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

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!

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!

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. 

It's false spring and I couldn't be happier!

Finally, this week we warmed up!! Heck, I was happy to be above 20F! We also had abundant sunshine, and it was everything. My favorite workout this week had to be Wednesday's run at the preserve, with warmer temperatures and lots of deer sightings, including a buck. Seeing them is always a treat. Let's hope this false spring sticks around for a while!

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 6.3 miles, 36 pushups

Monday: auxiliary strength/36 pushups

Tuesday: Fluid running/36 pushups

Wednesday: trail run 6.3 miles/36 pushups

Thursday: auxiliary strength/36 pushups

Friday: speedwork/treadmill/4.5 miles/36 pushups

Saturday: 36 pushups

Holly Jolly Holy Moley

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Despite the festive season, the hits just kept on hitting this week. After a visit last week to my PCP, I received my blood test results and found out that I am prediabetic. Not only that, but I carry a gene that makes me at high risk for heart disease. As you can imagine, I was very upset by this news. I hope that eating well and exercising are enough to overcome my genetics. I have scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist in February to discuss my risks and my options.

I also had a couple of really challenging incidents at work this week. While I won't go into details, the antivaccine and antiscience sentiment is increasingly impacting our practice. Vaccines are a hill I will die on, and if this week was a sample of what's to come, then retirement will happen much sooner than I wanted. 

And after Christmas, I fell sick again, with fever, body aches, and congestion. I spent Friday and Saturday on the couch. I thought it was influenza, because one of my partners has influenza B. The hubs went to the pharmacy to pick up a test, but there were none left! I had some old Covid tests, and I tested positive. When I messaged my partners, another one messaged that she has influenza A! We are the trifecta, lol. 

What a way to wind up 2025.

An Unintentional Cutback Week

With the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, things were a little mixed up! Different work hours on Wednesday and a turkey trot on Thursday had me flipping my workout schedule around. The gym has special holiday workouts that fill up fast, and there was no space for me to work on my squats and bench presses. I consider myself to be a flexible person, but I was kind of bummed about missing my heavy strength because the strength cycle is ending in 2 weeks. I did what I could with my home equipment, but you know...it's not the same.

Anyhoo, there was movement every day. Let's just call this a cutback week, shall we?

Finding Gratitude

In these crazy, unsettled times, I'm focusing on finding gratitude for the good things in my life.

I don't know about you, but to me, right now, every week feels like a year. The news cycle is dizzying, and my physician partners and I continue to deal with the fallout from ongoing anti-vaccine sentiment being pumped out of Washington. Work is crazy busy with the ongoing baby boom and the influx of new patients into the clinic. My patients continue to bring me joy--this week I was examining a 4 month old who couldn't stop giggling. She was giggling so loud that my coworkers outside of the exam room could hear her! That was definitely a highlight of my week and a reminder of why I do what I do.

Thankfully, family life has been calm, and I'm looking forward to seeing my sons, daughter-in law and youngest son's girlfriend, parents, sister, and her family on Thursday this week.

I'm happy to be running with my Trail Sisters again, and on Mondays and Thursdays, my workout friends at the gym brighten my day. On Saturday, I had lunch with a friend who always makes me laugh. 

As usual, I found comfort on the trails. Even though the weather was downright depressing, I didn't feel depressed after heading into the woods. My RA symptoms continue to resolve, and I was able to move comfortably on the trails. I have so much gratitude for my local forest preserve--nature is truly good for my soul. 

These are the things that bring me joy and remind me of what is really important: family, friends, nature, and caring for others.

Weekly Rundown: 

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 7 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene, Strength Training

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 8.7 miles

Thursday: Yoga with Adriene, Strength Training

Friday: run 6 miles?

Saturday: Yoga with Adriene

After a good night's sleep--my Oura ring was ecstatic over the 9+ hours of sleep I got--on Sunday morning, I went to meet my Trail Sisters for a run! It's been a while since I've run with them, and I missed them! We met at Moraine Hills State Park, which is right outside the town where I grew up. It was a bright sunny bluebird morning with temperatures in the 40s--the perfect combination for a good run with good friends. After spending all day Saturday on the couch with a full-on RA flare, I was pleased that I felt good enough to run. One of the other women was having high heart rate issues, so we took it nice and easy. I didn't mind at all. The miles passed quickly as the conversation flowed. As always, I am so grateful for this group of supportive, like-minded women. 

Still feeling off, I was a little nervous about going to the gym and lifting heavy stuff. During the warm up, I was doing hip bridges when the room started to spin. I sat up until things stopped. My lifting partner was feeling off as well, so we decided not to push our deadlifts any heavier than last week. We built to 185#, did 3 sets of 2, which felt ridiculously heavy, and called it a day. While the rest of the class did some sprint work, I again worked on shoulder presses, staying at 65# for all 6 sets of 3. 

On this raw, drizzly Wednesday morning, I really wanted to stay in bed. Instead, I laced up for my weekly trail run at the preserve. I planned to do about 6 miles. But I had to take a detour for a pit stop, which led me to running into the piney woods to see if any deer were out and about. And yes, the mama and her two fawns were in the woods! I stopped to just watch them as they grazed for foliage. It's almost magical, being that close to them. As I moved away, I spotted a big buck behind a tree. He wasn't happy to see me and ran off. I kept going, looping around, and saw 3 more deer! On my way back, I again saw the buck, this time taking a rest. As I watched him, it occurred to me how lucky I am to have access to these beautiful creatures in their habitat. My heart was full. 

When I run in this preserve, I always have a 'plan', but often make changes on the fly. The thing about knowing these trails so well is that you can go as far or as little as you want and not repeat a step. On this run, I took a detour along the creek just because I wasn't ready to call it a day, finishing up with 8.7 miles. It's amazing how much beauty I was able to find on such a gray day!

On Thursday, I was set to increase my weights for both the bench press and back squats. My partner and I worked on bench presses, building to 77.5#, miscalculating the plates that we put on the bar. Barbell math is hard! So at that point, instead of pushing to 82.5#, I pushed to 85#. And yes, it was hard, but I lifted at that weight, 4 sets of 3 reps! I was very happy about that. For the back squats, I had planned to increase the weight to 130# (last week I did 125#). You wouldn't think 5# would make a big difference, but as SJ said, 'things are getting very heavy now". I did 4 sets of 3, doing my best to get my hips below parallel. Again, it was hard, but I was pretty happy with these as well. 

I woke up early Friday morning for my weekly bike path run. After my first cup of coffee, I realized that I had gone to bed without preparing my lunch. I'm on a tight timeline in the morning, so that was my first ugh. When I was ready to run, my watch beeped when I connected with the satellite, and off I went to the bike path. At my first photo stop, I looked down at my watch and noticed that while it was tracking my time, it showed 0 miles. UGH. Since I run this route every Friday, I knew I would be running about 6 miles-give or take a few feet. But still. If it's not recorded, did I even run?

Overall, I felt pretty good on this run. It was 46F, there was no wind, and overcast with a little fog. In other words, perfect running conditions. When I finished, my watch clocked 58:37 minutes. Not bad! Garmin showed my pace as 32 hours, 24 minutes, which made me lol for real. Maybe Santa will bring me a new Garmin for Christmas.

How was your week? How do you find your center? What are your Thanksgiving plans? What are you thankful for this year? Have you ever had your Garmin not track your miles?

It's also the end of November, and time for my monthly mini book reviews! Next Friday, I'll be sharing my reads for Nonfiction November. Don't miss it!

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

 

Answers? I Got Answers!

Yes, I got my answers this week to what was going on with my knee, as well as my treatment plan. Meanwhile, with my activity modifications, the pain calmed down to almost no pain--except when I did too much. I mean, 'too much' according to my knee. When my knee starts to bother me, I pull on my compression sleeve, which helps quite a bit. Hopefully, I'll be back to running soon. 

I runfess: It's too hot to run anyway. 

For the past couple of weeks, the temperatures have been in the 90F/30Cs with high humidity. The real feel has been over 100F/40C. It's just gross. It feels as if we are living in the tropics instead of the Midwest. We're not used to this! 

What Next?

Living in the Midwest, we're used to wild weather swings. This past week was off-the-charts bonkers. Considering what we've experienced this year so far, that's saying a lot. It was record-breaking warm, so wild weather was to be expected, but a DUST STORM? That was a first for me. I'm glad I wasn't outside when it blew in. I wear hard contacts, and when dust gets in my eyes, it's a very painful experience. Back in the day when my boys played baseball and the bored players kicked up the dust on the diamond, I'd have to run to the car with my eyes closed to avoid the dreaded contact attack. IYKYK

Anyhoo, the dust storm was weird. I wondered if the locusts were next. Is it the end of times? Not to get all deep and philosophical, but fellow Midwesterners have to agree, we've been subjected to some really extreme conditions these past couple of years. Mother Nature's got some splaining to do.

Meanwhile, today we're in the 50s, after breaking records for highs in the 90s just 2 days ago. The wind continues to blow. Dare I ask: what next?

Running: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

I have been a runner for most of my adult life. The impact that running has had on me is immeasurable. From mental health to physical fitness, from confidence to composure, from youthfulness to body acceptance--the list could go on forever-- running has provided me with so much more than miles. After two runs with friends this week, I was reminded once again of the many benefits of this never-ending gift. 

My why regarding running has changed over the years, but no matter what reason I have for a particular run, I always get so much more than I need. Even the bad runs teach me something--and really, is there ever a bad run? I feel so lucky to be a runner; as I age, even more so! Running truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Up and Down

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I hate to be that person who talks about the weather, but as a runner, it's in my DNA. While we in the Midwest are accustomed to wild weather swings, this spring has been more challenging than usual. Don't like the weather? Just wait--it will change. And let's not even talk about the ever-present wind. It's enough to send a runner to the treadmill! 

That may be an exaggeration, but I'm glad that I'm not training for anything. Content to 'just run', I got all my miles in this week. I'm always grateful for the sunshine, even on the cooler days. I also received some new gear, which always makes me happy!

I've Been Everywhere

For the past couple of weeks, it has felt that way! This is a long post, but it's mostly photos. It's been a busy but very fun couple of weeks out of the office. 

An Unintentional Cutback Week

I didn't mean to run fewer miles than usual this week. My weekly 'goal' mileage is around 20 miles. This week I ran about 15 miles. The cutback wasn't intentional--Mother Nature forced my hand. The weather continues to deliver bitter cold temperatures and brisk winds, which is as unpleasant as you might imagine. I'm no weather wimp, but my enthusiasm for all the things outdoors is wearing thin. Long distance runs are really tough when it's so cold.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. We've been amping up our strength work at the gym and my legs are feeling the fatigue. Hopefully, between the strength work and the reduction in running miles, I'll see some strong spring runs! 

Mind Over Matter

'Tis the season when the motivation is low. The air is cold, the landscape is ugly- at least in the Midwest- and it's hard to get excited about running outside. I've also been feeling super achy this week. It's been a few months since RA has messed with me, but here we are. I'm just trying to keep moving because movement keeps things loose and makes me feel good. I had to dig deep to push myself out the door and even to leave my toasty warm bed, but I didn't regret any of my workouts.

It was all mind over matter. I've been described as strong willed, stubborn, and driven and those traits served me well this week!

Cold Air, Don't Care

It's been really cold this winter! But you probably already know that, right? Fortunately, we've seen more sunshine this week, which did a lot to lift my mood. I'm feeling better this week after some beautiful snowy runs and two more great strength classes at the gym. We also had a brief break in the cold on Friday, but the cold air blew back in on Saturday—literally. 

The hubs and I had plans to go to the lake this weekend. I wanted to get some trail running in while we were up there. But with the predicted cold weather and wind, I didn't relish the thought of being up on top of Gibraltar Rock with sub-zero wind chills. I decided to stay home and hopefully get out on my local trails, which are a little more protected from the wind. It will be a last minute, game day decision! You can check out my IG to see if I did!

A Holly, Jolly Holiday

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This was such a nice week! Christmas fell on Wednesday this year and with Thursday being my usual day off, I also took PTO on Friday, and voila! I had a whole week off work. I needed that time to prepare for hosting my family for Christmas. But I made sure to get all my workouts in. A day without movement is like a day without sunshine, am I right? And we've had plenty of those this week. The gray skies didn't dampen my holiday spirit though! 

More Rain! More Mud! More Humidity!

The title of this post is not a wish list. It's a lament. I only wish we could get a break from this relentless moisture.

While we aren't getting rains that Wisconsin is--more on that in a minute--we've certainly had more than our share. When it isn't raining, it is oppressively humid. I try to find the good in everything and yes, the flowers and foliage are lush and beautiful. But it's hard to breathe when I run and the mud on my trails is making me slip, slide, and fall. The biting flies are loving the conditions and my repellant isn't as much of a deterrent as I hoped. I broke down and ordered a head net to keep the flies out of my eyes. 

The other bad news is that my upcoming trail race, Dances with Dirt, scheduled for next weekend in Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin, has been canceled. This is due to all the rain, which has led to poor trail conditions and flooding in the park. I've been wanting to run this race for years! I signed up for the 10k to see what it's like. I was hoping to run a half there next year. I have to decide if I will defer or run it virtually. 

Wisconsin has had so much rain that last week our lake was a 'no wake zone'. Boats and piers were freely floating in the water. The water has receded some, but more rain is on the way. The storms just keep tracking across that same area. You know how bummed I am about not being able to ski much this summer! I sure hope things improve.

Sometimes You Get Just What You Need

Reflecting back on the past week, overall, it was a good one. The weather was decent, especially for November which IMHO usually rivals February for the worst weather of the year. My workouts went well--I'm making gains in strength and on Friday, had the speediest run in a long time. That always feels good. I keep meeting and hearing about women in my age group or older who are doing amazing things! This week, the Chicago Marathon posted on its IG account about 2 older women who set new records on this year's course: the always awe-inspiring Jeannie Rice AG75-79 3:34:32 and Jenny Hitchings AG60-64 2:49:43. Both finish times would be remarkable in any age group, but these ladies are certainly proving that age is just a number. 

I find it serendipitous that these people and stories are coming my way when I'm contemplating running Chicago one more time. No worries, I'm not going to break any records or set a new PR. Plus I have get a bib first! But these are the kinds of stories that inspire me and quiet the voices in my head that tell me I'm too old to be doing this. You really do get what you need--you just have to open your mind to the possibilities!