Mini Book Reviews: January 2023

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Central Places and On the Savage Side from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

What a great start to another year of reading! Instead of being overwhelmed with library holds all coming in at once, I was able to pick and choose what I wanted to read without rushing through them all. I was lucky to read a hot newish release by Barbara Kingsolver, an author whose epic novels never disappoint. NetGalley has been very generous this month, offering limited time reads that I didn't have to apply for. One of them was by Tiffany Daniel, another author who I am familiar with and who also never disappoints. Interestingly, both the Kingsolver and Daniel books were very different variations on the same theme, poverty and opiate abuse in rural Appalachia. Do yourself a favor and read both. Not only will they make you count your blessings, but they both will give you a lot to think about. 

The other three books were also excellent. I hope this is the pattern for the rest of 2023!

Shifting My Focus

This is the week that SJ and I discussed my goals for the upcoming year. We finished up that heavy strength cycle and challenged my 1 rep maxes on the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. Now it's time to move forward. After coming off of that strong trail race a few weeks ago, I pulled the trigger (thanks Catrina!) and signed up for that Earth Day 15 mile trail race in April, the one where I hit the wall on the last loop. My goal is to not have that happen again. I also signed up for a 15 mile trail race in July in Leadville, Colorado with my youngest son. That is really going to be a challenge as the altitude is over 10,000 feet. It's going to be difficult to train for that!

What I want to do with SJ is work on building strength for climbing the hills in both these races. I climb a lot of hills on the IAT in Wisconsin, but I think I need to also build trail-specific strength in the gym. We got to it this week!

January Runfessions

Here we are at the first Runfessions of 2023! Do you runfess? Every month, Marcia opens the runfessional to allow us all to cleanse our souls and soles. Oddly enough, I always have things to runfess. So let's get to it and let the absolution begin!

Race Recap: Frozen Gnome 10k

Recently, I ran my 3rd Frozen Gnome 10k on the local trails at Veteran's Acres Park in Crystal Lake, Illinois. In 2021, I ran this race virtually, on the course, and returned in 2022 for the live event.  This has become one of my favorite trail races--I love the location, the distance, the swag, and the fact that it is in January! The race organizer puts on great events and I was excited to rerun it!

Are You There Sunshine? It's Me, Wendy

This may be the gloomiest January I can remember, and that's saying a lot because January around here is always gloomy. According to local weather icon Tom Skilling, we've had 20% of our normal sunshine so far this month. Even though it's been warmer than normal, it's pretty rough waking up to gray skies every morning. I was fortunate to catch a little sunshine on my runs on Sunday and Wednesday! It's something you really appreciate when you live in the Midwest. I'm making plans to go out to California in early March to visit my sister again and I cannot wait to soak up the sun.

For now, I have to make my own sunshine.

How many of you remember the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume? Reading it was a rite of passage for so many of us growing up in the 70s and beyond. My copy was so worn out! The title of this blog post is an obvious take on that book title, but did you know that the eponymous movie is being released on the big screen in April? How can it even be as good as the book? The trailer looks pretty cute. The 1970s are having a moment and I for one cannot wait to see this movie!

No Harm, No Foul

This week, the universe reminded me that I should never get too comfortable when things are going well. On Wednesday night, I woke up with a throbbing pain in my back molar. I didn't recall biting down hard on it or anything, so I took some ibuprofen and went back to sleep. The pain returned the next morning and worsened when the day went on, so I finally broke down and called the dentist. Worst case scenario? I have a cracked tooth (there's a crown on it, so she wasn't sure) and will need an extraction. A better case scenario would be that I need a root canal. Either way, it was abcessed and she started me on antibiotics. I continued on around the clock ibuprofen.

By Saturday, the tooth was feeling better, so I was able to run my race (see below). I'm still taking ibuprofen but not as often, and I have an appointment with an endodontist on Thursday. I've never had a toothache until now and I have to say that it is a pain like no other. I think we runners are pretty darn tough and I really had to dig deep to get through the past couple of days. But there was no way I was going to DNS my favorite race!!! My dentist didn't tell me I couldn't run, but I know she wasn't thrilled about it. No one gets us runners, am I right?

Kicking Off the New Year on the Right Foot

Cue the music... I'm thinking of the Black Eyed Peas' Let's Get it Started and if that song is now going through your head, you can thank me! I hit the ground running with a race on New Year's Day and that set the tone for how I want this year to go. Strong, happy, positive. I'm going to work on controlling what I can and the rest will just be background noise. That includes my job, which will take a back seat to prioritizing my mental health. I've set a goal of retirement in 2 years. The light is at the end of the tunnel, my friends!

With regards to fitness, I haven't set any goals for the year except to have fun. I'll continue to work on strength. Maybe I'll work on speed and race some short races. You know I'll be running the trails this year again!

I also got good news on the RA front. I saw my rheumatologist this week and my blood work was the best it's been since my diagnosis 6 years ago. I get to cut my medication in half. We'll see how it goes, but wow! What a nice way to start a new year.

You get what you pay for with free race photos!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over a cup of coffee! What are you having? I'm drinking a cup of Philz Julie's Ultimate, a new-to-me brand that the hubs gifted me for Christmas. 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?

Mini Book Reviews: December 2022

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

I wrapped up 2022 with a total of 77 books read. I don't set reading goals--that's just too much pressure! Reading books is one of my guilty pleasures and I don't want to feel bad if I can't get through one to meet a goal. It's hard enough when all my library holds come in at once and I only have a few weeks to read them all!

Everyone has been posting their favorite reads and after reading so many books, I can remember only a handful of them. Tops on my list are Lessons in Chemistry, followed by Unlikely Animals. These 2 books checked all the boxes--they grabbed me within the first couple of chapters, I didn't lose my interest, I didn't want to put them down, and they've stuck with me for a long time after finishing them. The characters were interesting and quirky. The stories weren't clichèd. And they were different.  A couple of other books are worth mentioning as well: What Could Be Saved, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, Remarkably Bright Creatures, Carrie Soto is Back, Hurricane Girl, Now is Not the Time to Panic, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

I also read a few non-fiction books, most of which were really good. Non-fiction November gave me an excuse to explore some books that were on my TBR but just couldn't find the time to read! I continue to refer back to Next Level, which validated and educated me about how to train after menopause. It's also on sale for kindle for $2.99 right now! Other favorites include Good for a Girl, Corrections in Ink, Solito, and Running While Black. 

This is just an observation of mine, but it seems to me that many of the books I read this year were unnecessarily long. I don't mind a long book if the story cannot be condensed--in fact, I'm reading an amazing one right now--but there's nothing worse than reading a book that just meanders on and on. Just get to the point! It reminds me of a hair stylist I used to go to who took an hour to cut my hair but mostly spent her time fluffing it. Chop chop! Good editing is a must to make a book crisp and interesting.

Over the holidays, my sister and I were comparing favorites and it was a good reminder that not everyone likes to read the same thing. Multiple times this year, I read highly recommended books only to be disappointed. People always ask me how I find the books I read and mostly, I pick books that are recommended by a couple of the book bloggers I follow. I hope that you will find a couple here that you might like!

Down With the Sickness!

At the start of the week, I continued to need time to recover from the never ending GI bug that started to plague me in the middle of last week. I started to feel better, physically, on Monday, but some lingering symptoms kept me from getting too active. 

As well, the cold weather finally let go of us on Tuesday, just in time to return to work! I decided not to get up at 4:30 for pool running to give myself a little extra rest. It was a good decision, as I woke up to an email from the park district that the pool was closed due to a water main break. I rolled out the yoga mat and had a date with Adriene, which was the perfect start to a decent day. 

There was nowhere to go but up from there! 

December Runfessions

It's the end of December, the holidays are just about over, and in a few days, we'll be singing Auld Lang Syne. But before we do that, it's time to clear our souls and soles by heading into the runfessional! Do you runfess? Marcia makes it easy by opening the runfessional on the last Friday of every month. It will feel so good to start the new year off fresh, wouldn't you agree?

It's The Little Things

As if getting ready for the holidays wasn't stressful enough, this week literally brought me to my knees as I was sidelined for several days after coming down with the stomach flu on Thursday. My job is the gift that keeps on giving! Speaking of my job, I also had my annual review, and let me just say that blindsided does not begin to describe it. The cherry on my sundae of a week included the arrival of the so-called 'bomb cyclone' on Thursday, bringing high winds and bitter cold, but thankfully, not much snow.

It's the little things.

The good news was that because of the weather, our office was closed on Friday, giving us all a bonus day off. I still wasn't feeling great on Friday, so I welcomed that extra time to recover. Plus, my youngest made it home from Wisconsin. It's so nice to have him around!

Hitting it Hard

I've been hitting it hard this month, lifting heavy weights to max out as we do this time of year, and this week I really felt it with heavy legs, especially on my runs. Running is my first love and I started strength training many years ago as a way to build strength for running and prevent injuries. Every year, when I hit my peak lifting weights and feel like this, I have to remind myself that I'm building for the upcoming year. With my focus shifting to trail running, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out, especially on those hills of Wisconsin...and maybe beyond. Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, just like we runners do with a goal race, I'm looking forward to being done with this strength cycle!

My Year of Bling and No Bling: 2022

After the disruption of the past 2 years, 2022 was the year when races and running returned to normal! Maybe a little too normal, as I ran 3 long distance races in the time span of 5 weeks. These were races that had been deferred from the year before.. I did DNS one fall race, a deferral from last year due to my broken leg. I didn't let the training go to waste though, using it to finish up the Mammoth Hike Challenge with a 14 mile run.

There were a couple of 5ks too. Those races rekindled my love for speed and pushing my pace. I'm considering working on that for 2023. But I'm getting ahead of myself--this is a recap!

All in all, this year was a really great comeback from a rough 2021! I've linked the title of each event to the summary if you want more details.

Another Runner's High

I don't want to jinx things, but my runs have been feeling really strong lately. I won't discount all that trail running I did during the fall, especially in October for the Mammoth Challenge. But I am definitely giving credit to my strength coach for this heavy strength cycle that we are wrapping up. Earlier this year, I shared that I felt as if she was pushing me too hard and asking me to lift weights which felt scary for me. We had a very difficult discussion surrounding this and she backed off a bit. When we started my strength cycle this fall, I was feeling ready to challenge myself again. For her part, SJ changed up the way I trained and I responded really well to that, both physically and mentally. I have really enjoyed this strength cycle and guess what? I'm going to challenge my 1RM in at least the deadlift and the bench press. I'm still not sure about the back squat, but SJ wants to work on those a little bit longer, so stay tuned for that.

This strength cycle has made me feel better about myself and that confidence has helped me on the road and at my job. On the road, over the past couple of weeks, I've experienced that runner's high several times after a run and it's been a while since I've had that happen! It happened again on Friday. What a great way to set a positive tone for the day!

Friday's mess of a run!

Which Ever Way the Wind Blows

If there ever was a more fitting theme for the week, it would be the wind. Oh my goodness, has it been windy. The wind was a big factor in my runs this week. The wind was also the reason I still don't have my outdoor Christmas decorations up. Our neighborhood sets up Christmas trees in their front yards, but this past week, many of them were blown over, and/or the decorations were blown all over their yards. Because it was still windy on Saturday, I stayed inside, decorating the inside of my house, and plan to do the outdoor decor today.

An attempt to capture a photo for Friday's coffee talk post was stymied by the wind

Holiday Gifts for Runners

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I was gifted the Fluid Running System. I was also gifted Born to Run: The Ultimate Training Guide. I was gifted items from Pens and Paces in exchange for sharing them with my readers. As an ambassador for Brooks Running and RoadiD, I receive complimentary gear. These are all items I own and love. All opinions are my own.

Every year, I post a holiday gift list for runners. Sometimes I include items I'd like to receive but this year, I'm featuring items that I own and love. Everything has been tested by me. Hopefully, you'll find something here that will make your runs better and more fun.

So what's on my gift list? I'd love plane tickets to do some traveling. I've got some fun plans for the upcoming year that I'm hoping come to fruition. Continued good health is always a wish, too! What's on your wish list?

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm finishing up a bag of Starbucks Thanksgiving roast, which is absolutely delicious. With a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half, it's just perfect for this time of year. 

What would you tell me over coffee?

Mini Book Reviews: Non-Fiction November 2022

Disclaimers: I received copies of books from Brooks Running, Amazon First Reads, and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

After my reading slump last month, I made the decision to declare this month Non-Fiction November! I later found out that NFN is really a thing in the reading world. And here I thought I starting something. No matter, this was an enjoyable diversion and a good reminder that I need to read more non-fiction. I picked a variety of books and enjoyed them all. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Solito. Hopefully, you'll find something here that you'll want to read!

A Week of Gratitude

'Tis the season for gratitude! For this week's rundown, I'm sharing all the things I'm grateful for. It goes without saying that I'm thankful for this weekly space where I can connect with you all and talk ad nauseam about running and fitness. 

Thankful for Runfessions!

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and I'm in my stretchy pants, ready to runfess. Every month on the last Friday, Marcia opens the runfessional, giving runners a chance to cleanse their soles and their souls. I'm always thankful for runfessions and there's really no penance. It's a win-win situation. It's also kind of fun, humbling, and entertaining. At least for me it is.

Some Areas of Concern

While my RA flare is winding down, I've got a few 'areas of concern' on my body: my right shoulder/scapula, my left knee, and my right SI joint. The left knee has been bothering me since that wipeout on the trails last summer. I've been diligent about doing my VMO activation work with the resistance band, but for some reason this week, it flared up again. My SI joint is also an old issue that has been quiet for a long time but has been talking to me over the past couple of weeks.  I'm dusting off the exercises I did while I was going to PT and hopefully, it will calm down quickly. 

The shoulder/scapula pain has been troubling me for about a month. It started with me waking up in the middle of the night with right shoulder pain and having to adjust my position. That usually took care of it and I mostly forgot about it. Then I started having pain in my mid-back, around my right scapula. Last week, SJ noticed that my shoulders were not aligned while I was doing bench presses. I always joke that know enough to be dangerous and I diagnosed myself with shoulder impingement syndrome. I consulted the PT at the gym and she agreed with me, giving me some exercises to do.

It's crazy that after feeling so good for so long, I'm experiencing all these 'hot spots'. SJ thinks that it's because I've been under so much stress lately--I'm tense, I have inflammation, and my cortisol levels are probably high. As we are in the middle of a heavy strength cycle at the gym, I will be focused on my prehab and being extra cautious with my body position during the lifts. It's a good thing that I'm not training for any races! I was also considering participating in the gym's powerlifting meet but I'm taking that off the table now. I really need to get back to yoga and stretching because clearly, my body is telling me something.