Shifting My Focus

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Until this week, I have not felt like myself since returning from Leadville. I have never had to take so long to recover from a race. I am sure that the altitude was a big part of my fatigue. Between that and my foot injury, I haven't run in 3 weeks. In fact, until this week, with the exception of waterskiing, I hadn't done much activity at all. 

I returned to CrossFit on Monday and felt as if I hadn't missed a beat. That made me happy. Without running on my schedule, I found other activities to keep me busy, and on Friday, I laced up my running shoes again. 

The first six months of this year were very focused and intense as I prepared for my goal race in June. For the rest of the year, I am looking forward to just having fun with fitness, getting back to running, and not training for anything. There are some adventures planned, including Brooks Hype Fest in LA in 2 weeks, a GoRunTour with Erica after that, a sister trip in October, and the Mammoth Challenge on the Ice Age Trail in October. But it's all about having fun and dialing back the intensity, something I am really looking forward to!

I Wish My Foot Was Broken

Before you ask me if I'm nuts, let me explain. As you know, I've had mild pain in my left foot for about a month after landing on a rock on the trails. I ran Leadville with the pain, which didn't bother me at all. I waterskied all last weekend with the pain, again, very mild. Yet, I have this point tenderness around my second metatarsal and the ball of my foot. My foot swells at times. As I always say, I know enough to be dangerous, and based on my symptoms, I thought this was a stress fracture.

Turns out, I was wrong. It's most likely not a neuroma either.

I saw the ortho on Thursday. He did an x-ray and an exam and thinks that I have a plantar plate tear. I need to schedule an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. But basically, there's not a whole lot to do for this injury except wait for it to heal. This is why I would have preferred a fracture-- I'd already be halfway to being healed. Believe it or not, my ortho said the same thing.

My doctor did tell me to 'let the pain guide you' when it comes to activities. So nothing is forbidden--I just have to be smart and listen to my foot. I have some metatarsal pads to put in my shoes, which should help support the ball of my foot.

I probably will start some run/walk intervals in the next week or so. Otherwise, I have my arsenal of activities to keep me moving--pool running, cycling, waterskiing, CrossFit, and strength training. As always, I am so grateful for what I CAN do.

I'm not doing anything tricky here, just hitting some rough water. 
I thought it was a cool shot, tho!

On the Road Again

No, not that road. I'm still sidelined from running, nursing my sore foot. But as you read this, I'm in Alabama with Holly, spending a lot of time on the water. It's always great to reunite and we always seem to pick back up as if we just saw each other yesterday!

I hate to admit this, but since Leadville, I've struggled to bounce back. Besides feeling fatigued, on Monday I woke up with severe pain on one side of the base of my head. I'm not sure if it was due to my sleep position or the virus I've been fighting, but the pain made me feel queasy. I took ibuprofen and used a heating pad and by the end of the day, it was down to a dull roar. I still had residual neck stiffness on Tuesday. So for the second time this week, I bailed on CrossFit and took to my yoga mat.  

I'm also concerned about my left foot, which was bothering me prior to my race. I knew that I would pay a price for running on it. My second toe is stiff and swollen and my third toe won't bend unless I do it manually. There is pain in the ball of my foot. My differential diagnoses: stress fracture vs neuroma. Hopefully, I'm wrong with both. I had my annual joint ultrasound at my rheumatologist's and all she could tell me is that there is no inflammation in the joint. Seriously not helpful, so I made an appointment with the foot ortho for next week. 

Meanwhile, there is still no running. I think I poked the bear enough and I'll wait to see what I'm dealing with. It's a good thing there are a lot of other things to keep me active!

Post-Leadville Recovery

After what was an incredibly fun but also incredibly active weekend, I promised myself no running this week. That was not a hard promise to keep as I was exhausted after I arrived home. It didn't help that on Monday night after I got home, Cocoa made friends with a skunk. Ugh. The hubs and I were up late scrubbing her fur with Dawn, baking powder, and peroxide. We were able to avoid most of the stink in the house, fortunately. I had trouble sleeping that night and the next day, had a very challenging day at work. 

As the week went on, I started sleeping better but still felt really fatigued. The hubs noted on Saturday that I told him how tired I was about "10 times". I guess the race and the altitude really took a toll on me. I'm not regretting the race--it was definitely worth it! I feel no guilt about taking time off from running. I'm not sure if I'll run at all next week either, but I will be active. I'm heading to Alabama for a long weekend of waterskiing with Holly! 

To be honest, I haven't missed running at all this week. Sometimes, a little time off is a good thing. Running will be there for me when I get back.

Remind Me Why I Do This...

While last week was probably one of the more difficult weeks I've had at work in a long time, this week I paid for all that stress. Over the weekend, I had time to process the events of the past week. While I felt pretty good on Sunday and enjoyed a really nice hilly trail run, Monday was a different story.

My body responded to all the stress by going into an RA flare. It wasn't so bad that I was stuck on the couch, but all week I've been achy, fatigued, and queasy. I continued with my workouts, but I couldn't push myself as hard as I usually do. While it probably would have been better for me to rest, I needed to move my body as a way to cope with stress. Overall, the work week was much better and as the week wrapped up, my flare started to calm down.

And then there was that run on Friday morning...read on...

When Birds Attack

Unless you saw my Friday IG post, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about! Luckily for you, I'm sharing the recap below. It's late spring and it seems that this week, nature is feeling itself. I blame the heat. It's been really hot this week, especially for this time of year. Hot weather makes people more violent, so why not birds too?

As you read this, I'm hopefully crossing the finish line of my first road half marathon in over a year. I had sworn off long distance road racing, but the Chicago 13.1 intrigued me--it's not the usual location for a long distance race in the city. The course runs the boulevards, a network of sprawling streets that run from north to south in the middle of the city. Beautiful historic architecture lines the boulevards and most of them have large green spaces for recreation. Being a big fan of my city, I'm looking forward to exploring this on my feet. 

Note to self: this is a training run. It's going to be a hot one, so that will be my mantra. Check my IG later for updates.

Coffee Talk

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Wow, didn't July just fly by? And I unintentionally made a little poem...

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? The hubs brought me some Colectivo Co-Optiva, which is my favorite blend. With a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half, it's like heaven in a coffee mug. 

What would you tell me over coffee? And can you stand one more Little Miss meme? I do love them.

A Clear Head and A Different Perspective

I returned home on Monday night after my fun trip to Alabama to see Holly. I shared on my Runfessions post that even though I packed my running shoes, they never left the suitcase. We spent the entire weekend on the water, mostly waterskiing but also sunning and boating. It was so fun and just what I needed. While I knew that I was stressed from work and feeling burned out, I just didn't realize how much I needed a break. 

I returned to work on Tuesday with a clear head and a different perspective. Later that day, I met with my medical director to discuss some patient care issues. I told her that I am starting to consider finding something different to do. Working in healthcare is more challenging than ever. A few years ago, we were all heroes. Now people come in after 'doing their own research'. They demand treatments and refuse vaccines, filing complaints against us if we don't give them what they want. There's also the increased volume of mental health issues that we are seeing and the lack of resources available to help our patients.  The demands from upper management to see more patients, have high patient satisfaction scores, and provide good care are pushing everyone to the breaking point. 

She and I discussed the 'talking points' that management throws at us in an effort to 'help us' deal with the stress of the job: find ways to cope and maintain work/life balance. I manage my stress just fine outside of the office! By this, I mean that I work out regularly, eat well and sleep well, and I work part-time. I'm fine when I'm not at work. It's not me, it's the job. She completely agreed with me. Unless that changes--which it won't--then I need to make a change. So stay tuned while I sort that out.

Lake Jordan sunset

Little Miss Runfessions

Didn't it seem like July just flew by? It's been a fun, busy month for me. Here we are, on the last Friday of the month, meeting to share our runfessions. I'm always grateful to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us cleanse our soles and our souls. As usual, I have a few things to share.

Can I just kick it off by runfessing how much I love these Little Miss and Little Mr memes? 

Running for Fun

I am wrapping up a much needed week off from work! With the hot humid weather and my knee issue, the timing was perfect to cut back on my running miles and do a few fun things. While my knee is feeling much better this week, t was really nice to chase adventure instead of miles! This week reminded me of how wonderful running really can be.

While I'm posting this in the link-up today, I finished this post earlier in the week. As you read this, I'm wrapping up my fun week with a trip to Alabama to visit Holly. I won't be updating this post while I'm there. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure our activities will include lots of waterskiing, maybe some running or hiking, and maybe some kayaking. You can check my IG for photos or wait until next week when I share some in my weekly rundown!

A Runner Walks Into A Doctor's Office...

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Ok, that title should be the start of a joke... do you remember my fall on the trails from a few weeks ago? The one where I thought I broke my finger? Well, the finger ended up being fine, but my knee has been giving me some trouble since then. With a 5k on Sunday that I wasn't planning on DNSing, I finally broke down and taped my knee, following instructions on YouTube. My knee felt so much better! But on Tuesday, when I returned to the pool, I had pain with some of the pool running movements. I contacted our sports medicine department at my work and the athletic trainer was kind enough to schedule me with Dr. Skiba on Thursday. I am happy to report that he doesn't think anything serious is wrong with my knee except for a bone bruise. He did tell me that it could take several months to resolve. But he and his AT approved of my tape job, so I ordered another box of RockTape to prepare myself for some more taping!

I'm really lucky to have access to Dr. Skiba. He was the medical consultant for the Breaking 2 project, which was sponsored by Nike back in 2017. If you haven't seen the documentary, it is well worth a watch. I refer a lot of my patients to Dr. Skiba and I've always wanted to meet him, but obviously not as a patient! He could not be nicer and more down-to-earth. We talked briefly about that project and he said he really enjoyed working with Eliud and the other two runners. It's pretty exciting having such a well-regarded and knowledgeable sports medicine provider available locally!

Slow Burn

"I'm alright with a slow burn,

Taking my time, let the world turn,

I'm gonna do it my way, it will be alright."... Kacey Musgraves

The heat was on this week! We broke long-standing records for high temperatures. We also had a crazy bad thunderstorm on Monday. The tornado warning sirens went off 4 times. Thankfully not much damage happened and we didn't lose power. It's been a wild weather ride this year, hasn't it?

Wednesday's steamy run

2021 Year in Review: Finding My STRONG

When I chose the word STRONG as my word for 2021, I clearly had no idea how deep I was going to have to dig to find my strong. At the time, I already realized that 2021 was going to be challenging. I think that after 2020, we were all crazy optimists and thought things were going to be better. We were so full of hope for the new year. Of course, nothing magical happened with the turn of the calendar. It never does. I know that and you know that. But it never hurts to hope, right?

The year kicked off with that turmoil in Washington D.C. and I started off the year battling anxiety and despair. But instead of succumbing to my feelings, I acknowledged them and vowed to "find my strong". At times, it felt as if the universe was out to test me on this declaration! I had a lot of personal struggles this year, besides that battle with depression and anxiety. There were some significant injuries--the tendon tear in my wrist, SJ joint dysfunction, and the broken ankle and foot. I didn't figure on starting the year with an injury bingo card!

I already reviewed my year of bling, so I'm not going to talk about races in this post. Instead, I'm going to use the outline of my original word of the year post from last January to evaluate how I did on my journey to find my strong. Did I find it?

Grand Tetons National Park

You Can't Hurry Healing

I need to run, run, to ease my mind. I need to find, find, some speed of some kind...

Oh, you can't hurry healing, you just have to wait...

Oh, healing don't come easy, it's a game of sit and wait...

You can't hurry healing, you just have to wait,

You gotta trust, give it time,

No matter how long it takes...  

~Adapted from You Can't Hurry Love. Apologies to The Supremes and Phil Collins and the songwriters

I saw the orthopedic surgeon this week. It's been 10 weeks since my injuries and while he's pleased with how I'm feeling, the x-rays didn't show much progress with my healing. Remember, the x-rays always lag behind what is happening in real time. I also had to remind myself that healing isn't linear. I'm not worried that my fractures aren't healing, but still, it wasn't the news I was hoping for. 

I did runfess to him that I've been trying out some short bursts of running. While he didn't tell me I couldn't do that, he did tell me that too much activity can slow down the healing process. 

So no, I'm not cleared to return to running but I can continue to keep active with restraint. Patience is not one of my strengths. Between the overwhelming stress I'm feeling from work and my expanding waistline, I need to break a sweat. I'll go back in 6 weeks for repeat x-rays. In the meantime, I have plenty to do to keep myself active. 

It's Still Summer, Sort of

This is my favorite time of year and so far I am not disappointed with the weather we are having. Cool mornings and warm afternoons make for perfect running conditions. Oh, right. I'm still not running. But I have been walking and this weekend, I was able to get out for one last ski around the lake. 

My foot and ankle still aren't completely healed. When I push myself a little too much, they let me know about it. This week, I have a follow-up appointment with the ortho. I'm looking forward to getting another x-ray and evaluating just how much healing is happening. I know I'm not ready to start running again--although I may have tried a little bit. Getting closer!

Thankfully, I have a lot of alternative activities to keep me fit!

Ice Age Trail hike

Life is Better On or In The Water

As you might already know,  I was out of town last week, visiting my former Weekly Wrap cohost Holly. We were joined by our friend Teresa for a really fun Camp Hoho girls' weekend! I shared all the details on my IG. There wasn't any running but there was a lot of water time and a lot of laughs. I came home on Monday with a smile on my face and rode that wave (pun intended) into an extended weekend getaway with my hubs in Wisconsin. 

Because truly, life is better on the water! I have to take advantage of every opportunity to get out there and get wet. The season is way too short for us in the Midwest. 

Recoveryfessions

Disclosure: While I am well aware that Alabama is a high-risk area for travel, let me assure you that I, along with Holly and Teresa, am fully vaccinated. I wore an N95 medical-grade mask on the plane and in the airport, the same masks I wear at work. We did not attend any large group activities. If you'd like to see some of my vacation photos, check out my Instagram!

It might be the last Friday of the month and the Runfessional might be open...but when you're not running, are your 'fessions even runfessions? You know I always have stuff to runfess. This month and last month...not so much. I am on the road to recovery (pun intended) and so instead of runfessions, I have a few recoveryfessions...

Because I've never been very good at sitting still...

Getting Wet

Maybe it was the strawberry moon--did you see it?--but things kind of flip-flopped this week. We got a ton of rain--the drought is over! Everything is green again, but yep, the mosquitoes and biting flies have come to life in the woods. My insect repellent doesn't seem to be holding up to the challenge.

On the plus side, my wrist responded well to the steroid injection that I received last week. I am so grateful for that! While I know that my wrist isn't healed, it's been interesting to see what I can do without pain. I wear the brace most of the time for comfort but have stopped wearing it when I run and work out. Oh...and I tested it out behind the boat this weekend!

Monday's rainy run

A Lot to Unpack!

Life got busy and I missed last week's rundown. Again. But it was worth it. For the first time in almost 2 years, I took a trip to the south to visit my friend and former Weekly Wrap cohost, Holly. In spite of a few glitches in my travels (I'll share that on Friday's Coffee Talk), once I got there, we picked up right where we left off. It was a fun trip and as always, too short! I'm still riding high and grateful to Holly and her husband for their hospitality. 

Meanwhile, life goes on as usual. There was running and strength training; this week, after several years  of working towards it, I finally attained my goal of a strict pull-up! Weather-wise, we went from summer to winter and back to summer again. 

I have a lot to unpack here; I'm going to try to hit the highlights of my past 2 weeks and keep you from glazing over. If you want to see more details, check out my Instagram!

Giant pinecones in Alabama!

Runfessions: May

Heading into Memorial Day weekend and it's cold, rainy, and windy. Sigh. It's also time to runfess. Do you runfess? On the last Friday of every month, Marcia opens the runfessional, and runners across the globe bare their soles and receive absolution. No sin is too big or small. Thank goodness. You know I always have something to runfess...