Our summer's theme of heat, humidity, and smoke continued this week. Last week's cooler temperatures felt so good, but they were just a minor reprieve. Wednesday's run felt fine despite the smoky skies, but I paid for it later! I've never smoked, but I had chest tightness and a cough after that run. It felt as if I'd smoked a pack of cigarettes. I do love summer, but this year summer has been on fire!
I returned home on Sunday from Alabama and back to the steamy conditions we've been experiencing for most of summer. But by mid-week, cooler, more temperate weather blew in, and it looks like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. It feels good and dare I say-almost cold compared to what we've been experiencing. But you'll get no complaints from me.
It was also back to work for me and a return to the chaos of 'school physical season' in my office. Every year, we get phone calls from panicked parents who waited until the last minute to schedule their kids' annual physicals. Believe it or not, we are already scheduled through September. That, plus the continued influx of newborns, had me hopping! It's a good problem to have, but I will be glad when the rush is over!
It was another hot, steamy week, but for me, a good one, both on and off the road. My knee, while not completely silent, has been at least cooperative with all my activities. I enjoyed some friend time, running with my Trail Sisters, and spending an extended weekend in Alabama with Holly and Teresa! It's been so much fun, and I'm sharing a brief recap of it all.
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Oh, summer, how I await your arrival! After enduring months of cold weather, with the arrival of warmer temperatures, we Midwesterners are able to strip off all our layers and bask in the sunshine. It's like being at a party you wish would never end.
But every party has a pooper, and summer in the woods comes with a few uninvited guests: stinging insects. The worst offenders? Deer flies. You'd think after dealing with them every year, I'd be prepared for their arrival. But no, the nice weather of spring and early summer gives me amnesia about my past encounters with them. As a child growing up in a rural area of Illinois, my sisters and I would spend our days swimming in the family pool, only to be stung in the head by one or more eagerly awaiting deer flies when we came up for air. I could just imagine them hovering above the water, rubbing their little arms together in anticipation of a tasty meal. I looked back on old blog posts and found that every year at this time, I write about these awful little pests.
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| Deer flies enlarged for dramatic effect |
Not only did we have a lot of rain this week, but I also spent a lot of time on the water. I love being on the water, whether I'm in the boat, on a ski, or in my kayak. I was able to do all those things this week!
I also worked on easing my knee back into running--as you might expect, it didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. But I got some good mileage in. The rain didn't keep me inside, although the humidity was off the charts. There was no escaping the water this week!
'One day I won't be able to do this, but today is not that day. Today I fight! ~ origin unclear, but perhaps paraphrased from J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Lord of the Rings.
I do love a good quote.
Yep, I'm back to running again--slowly and using walk intervals. But it's worth celebrating, am I right? I'm grateful that my injury wasn't worse and that I can get back to doing my favorite thing while I continue to rehab my knee.
After a busy September, I hoped for a more relaxing October, but this month started with a bang! I'm not complaining--it's been a really great week! Our fabulous weather has continued and I'm going to savor every last bit--I know what's coming.
If you follow me on IG, you know that I finished this week with some waterskiing on Lake Wisconsin. In the past, I could never imagine skiing in October. But never say never, right? It was 81F and sunny. Yes, the water was a cold 63F. But I have a half wetsuit, which I put into action on Saturday night. It felt as great as you might expect. And my cup is full...
It's another loooooong post as I recap 2 weeks of fun and fitness. I was out of town last weekend and wasn't able to post a recap. So bear with me as you scroll through!
I've been really enjoying our extended summer, with warmer than usual temperatures, no rain, and bright sunshine. Everyone seems concerned about our dry conditions, but trust me when I tell you we will make up for it very soon. In fact, it is raining in Wisconsin as we speak!
Me, I'm just soaking all the unseasonably warm weather up. I know what's coming...
It's been a really busy week! But so much fun. After a great weekend up at the lake, this weekend was Brooks Hype Fest in downtown Chicago! They packed a lot in for a weekend and we are all happy and exhausted. As it should be. I'm so grateful for these opportunities!
Disclaimer: As a member of the Brooks Running Collective, I receive complimentary gear and shoes in exchange for social media sharing.
I was out of town last weekend and didn't post a recap, so this week, you get 2 recaps in one post. I apologize for the length. I really tried to limit myself. There is just so much to share! With summer coming to an end, I tried to pack as much in as I could.
Our week started out hot and ended up cool. But no matter what the weather, I was getting it done, really leaning into my runs and workouts for stress relief. In addition to the hubs' health issues that I shared last week, it was a really challenging week at work. Or maybe it just felt that way because I was pretty worn down from life. I'm really grateful that I have my fitness to lean into--nothing feels better than a good sweat!
Speaking of the hubs, he saw the spine specialist and will be having more testing done. It feels good to cross those appointments off the list. He's also going to physical therapy, which also seems to be helping. He hasn't fallen this week, which is good news. Hopefully, we're moving in the right direction.
The theme for this week was the heat and the humidity. With highs in the 90s and humidity in the 90s, it felt pretty miserable outside. I got up and out the door early for my runs, which helped a lot. As much as I look forward to summer, I don't love summer running.
Let's just agree that we all earned our showers this week!
Sometimes a staycation is just what you need. It's nice to enjoy the local happenings and that is what I did this week. It was a really low key, low stress kind of week--exactly what I needed. I'm lucky to live outside of Chicago as well as close to Wisconsin, and I took full advantage, spending time in both locales.
I also kept up with my fitness routine! This post is a little longer than usual, as I'm recapping not only my workouts, but also sharing some highlights from my week. Thanks for indulging me!
This week gave me the opportunity to cut back on my miles and give my legs some much needed rest. I'm still trying to acclimate to the heat! Every summer I go through this and I don't know if I ever do get used to it!
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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!
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.
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| I'm not doing anything tricky here, just hitting some rough water. I thought it was a cool shot, tho! |
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!
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.
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...
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.
