I Can Do Hard Things

I think this is my new mantra. Last weekend's trail race (did you read my recap?) really forced me to dig deep and keep going when I wanted to give up. That strategy came in handy this week when I did the full Murph workout at CrossFit. 

I'm so grateful for what my body lets me do and what my mind pushes me through.

Race Recap: Blue Springs Trail Race

Earlier this spring, I had plans to run 'Run From the Taxman', a trail race on the Lapham Peak segment of the Ice Age Trail. I put the race on my calendar. After seeing a friend's Facebook post about completing the race, I realized that I put the race on the wrong date. Having trained for it, but having to miss it because of my mistake made me so upset. That same friend reached out to me with information on the upcoming Blue Springs Trail Race. Part of the Golden Kettle Race Series, this race offered 3 distances: a short course of 4-ish miles, a mid-course of 6.3-ish miles, and a long course of 13.5-ish miles. 

I immediately signed up for the long course and triple checked the date on my calendar. I hoped that nothing would prevent me from lining up to run this one!

The Make-up Race

It was race week and I was ready! I had some great runs leading up to Saturday but I didn't push myself too hard. I wanted to keep my legs fresh. I did notice an area of concern--my left glute is not firing. I noticed it on Sunday. My right glute was really sore after my run and while I was running, I felt like it was doing all the work. At my race on Saturday, I stumbled way more than I should have--catching my left toe and nearly falling multiple times. I didn't fall, thankfully--that would have been tragic on this trail, as it's really rocky and rooty. But it reinforced that I need to get back to basics with some posterior chain work, focusing on that side.

This week I learned that I received a complimentary entry to the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon from Brooks! The race is November 9. I've always wanted to run this one and November is a good time of year for a long distance race. A couple other teammates will be joining me.  I keep saying I'm done with long distance road racing, but here I go again.  People who've done it say it's a 'fast course'. We'll see about that!

Don't Worry, Run Happy!

The family drama I wrote about last week spilled into this week. I keep wishing it would go away, but I don't think that is going to happen. Thank goodness for running and my workouts. I was able to sweat out a lot of my stress again. We had beautiful weather for most of the week, and I fully enjoyed my trail runs. There's just something about being in nature that makes me so happy!

Sweating it Out

Once again, running and my workouts were there to help me get through a stressful week. This week, my parents were the main source. My dad has been having some minor health issues but made them into everyone's problem. I won't go into details, but I did get a glimpse of what the future looks like for my sisters and me. It's not going to be pretty. 

On the plus side, Cocoa has completely recovered from her surgery! I bought her some new tennis balls this week and we've been busy chasing them around the backyard. She also chased a big opossum out of our yard. Yeeeesh....

Running was my salvation. So was CrossFit. There's nothing better to relieve stress than to sweat it out. As always, I am grateful that my body still lets me push it.

Mini Book Reviews: April 2023

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of The Limits, Backyard Bird Chronicles, Lucky, and Love is a Burning Thing from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my reviews.

Continuing with my unofficial theme this month of ups and downs, some of the books I read this month were great and some were not-so-great. My favorite book of the month, hands down, was Wolf At the Table. I also enjoyed Piglet, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, and Love is a Burning Thing. While some readers enjoyed Worry, Lucky, and The Limits, my advice is to take a pass.

Ups and Downs

This was a tumultuous week! Weather aside, I had a lot of ups and downs. I've been feeling unsettled since Cocoa had her surgery, and life threw some curve balls my way this week. Did you see the full moon this week? It was HUGE and I'm blaming everything on that. Oh, and Mercury has been in retrograde if you believe that stuff. Normally, I don't, but I needed some explanation for all the chaos of the past couple of weeks! Thankfully that's all behind us and the week did end on a high note. 

My trail friend whose race recap let me know that I missed my race, reached out with an opportunity to redeem myself after my unintentional DNS.  She told me about an upcoming trail race on May 18 on the Blue Springs Segment of the IAT. The distance is listed as 'about 12 miles', which is perfect for me. It sounds really laid back and there's locally brewed beer at the finish line! After triple-checking the date,  I put the race on my calendar. I'm looking forward to it!