will help me reset. I'll share all the details on my IG and in next week's blog post.

Still She Persevered

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I had DOMS all week. From Sunday's run to Monday's strength training class and forward into the week, I struggled with soreness, tight muscles, and limited mobility. It's not as if I was doing anything more extreme than usual. But the DOMS, once they hit, wouldn't let go. I'm pretty sure our wacky weather added a whole extra element to the pain. Yet I persevered...

It's Summer!

It sure felt like summer this week, with the heat, humidity, and storms! Still, I was able to get all my runs in. This time of year sure humbles me when I lace up my running shoes. All the strong running of the spring--POOF!-- is gone. I keep telling myself that these summer miles bring strong runs in the fall. Stay tuned for that!

Weekly Rundown:

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 4 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene, strength training

Tuesday: Yoga with Adriene

Wednesday: trail run 7.2 miles

Thursday: strength training

Friday: run 4 miles

Saturday: rest day

Celebrating Global Running Day on the Trails

On Wednesday, runners all over the world celebrated Global Running Day. Global Running Day was started as a movement in the US in 2009--do you remember National Running Day? It eventually evolved into a worldwide celebration of running and has grown in size and popularity over time. 

As a longtime runner--I've been running for well over 30 years-- Global Running Day always reminds me to reflect on how important running is to me. I started running in my late 20s to help me manage my debilitating anxiety and panic attacks. Growing up as an anxious child in the 1970s, I didn't learn any coping skills. By the time I was in my 20s, I was struggling. Someone suggested that I try running as a good way to 'get rid of negative energy'. I didn't even know how to start. We were living in Chicago at the time, and I joined a beginner's running group with the Chicago Area Runners Association. We trained for a 5k--the Zoo run at the Lincoln Park Zoo--and I was hooked. 

Looking back on my life as a runner, I can say without a doubt that running has been a gift to me. Running has carried me through every season of my adult life--through infertility to pregnancy to parenthood (especially the teenage years) to grad school and now into my current era--gram to be, retiree to be, and caregiver for my elderly parents. Running saved me from myself. Running gave me confidence and strength--both physical and mental. Running has brought some of the best people into my life. I don't know where I'd be without running, and I can't imagine a life without it! I'm grateful that my body still lets me move like this, and I continue to be grateful for the gift of running.

Mini Book Reviews: May 2026

Disclaimer: I received copies of Good Joy, Bad Joy, Mad Mable, The Burning Side, and It's Hard to Be an Animal from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

This may have been one of my favorite months of reading. I only had four NetGalley books this month, which left me time for 'reader's choice'. Sure, I could have gone back and read some of the NetGalley books I didn't get to in April and May. Or...I could read some backlist books from my Kindle. Which is exactly what I did. 

No regrets. My favorite books of the month? Out of the 7 books I read this month, I rated 5 of them 5 stars on Goodreads. But if you asked me, I would tell you that I love irreverent characters and stories, and It's Hard to be an Animal and The True True Story of Raja the Gullible both made me laugh out loud. But no matter which book you pick from the ones I'm sharing here, you can't go wrong.

A Strong Week

I started the week feeling strong, and since we were at the lake over the weekend, I was excited to run on my local Ice Age Trail segments. With my 20 mile hike coming up in a few weeks, I had been feeling less than confident in my ability to complete the distance. However, the two back-to-back strong runs on Sunday and Monday gave me a much needed boost and set me up for a really great week of fitness. 

It Was A Good Week

I'm happy to report that I'm starting to feel better. Not fast enough for me, of course. Friday's run was especially promising. I think you all know that I'm not a patient person, but as it was my body putting on the brakes, I had to listen. I haven't minded slowing down as much as I thought I would--as you'll see below, I was rewarded on Wednesday's trail run for my meandering pace. 

In retrospect, it was a good week!

Keep 'Er Movin

I had no plans for the week's workouts except to stick to my routine and keep 'er movin. I have a 20 mile hike planned for June in Wisconsin--the Mammoth March-- and I need to be ready for it.  

Guys, the stress of the situation with my parents is taking a toll on my health. My Oura ring continues to flag me for elevated resting heart rate and keeps telling me to take a rest day. I struggled with my runs and have just been feeling off. I had blood work done this week in preparation for my upcoming rheumatology appointment. For the first time ever, there were some abnormalities. Yikes. I'll ask her to recheck my labs next week before I start worrying. 

On Thursday, I drove out to my parents' house to take my mom for her ortho follow-up. She was still feeling pain, so I suspected that the fracture wasn't completely healed. The xray showed that I was right. When I shared the information with my dad, he didn't take it well. As if there was anything I could do to make it heal faster. I guess I need to find a magic wand.

Nature Therapy

Nature continues to provide me with plenty of stress relief. But the stress of the past couple of months is taking a toll on my physical health. I've been sick more than usual, picking up the random viruses that I'm seeing in my clinic, even with the usual precautions. I've been losing a lot of hair. I've been feeling really fatigued the past couple of weeks, struggling both with motivation and movement. I'm finding that I have to push myself to get out the door for my runs and workouts. And instead of feeling energized when I'm done, I feel tired. My Oura ring keeps sending me alerts. I've been dialing things back a bit to give my body some grace. 

To try to keep my peace, I've taken a break from talking with my father, instead, leaning more on the care manager to check in with him and make sure things are going well. The caregivers are doing their best to keep her safe. I did speak with him this week, and it went ok. He won't be happy until he gets what he wants, which is a return to life before my mom's fall. That's not going to happen. 

I never thought that my life would be like this; that my parents would act like children, that I would be in charge of keeping them safe, and that they would push back like teenagers. I thought I had gone through all that when my oldest son rebelled in high school. Who knew?

Trail Time!

Greetings from the northwoods of Wisconsin! My youngest son and I are on another hiking adventure on some new-to-us segments on the Ice Age Trail. We're taking advantage of a trail chapter shuttle on 2 of their segments. This enables us to complete the full segment point-to-point instead of doing an out-and-back. I'm sharing all the details below.

Earlier in the week, I started to feel under the weather. On Wednesday, I struggled with my run and called it quits earlier than planned. I felt achy, and by the end of the day, I knew I was coming down with something. Pretty sure I know which little cutie in my clinic gave it to me, lol. No shade at him--I should have worn a mask when I was in the room. I'm glad I was off work on Thursday and Friday to give me time to ride this thing out before the weekend!

On the parents' front, I had some good news this week! I took my mom to see her neurology NP for her semi-annual checkup. Although we had scheduled this appointment 6 months ago, the timing was perfect as it was 6 weeks after her fall. We did see a dip in cognition after the fall, but after her cognitive testing at the appointment, we learned that she had returned to her baseline. We were both so happy!

Mini Book Reviews: April 2026

 Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Mothers and Other Strangers, Yesteryear, For the Love of the Grind, Love By The Book, This Is Not About Running, and Ghost Town from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

To be honest, I'm surprised that I read as many books as I did this month, as I was bogged down by family drama. But there's nothing better than a good book to take the mind off life! Plus, I had one DNF--a rarity for me. American Fantasy was another cruise ship boy band nostalgia story--similar to the one I read last month. I expected fireworks, but apparently they were all wet. Pun intended.

Yesteryear, IMHO, has been polarizing in the book world. Some love it (I did), and others hate it. Don't want to read it? The movie, starring Anne Hathaway, is currently in production. Did Love By the Book, a second novel from the author of Maame, live up to expectations? Maybe not, but it was still a darn good read. 

I also read 2! running memoirs this month. They could not have been more different. Remember having to compare and contrast novels in high school lit? Think aging runner hitting her prime vs young phenom getting beaten down by big running. They were both compelling reads, and I couldn't have been happier to have prereleases of them in the same month. 

As always, I hope you'll find something you like here. And let me know your thoughts!

Getting My Groove Back

After the turmoil of the past 5 weeks surrounding my mom's fall and my dad's subsequent fall apart, I stepped back to focus on my mental health. With my mom at home and all her care in place, my dad continued to badger me about removing the caregivers from the home. The conversations were a never-ending loop. I continue to provide supervision of my mom's needs, but will now utilize our geriatric care manager to share information with my father. I also reminded myself that the agency will contact me if anything concerning is happening.

I won't lie, stepping back has been difficult, but mentally, I realized how much of a toll this has taken on me. As the week went on, I started to feel more like myself. I reminded myself that I can't be good to anyone if I don't take care of my needs. 

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. 

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.

Let it Be

It was another difficult week. Fortunately, my modified fitness plan, while not optimal, was enough to keep me from losing my mind. That, and the support of my youngest sister, friends, and relatives, helped me get through it.