It's marathon weekend in Chicago and even though I'm not running the marathon, it's still a big weekend! So many RHT members are running Chicago this year as well as a lot of local friends. I've got my marathon tracking app loaded up and I don't remember ever having as many runners listed as in years past. It's so much fun! I ran the 5k on Saturday--see below--and on Monday, I'm going to a meet and greet with Des Linden. My friend Kristin came to town to spectate with me!
Sadly, September is coming to an end. I love this month. I don't love what comes next. But before we turn the page on the calendar, we get to runfess! Marcia opens the runfessional on the last Friday of the month and it's a great opportunity to cleanse your souls and soles.
2021 started off with so much promise for many of us runners. As more people received the Covid vaccine and case numbers started to decline, races began to open up again. After last year, I made a vow not to run any more virtual races, unless a live race I registered for was required to go virtual. I feel pretty lucky that only happened to one of the races I registered for.
Even though this year's racing season started off really promising for me personally, there still weren't a lot of live options and after the spring, I didn't have anything on the calendar except for a trail 10k in July and 2 trail races in the fall. If you read my blog regularly, you know that in July, I broke my ankle and foot after falling from the rope at CrossFit. I was forced to DNS that 10k and one of my trail races. The RD of the other trail race let me defer until 2022.
I do have bling from 3 of the 4 races I ran prior to my injury. Just as good, in a different way, is the bling I received this fall for completing a trail hiking challenge, my first hiking patch. I'm excited to share it all with you! There are links to the race recaps in each section if you want to read more.
After I broke my ankle and foot in July and was sidelined from running and racing, I considered what I could do while I healed. As time went on, I was able to slowly increase walking and hiking. Optimistically, I signed up for the Mammoth Hike Challenge, sponsored by the Ice Age Trail Alliance.
The Mammoth Hike Challenge required participants to complete 41 miles during the month of October, all on the IAT. The only other requirement was to visit 3 Ice Age Trail Communities. There are 15 official Ice Age Trail Communities, towns that have chosen to support the IAT and welcome visitors from the IAT.
Normally when I am running, 41 miles would not be a difficult challenge for me. Could I do 41 hiking miles in one month? The other concern for me was that I don't live in Wisconsin, so participating in this challenge would require that I journey up north most, if not all the weekends in October, and hike distances that I hadn't seen in months. We have a lake house near Lodi and I planned on doing most of my hikes on the segments in that area. I vowed not to hike the same segment more than once for the challenge.
I decided to give it go, to give myself a goal to keep moving on my way back to running. I'm recapping my experience for other hikers to read as well as a way to remind myself that I can do hard things!
I didn't total up my monthly miles for October until I started preparing this post. Shockingly, I had 90 miles, a combination of running and walking miles. Twenty-seven of those miles were on pavement, the rest on dirt. I am surprised and grateful that my body let me move so much. Most of the miles were due to my push to complete the Mammoth Trail Hike, which I did on Sunday. I'll have a full recap of the challenge on Tuesday. The challenge was a great motivator for me to move as recover from my injury. I learned that just because I'm not doing much running, it doesn't mean I can't move like a runner!
While I have a long way to go before I log 90 running miles, I'm going to keep working my way back with that goal in mind. It's going to be a long road-pun intended--because my ankle mobility is still limited. My right glute isn't firing properly either, which is the main reason I can't just get up and go. I'm going to continue to work on strength and stability, doing my exercises at home and at the gym. I'll continue to do walk/run intervals, gradually increasing my running as my body allows.
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Let's catch up over coffee! October was a long month, and I'm so happy to be able to sit down and chat. What are you having? I'm having the usual cup of Dunkin with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half.
This was quite a week! As I mentioned in my last post, after a year off, my sister and I resumed our annual sister trip and heading off to Jackson Hole. Actually, we stayed in Jackson, Wyoming. This was sister trip #9 and we both agreed it was our best one yet! We hit up 2 National Parks, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. With only a day to spend in each park, we nailed down an itinerary that allowed us to hit the main attractions. As always, we had a lot of fun, a lot of good food, and a lot of activity.
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| At the crossing of 4 trails in Devil's Lake State Park Which way to go? |
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| Friday's walk/run |
Another month without running, but September saw continued steady improvement on the healing and more crosstraining. I did have 66 miles of walking--not bad, all things considered. This month, I am participating in the Ice Age Trail Mammoth Challenge, which requires 41 miles, all on the IAT. As I mentioned in my Coffee Talk post, the biggest challenge for me will be finding time to get up to Wisconsin and on those trails! I'm happy to have this on the calendar since I won't see my ortho until the end of the month. Hopefully, then I will be cleared to run.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Let's catch up over coffee! Did you know that yesterday was National Coffee Day? Every day is coffee day at my house! Anyway, I just love this monthly coffee date. I'm having my usual Dunkin with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. What are you having? What would you tell me over coffee?
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| Happify sets a positive tone to my day! |
Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.
Let's catch up over coffee! What are you drinking? I'm having my old favorite, Dunkin original with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. It's always a treat. I can't believe it's been a month since we last shared a cuppa.
