The Need for Speed

Was it spring fever? The bright sunshine? The shoes? Whatever it was, I felt the need for speed this week, running stronger than I have for a while. I'm pretty sure the improving weather was a big factor. This was a great week of fitness for me!

Coffee Talk

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Let's catch up over coffee!! What are you having? I'm sipping on my favorite, Colectivo Co-Optiva with a scoop of GLG collagen and a splash of half and half. It never gets old. 

What would you tell me over coffee? 

Mini Book Reviews: March 2023

Disclaimer: I received a PRC of Choosing to Run from the publisher and NetGalley. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. 

I started March's reads with a winner! Des Linden's memoir was compelling reading. While I waited for some library holds to come in, I hit the backlist for Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First, which had great reviews. I didn't love it and eagerly opened my first library hold, Stone Cold Fox. I could not put it down and it kept my heart pounding! Big Swiss was hilarious. Just hilarious. But it might not be for everyone. Speaking of everyone, Pineapple Street is the must-read of the moment. I found it to be just ok. Another popular read right now is Maame, which I enjoyed. 

I read a 7th book this month as well, but I am going to do a full review on the blog. Kara Goucher's memoir, The Longest Race, gave me all the feels. I could not put it down. I have a lot of thoughts on this one and will share my post next Tuesday. Stay tuned for that!

The Slippery Slope

I woke up Monday morning feeling tired, achy, and queasy. Was it a bug? Or was it an RA flare? I'm pretty sure that RA was the culprit as Sunday's run felt harder than it should have. I blamed the rain and the cold, but I didn't feel great when I started. That run probably pushed me into the red zone. I probably should have turned around and gone home. But you know me. 

RA is a slippery slope.

I scrapped my plans on Monday to go to CrossFit and did a yoga class that focused on flexibility. While the yoga felt good, I still felt icky and spent the rest of the day taking it easy. Sometimes you have to listen to what your body tells you. Thankfully, this flare was short-lived and did not require steroids to calm it down. I felt gradually better as the week went on. It's been a while since I've felt like that. It was a good reminder to stay on track with my diet and sleep as well as my activities.

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: run 11 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene

Tuesday: pool running

Wednesday: trail run 5 miles

Thursday: strength training, lunch with Marcia

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: rest day

March miles 106.6!!!

Iconic Runfessions

After all these years of blogging and runfessing, you'd think I'd run out of things to runfess. Shouldn't I have my act together by now? Well, what can I say? Thank you to Marcia for opening the runfessional every month and letting us clear our soles and souls.  I always say it's painless, save for the embarrassment of sharing things that I probably shouldn't. But isn't that what runfessing is all about? Am I the only one? Probably not. You know you have things to share too...

Let's get to it!

All Mixed Up

Disclaimer: As a member of the Brooks Run Happy Team, I receive products in exchange for social sharing. All opinions are my own.

Not only is the weather all mixed up--we went from winter to spring and back to winter again, but my week was kind of mixed up too. I had to flex my workout schedule to accommodate not only the weather but also my 'niggles' and a fun opportunity with Brooks (more below). 

I was able to get everything in but I'm still bummed about a canceled field trip to the IAT in Whitewater on Saturday with the Trail Sisters Chicago Northwest. A late winter storm stymied our plans for a long morning of trails and vert. This storm dropped a foot of snow in Madison! The weather this year has sent me to the treadmill more times than I can ever remember. While I'm glad I have the option, can I say enough is enough?

Sunrise on the way into the city on Tuesday

What Time is it?

Does anyone really know what time it is? 

Does anyone really care? 

If so I can't imagine why

We've all got time enough to....  die, cry, fry, eat pie...(fill in the blank) ~Chicago

I don't normally struggle too much with going between time zones or turning the clocks forward. But between the two hour time difference between California and Chicago and springing forward to daylight savings time, my body did not know what time it was. It really hit me hard on Tuesday, when I got up at 4:30 to go to the pool before work. Thankfully, I was off work the rest of the week for my annual PNP conference, which I attended virtually from home. That gave me a chance to take it easy and get back on track. 

Of course, I got all my workouts in. I do have my priorities!