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.
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Ok, that title should be the start of a joke... do you remember my fall on the trails from a few weeks ago? The one where I thought I broke my finger? Well, the finger ended up being fine, but my knee has been giving me some trouble since then. With a 5k on Sunday that I wasn't planning on DNSing, I finally broke down and taped my knee, following instructions on YouTube. My knee felt so much better! But on Tuesday, when I returned to the pool, I had pain with some of the pool running movements. I contacted our sports medicine department at my work and the athletic trainer was kind enough to schedule me with Dr. Skiba on Thursday. I am happy to report that he doesn't think anything serious is wrong with my knee except for a bone bruise. He did tell me that it could take several months to resolve. But he and his AT approved of my tape job, so I ordered another box of RockTape to prepare myself for some more taping!
I'm really lucky to have access to Dr. Skiba. He was the medical consultant for the Breaking 2 project, which was sponsored by Nike back in 2017. If you haven't seen the documentary, it is well worth a watch. I refer a lot of my patients to Dr. Skiba and I've always wanted to meet him, but obviously not as a patient! He could not be nicer and more down-to-earth. We talked briefly about that project and he said he really enjoyed working with Eliud and the other two runners. It's pretty exciting having such a well-regarded and knowledgeable sports medicine provider available locally!
Disclaimer: I received a PRC of Carrie Soto is Back from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post contains affiliate links.
I don't normally have a 'theme' for my monthly reads, but reflecting on the books I read in June, I'd say that each book I read is woman-centric. In fact, each of the books has a strong woman (or 2 or 3) as the main character. I'm happy to see such strong representation, in light of what has happened in the US over the past couple of weeks!
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| Thursday's Strength Session |
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Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? Today I'm having a local roast, Granville, from Metropolis Coffee. We used to live on Granville when we lived in Chicago, so I just couldn't pass this one up! I learned that Metropolis has opened a cafe in Edgewater, right down the street from our old apartment building. Such good memories and every time I have a cup of this delicious blend, it takes me back. What a great neighborhood!
Anyway, I've got my usual GLG collagen and a splash of half and half to make everything just right!
So what would you tell me over coffee?
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| I was doing such a good job of avoiding all the tree roots, too! |
It's that time of the month again, that time we all wait for...it's time to Runfess! Do you runfess? On the last Friday of every month, Marcia opens up the Runfessional so we can cleanse our soles. And our souls. Quite often it's both. As always, I have plenty to runfess, so let's get to it...
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About 10 years ago, I was finishing up a yoga class, talking about running with one of the other participants. Another woman came up to us and joined in the conversation. She turned to me and told me that I should enjoy running now because, after menopause, I wouldn't be able to run anymore. I didn't hear the rest of what she said because I was so stunned at this declaration. I looked at her as she spoke and realized that she was exactly what I didn't want to become in my older years. I was still feeling great. I couldn't imagine that happening to me. I vowed that it wouldn't.
For sure, in my mid-50s, there was a period of time when I really struggled with my endurance. Fortunately, my strength workouts never suffered. I adjusted my expectations, cutting back running to 3 days per week and adding run/walk intervals into my runs to help me complete those long distances. I continued strength training and added a day of CrossFit to my weekly regimen. I also began to adjust my diet, finding that more protein and fewer refined carbs gave me more endurance and stable blood sugars. After a few years, things settled down for me and to this day, I continue to enjoy running the way I did prior to menopause. Albeit, a little bit slower.
A friend sent me a copy of Dr. Stacy Sims' new book, Next Level. Sims is an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who studies female athletes and performance. Next Level is geared to woman experiencing perimenopause and menopause. It's an amazing read--empowering and oh so helpful. I feel as if I have found my new training bible.
The heat was on this week! We broke long-standing records for high temperatures. We also had a crazy bad thunderstorm on Monday. The tornado warning sirens went off 4 times. Thankfully not much damage happened and we didn't lose power. It's been a wild weather ride this year, hasn't it?
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| Wednesday's steamy run |
I really felt out of sorts this week for all kinds of reasons. The weather was pretty blah--lots of rain and cool, cloudy conditions. I've had to switch up my workout schedule for the summer, which isn't a big deal but made me feel like a rigid old person who can't roll with the changes. And oh, my job...it was a tough week on top of a string of tough weeks. Let's just say that I'm underpaid and overworked and leave it at that. I'm so close to retirement but I'm not ready to leave just yet...we shall see how things go. At this point in my life, I'm not sure I want to start something new. Trying to focus on the good and leave the day behind me when I walk out the door.
Speaking of good, the hubs and I saw Top Gun Maverick on the IMAX this week and it left me breathless! When have you ever seen a sequel that is better than the original? And 36 years later? I know technology has improved but Tom Cruise was as good as he's ever been. He also looked like he was having a great time throughout the movie. Oh and he looked good, too! I want to see it again. And if you haven't, you need to!
Let's catch up over coffee! What are you having? I've got my usual Dunkin' with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. We tried to buy some Colectivo last weekend in Madison but the line was too long. Sigh...
What would you tell me over coffee?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a PRC of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my review.
I'm wrapping up another good month of reading! At one point, I had 5 library holds come in at once--why does that happen? I had to let one of them go--I just couldn't read them all in the time I had. Fellow bookworms, do you get me? It's hard to pick a favorite this month. I went into a couple of the books not knowing much about them and not expecting much (Remarkably Bright Creatures, I'm looking at you) but after I finished, I had to stop once again to savor what I had just read.
I hope you find something here that you might want to pick up!
After I ran the Ice Age Trail Race two weeks ago, I took the following week off from running and CrossFit. I ran 3 hard races in the span of 5 weeks and my body was begging me for a break. I also traveled with my husband to Alabama to attend my friend Holly's son's wedding. I didn't completely rest--there was some walking and pool running--but I didn't have a lot to share for my weekly recap.
This week, I returned to running again, so I'm sharing some of the highlights from the past 2 weeks! Rest doesn't mean doing nothing, am I right?
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| Monday's trail run |
In light of yet another mass shooting this week, I've decided not to do my usual silly, irreverent, superficial runfessions. But I do have one runfession that I want to share.
Finally!!! After 2 years of deferrals due to the pandemic and one DNS last fall because I broke my ankle and foot, I finally lined up for the Ice Age Trail Half Marathon. I fell in love with the IAT during the pandemic and have enjoyed exploring many of the segments in the southern half of Wisconsin. I did a lot of training on the hilly trails over the last couple of months and felt reasonably ready for the race.
This week, we went from below normal temperatures and rain to above normal in one day. With my upcoming Ice Age Trail Race on Saturday, I watched the forecast like a hawk. As happy as I am to see it warm up, I do not like to run in the heat. As the week went on, I reduced my mileage so as not to tax myself too much before Saturday's half.
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Let's catch up over coffee! What will you be having? I'm drinking a cup of Key West Sunrise from Cuban Coffee Queen, thanks to my oldest, who just returned from a weekend in Key West. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I was touched that he thought of me! Actually, he sent me pictures throughout his trip, which was really nice.
The coffee is great. Of course, I'm having mine with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. Old habits die hard!
What would you tell me over coffee?
For the past 2 years, I've put the Tear Drop Half Marathon on my must-run list. But the pandemic interfered with those plans. This year with everything opening back up, I was finally able to make it a date! I still had Delta credits from canceling a flight for last year's race. This is my friend Holly's favorite race and she was all in, so I signed up. It worked out well since I was already training for a hilly trail race, the Earth Day 15 miler. Ok, so that was happening the weekend before Tear Drop. But Tear Drop is a net downhill! What could go wrong?
Spoiler alert: nothing went wrong, but running that trail race the week before probably didn't do me any favors. No matter. I had a fun time!
