Finding Gratitude

In these crazy, unsettled times, I'm focusing on finding gratitude for the good things in my life.

I don't know about you, but to me, right now, every week feels like a year. The news cycle is dizzying, and my physician partners and I continue to deal with the fallout from ongoing anti-vaccine sentiment being pumped out of Washington. Work is crazy busy with the ongoing baby boom and the influx of new patients into the clinic. My patients continue to bring me joy--this week I was examining a 4 month old who couldn't stop giggling. She was giggling so loud that my coworkers outside of the exam room could hear her! That was definitely a highlight of my week and a reminder of why I do what I do.

Thankfully, family life has been calm, and I'm looking forward to seeing my sons, daughter-in law and youngest son's girlfriend, parents, sister, and her family on Thursday this week.

I'm happy to be running with my Trail Sisters again, and on Mondays and Thursdays, my workout friends at the gym brighten my day. On Saturday, I had lunch with a friend who always makes me laugh. 

As usual, I found comfort on the trails. Even though the weather was downright depressing, I didn't feel depressed after heading into the woods. My RA symptoms continue to resolve, and I was able to move comfortably on the trails. I have so much gratitude for my local forest preserve--nature is truly good for my soul. 

These are the things that bring me joy and remind me of what is really important: family, friends, nature, and caring for others.

Weekly Rundown: 

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 7 miles

Monday: Yoga with Adriene, Strength Training

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 8.7 miles

Thursday: Yoga with Adriene, Strength Training

Friday: run 6 miles?

Saturday: Yoga with Adriene

After a good night's sleep--my Oura ring was ecstatic over the 9+ hours of sleep I got--on Sunday morning, I went to meet my Trail Sisters for a run! It's been a while since I've run with them, and I missed them! We met at Moraine Hills State Park, which is right outside the town where I grew up. It was a bright sunny bluebird morning with temperatures in the 40s--the perfect combination for a good run with good friends. After spending all day Saturday on the couch with a full-on RA flare, I was pleased that I felt good enough to run. One of the other women was having high heart rate issues, so we took it nice and easy. I didn't mind at all. The miles passed quickly as the conversation flowed. As always, I am so grateful for this group of supportive, like-minded women. 

Still feeling off, I was a little nervous about going to the gym and lifting heavy stuff. During the warm up, I was doing hip bridges when the room started to spin. I sat up until things stopped. My lifting partner was feeling off as well, so we decided not to push our deadlifts any heavier than last week. We built to 185#, did 3 sets of 2, which felt ridiculously heavy, and called it a day. While the rest of the class did some sprint work, I again worked on shoulder presses, staying at 65# for all 6 sets of 3. 

On this raw, drizzly Wednesday morning, I really wanted to stay in bed. Instead, I laced up for my weekly trail run at the preserve. I planned to do about 6 miles. But I had to take a detour for a pit stop, which led me to running into the piney woods to see if any deer were out and about. And yes, the mama and her two fawns were in the woods! I stopped to just watch them as they grazed for foliage. It's almost magical, being that close to them. As I moved away, I spotted a big buck behind a tree. He wasn't happy to see me and ran off. I kept going, looping around, and saw 3 more deer! On my way back, I again saw the buck, this time taking a rest. As I watched him, it occurred to me how lucky I am to have access to these beautiful creatures in their habitat. My heart was full. 

When I run in this preserve, I always have a 'plan', but often make changes on the fly. The thing about knowing these trails so well is that you can go as far or as little as you want and not repeat a step. On this run, I took a detour along the creek just because I wasn't ready to call it a day, finishing up with 8.7 miles. It's amazing how much beauty I was able to find on such a gray day!

On Thursday, I was set to increase my weights for both the bench press and back squats. My partner and I worked on bench presses, building to 77.5#, miscalculating the plates that we put on the bar. Barbell math is hard! So at that point, instead of pushing to 82.5#, I pushed to 85#. And yes, it was hard, but I lifted at that weight, 4 sets of 3 reps! I was very happy about that. For the back squats, I had planned to increase the weight to 130# (last week I did 125#). You wouldn't think 5# would make a big difference, but as SJ said, 'things are getting very heavy now". I did 4 sets of 3, doing my best to get my hips below parallel. Again, it was hard, but I was pretty happy with these as well. 

I woke up early Friday morning for my weekly bike path run. After my first cup of coffee, I realized that I had gone to bed without preparing my lunch. I'm on a tight timeline in the morning, so that was my first ugh. When I was ready to run, my watch beeped when I connected with the satellite, and off I went to the bike path. At my first photo stop, I looked down at my watch and noticed that while it was tracking my time, it showed 0 miles. UGH. Since I run this route every Friday, I knew I would be running about 6 miles-give or take a few feet. But still. If it's not recorded, did I even run?

Overall, I felt pretty good on this run. It was 46F, there was no wind, and overcast with a little fog. In other words, perfect running conditions. When I finished, my watch clocked 58:37 minutes. Not bad! Garmin showed my pace as 32 hours, 24 minutes, which made me lol for real. Maybe Santa will bring me a new Garmin for Christmas.

How was your week? How do you find your center? What are your Thanksgiving plans? What are you thankful for this year? Have you ever had your Garmin not track your miles?

It's also the end of November, and time for my monthly mini book reviews! Next Friday, I'll be sharing my reads for Nonfiction November. Don't miss it!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 

 

Pushing Through

While preparing this post, I looked back through this week's recaps on IG. The impromptu winter that started the week brought me down, but as the week went on, the sun warmed things back up. Mentally, the return to normal weather conditions helped keep me focused and positive. 

Unfortunately, my body didn't respond as well as I would have liked. I've been having an increase in RA symptoms for a while now, and this week was worse than usual. If you know me at all, you know that I don't usually let this stop me, pushing through it and trying my best to stick to my routine and get my workouts in. I had good success this week in the gym with strength training, but running was hard for me. Besides the joint pain, my body just didn't want to go. I ran my usual 3 times this week and am grateful that I was able to run, albeit much slower than usual. By mid-Saturday afternoon, I was hurting badly, so I finally broke down and started the steroids. Because of my ongoing uptick in symptoms, I have a follow-up with my rheumatologist in December. 

Fingers crossed that this flare resolves quickly! I've got a Turkey Trot to run with my family on Thanksgiving! 

Savoring the Last Days of Fall

We have had an amazing fall--warm weather and beautiful colors! The leaves are starting to fall, but we've still got good color. I'm sure that's going to change in a hurry with the impending arrival of more winter-like weather. As much as I don't love winter, I will admit that I am looking forward to days of curling up on the couch by the fire and reading a good book. And winter foods! Soups, stews, and baked pastas--hearty fare that just don't work in the warmer weather. I came home from my aunt's house last week with a bag of wild rice that their neighbor harvested, and I made chicken and wild rice soup with it. I also baked an apple crisp. 

I know by March, though, I'll be ready for warm weather again!

Finding Fall in the Northwoods of Wisconsin

We wrapped up our trip to northern Wisconsin, completing another segment of the Ice Age Trail, and returning to Illinois on Monday. Even though we were only gone for 4 days, it felt like we were away for much longer. I won't lie, reentry was tough after being off the grid and immersed in beauty and solitude. This trip was wonderful. It also made me question why I'm postponing retirement, as I struggled to find my center this week. I'm hoping that with the Mammoth Trail Challenge completed and getting back into my routine, I'll feel more settled. 

If you missed my last 2 posts, here are the links to read about my other Mammoth Trail Challenge adventures:

Trail Magic

A Week of Challenges

Mini Book Reviews: October 2025

Disclaimer: I received a copy of The Eternal Forest from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

October was a crazy busy month for me, and unfortunately, I didn't get as much reading done as I had wanted. I also picked a couple of books that were long and a little bit slow. I only had 2 NetGalley reads this month, but I wasn't able to read both of them based on my library holds coming in. I know, excuses, excuses. 

I'm looking forward to a slower paced November with lots of good books because...it's non-fiction November! I'm kicking it off with Nobody's Girl, the blockbuster memoir written by Virginia Giuffre. Stay tuned for my review!

A Week of Challenges

It was a week filled with challenges, but they were good challenges! I continued to add more miles to my total for the Mammoth Trail Challenge! I surprised myself on Sunday by knocking out almost 9 miles on one of my favorite, albeit very hilly, trails in Wisconsin, feeling strong after running 8 miles the day before. Back-to-back runs have never been my thing, especially longer runs, but here we are!

I also participated in a challenge for Fluid Running. The actual pool running wasn't the challenge; it was trying to get it done! But if you know me, I'm not a quitter, and I didn't let the glitches stop me. I even made it to work with time to spare.

As you read this, my youngest son and I are currently up in the north woods of Wisconsin, on some new-to-me trails. I always like to check out new segments when I do this challenge, and I was really excited for these. I'll share more on my IG this weekend and the blog next week!

Trail Magic

Trail magic, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, is finding what you need when you least expect it, experiencing rare nature, or encountering acts of generosity. I always leave the trails feeling that I've experienced trail magic, whether it's petting a sweet dog, spotting wildlife on the trail (especially deer), or simply running on a beautiful trail. I even experience the runner's high on occasion on the trails--you know, that feeling you get when everything falls into place. It happened twice this week! 

I've been feeling good about running right now. I'm going to credit the heavy strength we're doing at the gym for giving me a boost. The cooler weather helps, too. Even though I got a late start on the Mammoth Trail Challenge, I'm feeling confident about getting all my miles before the end of the month. I'm halfway there and as you read this, I'm out on the Lodi Marsh Segment working on another 8 miles! Next weekend is going to be extra special as I tackle some new-to-me segments with my youngest son. Stay tuned for that!