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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?
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!
'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.
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.
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.
Did you see the lunar eclipse this week? I'm not going to blame any of the week's craziness on it but still...
I've been feeling so good, physically at least, that I've been pushing myself hard. Running far, lifting heavy weights--who's old? On the other hand, my stress level has been at 1000%. With the so-called 'tripledemic' of RSV, influenza and Covid hitting my patients hard, I've been not only doing illness management but also providing reassurance to very anxious parents. That is on top of all the mental health issues that are pervasive in pediatrics. Other issues at work, such as the threat of being forced to pick up extra shifts in the ER, are very worrisome. All this has led to sleepless nights and mental exhaustion.
So it should have been no surprise when I found myself in a full-on RA flare on Wednesday morning. Everything hurt. When it was apparent that nothing was going to make me feel better but a day on the couch, I called off work. Cocoa happily kept me company and we napped together.
With the downtime, I contemplated my situation. At 60, I'm not quite ready to retire but the idea of looking for and starting a new job just doesn't make sense. Believe me, I do look. But the situation in healthcare is not good right now and I don't think it's going to be better anywhere else. It's frustrating and I feel stuck. As always, I am grateful for running and fitness to give me an outlet to manage my stress.
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| I was able to catch the lunar eclipse on my way to the pool! |
Last year, I participated in the Mammoth Hike Challenge as a way to get out on the trails while I rehabbed my broken ankle and foot. Heck, even if I hadn't had an injury, I would have done it. I discovered the Ice Age Trail during the pandemic and fell in love with the beauty, the climbs, and the solitude. Regular readers know that I spend many happy miles on these trails, both hiking and running.
When the Ice Age Trail Alliance announced this year's Mammoth Hike Challenge, I optimistically signed up, knowing that I would be out of town for a week in October. Even so, since I was running, I thought that maybe I'd be able to cover more miles this time. This year, the IATA awarded 10 bonus miles for participating in an official event, which I had earned from the Wisconsin Fall Colors Run. That gave me a little breathing room. But you know me...and I wanted to do all my 42 miles on the trail. Since this is a recap, you know that I did.
The challenge also requires that participants visit 3 official trail communities--towns adjacent to the trail that partner with the IATA. This year, the IATA added several new communities and I would expect more to join in the years to come. It's a win-win for both and encourages hikers to visit the towns. After visiting Janesville, I was on a mission to find murals this year and was rewarded in each of the towns I visited.
.png "Mammoth Hike Challenge 2022 cover")
So...remember that 2 weeks ago, I agonized over DNSing a half marathon? I even runfessed about it? Well, I have one more runfession regarding this race. Besides all the excuses I shared, I runfess... that I knew I needed 14 miles to finish the Mammoth Trail Challenge, so I decided to use my training to finish that instead. It's crazy how my priorities have changed. There's no medal for this event, I get a patch. It doesn't even matter. For me, it's all about that feeling of finishing something that means something to me.
And no more runfessions about that race. I promise.
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Let's catch up over coffee! It feels like we just did this, but here we are again. What are you having? I've got home brewed Starbucks French Roast with the usual GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. I have received a few Starbucks gift cards this year and I need to spend them!
What would you tell me over coffee?
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I've been in a bit of a reading slump this month. I've found myself struggling to get through several books that were actually very good, and even DNFing one that just didn't grab me. You know how much I love to read and this has troubled me. Interestingly, an article in this month's Bookish newsletter addresses the reading slump and gives suggestions to help break out of one. One of the tactics, changing genres, is exactly what I plan to do for November! I've got a few nonfiction books on my TBR and have declared it 'Non-Fiction November'. Hint hint, that's what I'll be doing next month. Does anyone want to join me?
Well, October ended quickly! It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Halloween. I feel so grateful to have been able to spend a week out west with my sister and away from the chaos of healthcare. I returned home Monday night and jumped right back in the fray Tuesday morning. But I'm still basking in the glow of that California sunshine, time with my sister, and oh...those trails!
Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat...or let me runfess! It's the last Friday of October, Halloween is just around the corner, and Marcia has opened the runfessional. Maybe instead of penance, she'll hand out Reese's Peanut Butter pumpkins!
What's your favorite Halloween candy? What do you have to runfess?
.png "Runfessions cover")
This week, my sister and I traveled to California for our 11th annual sister trip! We first started our tradition as a getaway to Naples, Florida to 'celebrate' my 50th birthday. The following year, my sister turned 50 and we went on our second sister trip to Las Vegas. We've continued to go somewhere new every year with the exception of 2020, due to the pandemic and my sister's diagnosis of breast cancer.
Thankfully, we've moved on from both of those events! This year, our travels took us to Santa Barbara. I added a couple of days to my trip so that I could spend time at my sister's new place in Palm Desert. I share some of the details below. I feel so fortunate to have had these getaways with my sister. Not only is she my closest sister but she is my best friend. As we always do, we had a great time and a lot of laughs!
As you read this, I'm still in California and will sadly be returning to Illinois on Monday. Reality is always so hard after a fun time away!
Sorry Marcia, but I'm going to need to runfess early.
I runfess... I took a DNS for Saturday's half marathon. This was the race I deferred from last fall after I broke my leg. I haven't done any runs longer than 9 miles...my son had a rugby game in Madison on Saturday...my knee is bothering me...I wasn't feeling it. All excuses and all enough to make me decide mid-week to skip the race.
It's so not like me to do this. But it sure feels like the right thing to do.
I can't remember the last time I DNS'd a race. I felt a little guilty about it, but mostly I felt relieved. I'm not a quitter, but this race was causing me a lot of mental stress. It's my son's last year playing college rugby and I don't want to miss a game. I want to get more trail miles for the Mammoth challenge.
What I don't want to do right now is run a half marathon.
Running is my stress reliever and when running is the cause of my stress...
Between work and life in general, it was a really busy week. Thank goodness for my runs and workouts to help keep me balanced. I've got a lot to share here! Let's get to it!
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| Friday morning sky |
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Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? This month, I'm having a cup of Colectivo Ethiopia. My hubs gifted me 2 bags of Colectivo for my birthday. It's my favorite and I've been enjoying it with my usual scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. No PSL for me. I'm sorry but I'm not a fan.
What would you tell me over coffee?
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This month, I read 5 really good books. They were all books that I couldn't breeze through, full of great writing and were completely immersive stories. They were also longer than the books I've been reading lately. It made me wonder if these authors used the downtime of the pandemic to pen some really excellent reads! Whatever the reason, I can't pick a favorite this month, so you'll just have to read my reviews and decide for yourself. I also have to comment even though I'm not a fan of Good Morning America, they are picking some really good books for their book club! I've already got this month's selection queued up on my Kindle!
It's a little cooler than it's supposed to be this time of year and that's really got me feeling fall! No complaints--we have gorgeous blue skies and perfect conditions for running. I do admit to feeling a little guilt at enjoying these conditions in light of the horrible tragedy following Hurricane Ian in the south.
My favorite part of Florida is the gulf coast. Over the years, we've spent many happy vacations down there. We've stayed in Ft Myers Beach, Naples, and Sanibel, as well as several other locations that weren't as severely affected by the storm. Several of my friends and neighbors have relocated to that part of Florida. We've heard from most of them, but not all. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose your home or worse to a storm like that. I hope and pray that everyone affected is able to recover quickly.
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.
All things considered, turning 60 wasn't so bad. I get it, it's 'just' a number, but it's the whole idea of that number! Nothing changed for me except that I'm in a new age group. I'm still running and even ran a speedy 6 on Friday. It was just what I needed!
Where did my 50s go? It feels like I just agonized over this, but here I am, on the cusp of another decade. These milestone birthdays do get more painful. I'm just going to say it: turning 60 is messing with my head. I've never felt my age and I don't now, but over the past couple of years, I've noticed a change in how others see me. When I look in the mirror, I don't always recognize the old person looking back at me. I don't see myself as old and when people comment that I 'look good for my age' or some other similar statement, it always makes me pause. As do comments like "are you still doing that (running)?
It's as if I've crossed into some taboo territory where women of a certain age are supposed to disappear. If I was a man, would people say things like this to me? Will women ever overcome the stigma of aging?
Even though it's still quite warm, the air has a different feel to it! Maybe it's a Midwestern thing. I'm sitting outside on my deck as I write this, listening to the cicadas singing and looking at the browning leaves on all my tomato plants. On my trail runs, I've also noticed some foliage changing colors. The mornings are cooler, too. I just love this time of year and I'm doing my best to savor it because we know what's next.
I also love this time of year because it reminds me of training for and running my fall marathons. While I always had a love/hate relationship with those long runs, I really do love the training journey. Even when it doesn't always turn out as planned--you get me? Anyway, there's just something about fall running that is really special.
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Fellow runners, you'd have to be living under a rock not to have heard the tragic story of Eliza Fletcher, the young mother of 2, who was abducted last week during an early morning run. Her body was found several days later and a suspect has been arrested. The reaction of the running community is one of shock. Non-runners have a different take, the most common is the belief that she shouldn't have been running alone at 4:30 in the morning. Or at any time of day.
This makes me angry and sad. When my boys were young, I had no choice but to get up and out the door by 4:30am in order to get my runs in before my husband left for work. I always joked that I ran with the skunks and the newspaper delivery person. People asked me if I was scared and I have to admit that I never was. While I never liked running in the dark, I loved the solitude of my early morning runs before I started my busy day as a mom and a nurse.
While those uber-early morning runs are in the past, I still prefer to run by myself. I still enjoy the solitude of being out on my trails and in my head, soaking up nature. Don't get me wrong. By running alone, I know that I am vulnerable. I carry my phone with me and when I remember, I wear my GoGuarded ring. I do my best to stay alert. Very rarely have I seen another person that made me leery, but when I do, I change my direction.
Would someone caution a man not to run by himself? Why do women have to feel so unsafe when they are running alone? And why do people blame the victim for incidents that happen because they are alone?
I have no answers. But I finished her run.
I didn't post a Weekly Rundown last weekend. If you follow me regularly, you know that I was diagnosed with Covid early last week. While I didn't feel terrible, I didn't feel particularly good either and there were no workouts to share. The one thing no one talks about is how Covid really saps your energy--probably one of the worst things that could happen to a runner. As the week went on, I started to feel a little more energetic. But mostly I slept. A lot.
Needing a change of scenery, the hubs and I took a ride up to the lake on Saturday. The forecast called for a 4% chance of rain and I was looking forward to time on the water. I wasn't sure about waterskiing, though. A few hours after we arrived, it started to rain and it didn't stop all day. I guess it was Mother Nature's way of keeping me off my feet!
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Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I'm enjoying a cup of Starbucks Veranda Blend with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. What's new in your world?
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This was the month of slow, satisfying books. All the books I read were beautifully written, which meant I needed to take my time and savor the prose. So how did I read so many this month? Being stuck on the couch with Covid for a week, that's how. There aren't any quick reads here, but a lot of these books were so immersive that I couldn't put them down. My favorite? Hands down, it was The Displacements, an adrenaline-pumping disaster book, which kept me up late at night because I didn't want to stop.
I feel like we just did this, but here we are again, at the end of another month, at the door of the Runfessional. Do you runfess? It's a great way to clear your soles and souls of transgressions from the month. Marcia makes it easy.
What do you have to runfess?
In addition to my excitement of being part of the Brooks Run Happy Team this year, I was invited to attend Camp Run Happy in Park City, Utah! This was the first year a live camp would take place and the team was ready for it. Over 100 team members from the US and Canada were in attendance. As you can imagine, it was an incredible experience. I wanted to share some, ok a lot of photos, as well as some of the highlights of this very short trip but very fun trip.
%20copy.png "Recap: Camp Run Happy cover")
.png "Camp Week is here cover")
Malaise and fatigue set in this week. I assume it's a combination of another very active weekend out of town and the stress of life. I pushed through my workouts and by Friday, I started to feel more like myself again. The heat and humidity returned with a vengeance and the hubs and I opted to stay home this weekend. Did I ever mention that we don't have AC at the lake house? Why would you?
I'm heading out early Sunday morning to beat the heat and meet the Trail Sisters for a run. I also have a job interview this week. I think the interview will be a good experience but I'm not sure it's a job that I want to take. The hubs reminded me that with a milestone birthday for both of us this year 'we are nearing the finish line'. That gave me pause, but I thought it was kind of a funny metaphor for where we are at in our lives!
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Wow, didn't July just fly by? And I unintentionally made a little poem...
Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? The hubs brought me some Colectivo Co-Optiva, which is my favorite blend. 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? And can you stand one more Little Miss meme? I do love them.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a PRC of Now is Not the Time To Panic from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review.
July sure flew by didn't it? Reading-wise, this month was a mixed bag of books for me while I waited for my library holds to come in. As usual, all 6 of them came in at once towards the end of the month. So stay tuned for my August reviews, as I furiously make my way through the pile. Meanwhile, I read a prerelease by a favorite author of mine, a quirky little read by another familiar author, a trashy thriller--who doesn't like those?, a novel about time travel from my Kindle TBR, and 2 books from my library holds. This was a very satisfying month of books!
I returned home on Monday night after my fun trip to Alabama to see Holly. I shared on my Runfessions post that even though I packed my running shoes, they never left the suitcase. We spent the entire weekend on the water, mostly waterskiing but also sunning and boating. It was so fun and just what I needed. While I knew that I was stressed from work and feeling burned out, I just didn't realize how much I needed a break.
I returned to work on Tuesday with a clear head and a different perspective. Later that day, I met with my medical director to discuss some patient care issues. I told her that I am starting to consider finding something different to do. Working in healthcare is more challenging than ever. A few years ago, we were all heroes. Now people come in after 'doing their own research'. They demand treatments and refuse vaccines, filing complaints against us if we don't give them what they want. There's also the increased volume of mental health issues that we are seeing and the lack of resources available to help our patients. The demands from upper management to see more patients, have high patient satisfaction scores, and provide good care are pushing everyone to the breaking point.
She and I discussed the 'talking points' that management throws at us in an effort to 'help us' deal with the stress of the job: find ways to cope and maintain work/life balance. I manage my stress just fine outside of the office! By this, I mean that I work out regularly, eat well and sleep well, and I work part-time. I'm fine when I'm not at work. It's not me, it's the job. She completely agreed with me. Unless that changes--which it won't--then I need to make a change. So stay tuned while I sort that out.
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| Lake Jordan sunset |
Didn't it seem like July just flew by? It's been a fun, busy month for me. Here we are, on the last Friday of the month, meeting to share our runfessions. I'm always grateful to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us cleanse our soles and our souls. As usual, I have a few things to share.
Can I just kick it off by runfessing how much I love these Little Miss and Little Mr memes?
.png "Little Miss Runfesstions cover")
This knee injury is so not my fault.
I blame the tree root that tripped me up a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the pain is getting worse. On Wednesday (see below), my run was rudely interrupted by searing pain in the base of my left knee, right below the knee cap. As the week went on, the pain lessened but any attempt to run (even to cross a street) made my knee angry again.
On Friday, I saw a PT, who happens to be a friend of mine and she concurred with what Dr. Skiba told me last week. She noted that my kneecap was out of alignment and taped it for me, using McConnell taping. This is a rigid tape as opposed to the stretchier Kinesio tape we runners like to use. I felt immediately better. She also said I could try to run. I'll probably need to keep taping it for a while until the bruise resolves, but she thinks I'll be able to go back to using my Rock Tape.
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| Friday's run |
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On my nightstand is a stack of running books, waiting to be read and reviewed. At the top of the pile was Running in the Midpack, a book I won in a giveaway sometime last year. I guess I haven't been in the mood to read another how-to-be a runner book and so it sat along with the other running advice books that I have yet to read. I was joking about my running TBR pile with Liz, a book blogger and fellow runner from Great Britain. She also had a copy in her TBR and suggested that we do tandem reviews. I strung her along for a few more months and she finally pinned me down. So my request is that after you read this review, you go over to her blog to read hers. She's a full time book reviewer, so her review will be very different from mine!
Throughout all my 30+ years of running, I've always been a middle-of-the-pack runner. In my early running years, I was pretty disappointed by the idea of being in the 'middle'. I'm a perfectionist and as much as I'm loathed to admit it, I always try to bring my best to whatever I do. So being a midpack runner did not fit with my drive to be the best. As an older and more experienced runner, I've grown comfortable with my place in the pack. After all, it's not about competing with others, it's about competing with myself. Right? At least that's what I tell myself.
