February Runfessions

Note to my readers: 

In light of yesterday's Russian attack on Ukraine, I was reluctant to post my runfessions. I don't want to be insensitive to this terrible crisis. But humor is one of my coping mechanisms. My hope is that my runfessions will not be viewed as thoughtless but rather as a way to briefly distract from current events and maybe even put a smile on your face. I pray that there will be a swift end to this aggressive act and that the people of Ukraine will once again have their freedom. 

It's been a tough couple of years, hasn't it? Come with me and take a break from the bad news, at least briefly. Tell me what you have to runfess!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

This week, Sammy Jo and I sat down and had a candid discussion. A few weeks ago, she pushed me a little harder on a lift than I felt comfortable with. While I did say something at the time and she reduced the reps, she still had me lift the weight. I was upset that she wanted me to continue, but I didn't want to let her down. I left that session feeling sore and unsettled. Those feelings simmered. When I saw her the following week, I said something about it to her, but it didn't go well at all. After taking some time to think about it, I walked into this week's strength session, prepared to discuss it but also ready to call it quits if she wanted. 

I explained how I felt about lifting something so heavy. I felt scared that I was going to hurt myself. I didn't want to disappoint her. I didn't want to disappoint myself. I felt like she thought I was a wimp for saying it was too heavy. And I apologized for not saying something at the time. Then it was her turn. She didn't hold back. Bottom line: she said she knew I could do the lift. She said she would be ok if I couldn't. She wants me to tell her how I'm feeling at the time. Most importantly, she said it's ok to fail on a lift. In fact, she told me she expected it on the one that scared me because she knew how heavy it was. She'd rather have me try and fail than not try at all. This, she said, is how to get stronger. 

And isn't that the goal?

Dear February,

Dear February,

As you know, I really don't mind winter, as long as there's snow on the ground and a few sunny days. I also don't mind a snow-free path, even if it is cold out. But every year, you mess things up. You throw in a warm day and melt the snow, only to freeze it and turn everything to ice. It would be great if you could make up your mind. 

Anything but ice. 

Sincerely,

Wendy

A Quick Recovery

 Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link. 

My recovery from eye surgery continued this week, with rapid healing. Every day I was pleased to wake up to less bruising and swelling. I returned to work on Friday. Fortunately, my schedule was fairly light, thanks to the drop in Covid cases. It was a nice way to ease back in after my time at home.

Friday's pre-sunrise run

Coffee Talk

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Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm having a cup of Dunkin with my usual scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. I need to get some more of that Colectivo that I had last month. I love our coffee chats because it's a great opportunity for all of us to talk about things in our lives outside of running. This month I have a lot to share, so let's get to it!

Mini Book Reviews: January 2022

 Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Bright Side Running Club in exchange for my honest review.

Didn't January feel like the longest month ever? Reading-wise, I finished 6 books: a couple newish releases, some backlist reads, and a NetGalley ARC. Once again, Reese's book club selection was disappointing. So was Liane Moriarity's new one. No DNFs though, and that's a good thing. 

A Little Downtime

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

The week started off strong. I had a minor surgical procedure scheduled for Tuesday. I knew that I'd have to lay low the rest of the week, so I started the week in high gear, making sure I got some good sweat in before I was banished to the couch. 

Winter Runfessions

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Time is just flying by, isn't it? At least that's a good thing this time of year. As much as I love playing in the snow, I'd much rather be playing on the lake. Is that a runfession? It's that time again and Marcia's got the runfessional open so we can cleanse our soles! Mine have been full of snow and that's a good thing. 

How about you? What do have to runfess?

Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

There's a saying that runners are friends you haven't met yet. I've met some of my best friends through running. Of course, with any group of people, there's bound to be a few who aren't your type. But have you ever met someone who left you scratching your head? 

Random horseshoe tree on Sunday's trail run

Fighting the Good Fight

For those of us who work in healthcare, especially those of us who are working with patients, things have never been so bad as they've been the past couple of weeks. I don't talk much about work here on the blog, but I don't think I've ever felt as burned out and run down as I have lately. This current surge is affecting children more than we've seen with any other strain of Covid.  I'm testing multiple patients throughout the day and the large majority of them are testing positive. Combine that with the mental health crisis we are seeing in pediatrics and yeah, it makes for a tough day. 

The good news is that at least here in the Chicago area, the numbers of Covid cases are starting to level off. My hope is that this variant continues on its fast and furious pattern, burning itself out soon. Fortunately, none of the kids I've seen are very sick. I wear my N95 mask all day with the hope of not getting sick. 

It's increasingly hard to motivate myself to go to work. Making sure that I get in a run or a workout before my day begins has continued to keep me grounded. I also have tried some meditation through the Happify app and that simple act of breathing and centering helps to keep my anxiety down. I'm certainly not ready to leave my job, but I am ready for things to normalize somewhat. 

Frozen Gnome 10k Race Recap

Last year, I optimistically signed up for the Frozen Gnome 10k, thinking that since it was outdoors on the trails, it wouldn't be canceled. Covid had other ideas and the race was made virtual. The organizers encouraged runners to come and run on the course anyways, which I did. It was so much fun and you can read that race recap here. 

With everything opening back up in late 2021, I again optimistically signed up for the race. This year, it wasn't canceled! Early on a cold but sunny Saturday morning, I drove out to the park where the race would take place. I was excited to run it and cross the actual finish line!

How Low Will You Go?

When you live in the northern part of the US, you get winter. This week, we had arctic-style temperatures and yeah, it was cold. On Thursday, I was working out with SJ when a fellow athlete walked in and asked, "why do we live here?" 

I get it. I'm not a fan of the cold either. But I do like the snow and when you live here, you have to make the best of it. I grew up in a rural area of Illinois and we played outside all winter long, sledding, ice skating, and snowmobiling. I was an avid downhill skier, although the hills we have for skiing would be laughable to those of you who live out west. 

I've learned to dress for the cold so that I can get my miles done outside. As long as the wind isn't blowing, I can tolerate just about any temperature. But every once in a while, I have to take my runs to the treadmill. It happened once this week. You know it's cold when Cocoa won't stay out for long. 

I ask you this:

Coffee talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Let's catch up over coffee! What are you drinking? For Christmas, my husband gifted me a couple bags of my favorites from Colectivo, a local coffee roaster. Today, I'm drinking the Indigo blend. With a splash of half and half and a scoop of GLG collagen, it is such a treat. I'm always sad when I get to the bottom of my mug. Not only does it mean I'm done with coffee, but it signals that it's time to get on with my day.  

What would you tell me over coffee?

Another Idiot Runner

Who's an idiot? Apparently, me...and a few other runners I saw on Wednesday's snowy, muddy, slushy trail run. I was crossing the parking lot, deciding between calling it quits and continuing on for a couple more miles. A group of 4 runners I had seen earlier on the trails was stripping down in the sunshine and preparing to leave, when one of them called out to me. "Another idiot runner!" I stopped and he laughed, gesturing to his running companions. "All of us," he said, laughing. 

I don't know if running the trails in the snow and slop constitutes a diagnosis of idiocy, but I laughed and continued on, telling the group I had been planning to stop but challenge accepted. I mean, how could I stop after that backhanded compliment? I ended up going 2 more miles before returning to my car.

Wednesday's sloppy trail run

Mini Book Reviews: December 2021

Disclaimer: I received an ARC copy of The Unsinkable Greta James from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The Taste of Ginger was provided free as an Amazon First Read. This post contains affiliate links.

I bookfess that after waiting forever to be able to download Liane Moriarity's latest, Apples Never Fall, from the library to my e-reader, I accidentally hit the 'return' button instead of 'read' and poof! It was gone. Ugh! I put myself back in the queue. I continually work on mindfulness--but it seems I've got to do a better job.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other great options for me to read this month.

Holiday Runfessions

It's New Year's Eve, but it's also the last Friday of the month, which means it's time for Runfessions! Marcia opens up the runfessional every final Friday of the month. It's a great time to cleanse your soles. Mine are plenty dirty, from running in the mud. What did you think I meant?

Let's get to it!

'Tis the Season to Keep Moving

Just because it's the busy holiday season doesn't mean I put my workouts on the back burner! Au contraire, my friends. If anything, I'll cut back on holiday prep to squeeze my workouts in. This year feels more stressful than usual to me. Between the chronic stress of the pandemic and the explosion of Covid cases in the past couple of weeks, I need to move my body more than ever! Thank goodness for it all. 

Friday's foggy 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

At Least the Buckthorn Was Happy to See Me

 

Bling Interrupted: 2021 races

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.

Running Back in Time

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 7-ish miles--Garmin malfunction

Monday: pool running

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: trail run 5 miles

Thursday: strength training

Friday: run 5.5 miles

Saturday: rest

10 Great Gifts for the Runner in Your Life

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from certain purchases.

Ho ho ho! A little late with my annual Holiday Gift List, I wanted to once again share some of the things I've loved over the past year as well as a few things that I'm wishing for. If you read my blog regularly, you know that I'm spending more of my time on the trails and my list reflects that! But there are items here for any kind of runner. I hope you find something for yourself or for the runner in your life.

A Return to Running

My return to running from my ankle and foot fractures continues! While writing this recap, I can't help but share my pride in my progress. I've been slowly increasing my running intervals for the past month but really -ahem- hit my stride this week, with 2 longish trail runs and another zippy 5 miler on the bike path. While my ankles are still a bit cranky, once they loosen up, I'm able to move well. RA hasn't always been happy with my increased miles either, but I ran a total of 69 miles in November.

Wow. I saw that number and was stunned. Happy, but stunned.

Why has this comeback gone so well? I credit the work I did while I was healing. Instead of agonizing about not being able to run, I looked at what I could do. As soon as I could, I started walking. I added pool running, which gave me cardio and mobility. I participated in a trail hiking challenge on the Ice Age Trail, which helped me build strength and work on agility. My strength coach adjusted our sessions to incorporate mobility work in addition to building strength. The funny thing is that I didn't plan any of this. These opportunities came my way and I took advantage of them. 

I'm going to continue to increase my running intervals with the goal of eventually eliminating the walk intervals. Pool running will stay in my rotation through the winter. I'd like to add more strength work and I'm still trying to figure out when I can add CrossFit back in. It's a great problem to have, isn't it? 

Apparently, I run with my eyes closed!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an associate with Amazon, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Let's sit down over a cup of coffee and catch up! What are you having? I'm sipping on Dunkin's holiday version--it's more roasty than the regular blend--with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. 

What's new with you?

Mini Book Reviews: November 2021

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a PRC of The Maid. This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

November was a mixed bag of reading for me. I picked up several critically acclaimed, best of 2021 books, but they weren't my favorites. This isn't the first time this has happened to me. Sometimes I think that the critics are looking for something different than the average reader. I read for pleasure and to escape. When looking for books to read, my advice is to do what I do and find a few book bloggers who like the same books as you do. Read what they like. Some of my favorite book bloggers include Susie at Novel Visits and Sarah at Sarah's Bookshelves. While you might not always agree with what they pick, it's a good start. I follow both of these ladies on Goodreads as well. 

Enough Already

For the past 4 1/2 months since my injury, I've been patiently returning to running. There has been a lot of splashing around in the pool. Modified strength training. Walking and hiking. And finally last week, full-on running, using 3:1 run/walk intervals. I've been pretty pleased with what has mostly been uneventful, steady progress. 

Until Thursday. After my pool running session, I decided to set up our outdoor Christmas tree. The whole neighborhood sets up little trees in their front yards. It's pretty awesome and since it wasn't terribly cold, it was a good day to do it. I gathered the ornaments and proceeded to carry them outside when I missed a step in the garage and painfully rolled my ankle. Not my right ankle, thankfully. It was my left and oh did it hurt. I felt sick to my stomach and had to sit down for a few minutes to evaluate the damage. Nothing broken, thank goodness. I stood up and hobbled out to the tree. As I moved around to decorate it, I started to feel better. I finished my job and headed back inside to rub some CBD salve on the ankle and put it up for the day. As I write this, it's still sore and stiff but I'm able to run and walk without a problem.

Grateful nothing bad happened, I couldn't help but think, enough already! It kind of felt like a theme for the week.

Wet Runfessions

Another month, another visit to the runfessional. I swear, sometimes these posts just write themselves. Thank goodness for yet another opportunity to cleanse my soles. Marcia opens the runfessional on the last Friday of every month. I have to say it really feels good.

Let's get right to it!

I runfess... I do not understand the allure of Swedish Fish as fuel during running. Or at any time for that matter. I recently republished a post about race mistakes and Lisa shared an experience with chewing Swedish Fish while trying to smile for a race photographer. Her story reminded me that on my recent flight out west, Swedish Fish were handed out as the inflight snack. Umm, that would be a hard NO. They have no taste and are impossible to chew. I want to keep my dental work intact, thank you very much. Plus, chewing and running is HARD.

So is the act of drinking and running, which I have also never mastered I don't know about you, but I always have to stop to drink during a race. I runfess I discovered during my recent Fluid Running 10k, I cannot pool run and drink either. Clearly, I am lacking the essential skills for success. 

I runfess... when I went to the pool for my most recent Fluid Running sesh, I forgot to pack a few essentials. Like my flip-flops. Walking barefoot in the locker room? EWWW. Even worse...when I got out of the pool I realized I had also forgotten to pack a towel. Thinking I'd have to pull my clothes on over my wet skin, I spied the paper towel dispenser and yep, dried myself off with paper towels. 

I runfess... that I find a lot of interesting things by the roadside when I'm running. On a recent Friday morning run, I stopped to examine this package along the frontage road. SO MANY QUESTIONS!  I found something similar a few years ago. Who just flings these things out the window of the car? And I can I ask about the red bra laying next to it? What is the backstory here?

I runfess... that it is no big secret I like to work out alone. Over the years, I've had people want to run with me--remember that neighbor who used to wait for me at the end of his driveway? The one I had to break up with and tell him 'it's not you, it's me'? Now it's happening to me at the pool. I'm tethered to the ladder, headphones in my ears, minding my own business, splashing away in the corner, and the pool people are drifting over to me on their noodles, making small talk. The worst is the man who just floats in place, only his head above the surface. This week he kept floating backward towards me. I picked up my pace, hoping that the turbulence would push him away.

What do you have to runfess? Swedish Fish, yes or no? Can you drink water while running? What's the dumbest thing you've ever done? The most interesting thing you've ever found? 

By the way... As much as I joke about the pool people, I am a huge fan of pool running. Pool running kept me fit and ready for running while I recovered from my injuries over the past 5 months. I plan on continuing to keep pool running in my fitness regimen over the winter. I've been using the Fluid Running system and have tried many of their different workouts. The classes are appropriate for all fitness levels! You don't need to be a swimmer to be a pool runner. 

I'm linking up with Marcia for Runfessions and with the ladies of Fit Five Friday: Darlene, Michelle, Renee, Jenn, and Zenaida.

So Much to be Grateful For

With Thanksgiving coming up later this week, it's time to reflect on all that we are grateful for. Let's be honest, for so many reasons, 2021 has been a really crappy year. I'm not going to talk about any of that. It's Thanksgiving and I'm going to focus on the positive, the stuff that kept me going in spite of what was truly a very difficult year for me personally:

• My sister was declared cancer-free after completing her chemo for breast cancer, 
• My youngest son returning to in-person learning and rugby at the University of Wisconsin, 
• My granddog, adopted by my oldest son, 
• Cocoa's successful ear surgery, 
• Celebrating my parents' 60th anniversary in person with the entire family, 
• Waterskiing with Holly, 
• The COVID vaccine,
• Pool running,
• The Ice Age Trail and completing the Mammoth Challenge.

And this week, my return to full-on running. 

On Thanksgiving, we'll be celebrating in person, with my entire family. I'm looking forward to it!

Wednesday's trail run

Digging Deep

I was tired and achy all week. Was it the time change? The dramatic shift in the weather? Work stress? RA? On Thursday, I woke up to a dark, windy, rainy morning. I felt unusually achy and even after my cup of coffee, was unable to shake it off. It's been a long time since I have felt this bad, and all things considered, I guess I was due for a day on the couch. 

It's never easy for me to surrender, but I canceled my strength session with SJ and my haircut. With Cocoa by my side, I snuggled under a blanket, slathered my knees and wrists with my favorite CBD salve, and read a book. Sometimes the body knows best. I'm glad I listened.

Friday's dig deep empowering run

Recap: Mammoth Hike Challenge on the Ice Age Trail

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!

A Shocking Amount of Miles

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.

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

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. 

Mini Book Reviews: October 2021

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the PRC of Win Me Something and Running is a Kind of Dreaming.

October was a mixed bag of reading. There were a couple really good books, a couple of meh reads, and a DNF. While it feels like for most of the year I've been lucky to have an abundance of good books to choose from, October felt like a little bit of a dry spell. I dug into my NetGalley list as well as my Kindle downloads for a few books. Gotta love a good backup plan and I was not disappointed! I need to do that more often.

A Change of Scenery: Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone

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. 

Creepy Crawly Runfessions

It sure has been a long month, hasn't it? With plenty of time to accumulate runfessions, you'd think I'd have a ton for this post. I'm not usually at a loss of things to runfess, but there haven't been a lot of running miles this month. No worries, there's always something to share. Most of my 'fessions this month are of the creepy, crawly kind. Kind of apropos for October, don't you think? Thank goodness Marcia opens the runfessional! 

What do you have to runfess?

I'm Going on an Adventure!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Greetings from Jackson Hole, Wyoming! My sister and I have dashed off on another sister adventure. As you may be aware, this is a tradition we started 9 years ago in lieu of a big celebration for a milestone birthday. We've been on all kinds of fun adventures since then. Last year, we were unable to travel due to the pandemic and even more so, my sister's diagnosis with breast cancer. She's doing great now. I'm so happy to resume our fun tradition. 

I prepared this post before I left and will link up as usual. It may take me a few days to get caught up with everyone's comments and posts. I know you understand!

At the crossing of 4 trails in Devil's Lake State Park
Which way to go?

RA Checks In

Throughout my recovery from my ankle and foot fractures, I secretly marveled and was grateful that RA remained quiet. My recovery has been steady and I've been able to increase my activities accordingly. However, this week, RA reminded me that it's always around. I've been having a flare and while it hasn't sidelined me, I have felt pretty achy and my joints are swollen. I'm not sure what triggered the symptoms--the change in the weather? Or maybe my 3 1/2 hour hike on Sunday had something to do with it. As always, I am grateful for what I CAN do, even when I don't feel like it. 

As we RA warriors like to say, motion is lotion. I do actually feel better once I get moving. Let's hope this flare just fades away. 

Friday's walk/run

Book Review: Running is a Kind of Dreaming

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Running is a Kind of Dreaming from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Jason Thompson is an ultrarunner. He's a clinical psychologist. He's also a survivor of a traumatic childhood, mental illness, and substance abuse. In his memoir Running is a Kind of Dreaming, Thompson shares his life story, reflecting as he suffers through a 200 mile ultramarathon around Lake Tahoe. His story makes for compelling reading and I found myself rooting for him to finish the race as successfully as he conquered his demons in his life. It's a powerful and intense read.