It was another hot, steamy week, but for me, a good one, both on and off the road. My knee, while not completely silent, has been at least cooperative with all my activities. I enjoyed some friend time, running with my Trail Sisters, and spending an extended weekend in Alabama with Holly and Teresa! It's been so much fun, and I'm sharing a brief recap of it all.
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Oh, summer, how I await your arrival! After enduring months of cold weather, with the arrival of warmer temperatures, we Midwesterners are able to strip off all our layers and bask in the sunshine. It's like being at a party you wish would never end.
But every party has a pooper, and summer in the woods comes with a few uninvited guests: stinging insects. The worst offenders? Deer flies. You'd think after dealing with them every year, I'd be prepared for their arrival. But no, the nice weather of spring and early summer gives me amnesia about my past encounters with them. As a child growing up in a rural area of Illinois, my sisters and I would spend our days swimming in the family pool, only to be stung in the head by one or more eagerly awaiting deer flies when we came up for air. I could just imagine them hovering above the water, rubbing their little arms together in anticipation of a tasty meal. I looked back on old blog posts and found that every year at this time, I write about these awful little pests.
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| Deer flies enlarged for dramatic effect |
Not only did we have a lot of rain this week, but I also spent a lot of time on the water. I love being on the water, whether I'm in the boat, on a ski, or in my kayak. I was able to do all those things this week!
I also worked on easing my knee back into running--as you might expect, it didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. But I got some good mileage in. The rain didn't keep me inside, although the humidity was off the charts. There was no escaping the water this week!
'One day I won't be able to do this, but today is not that day. Today I fight! ~ origin unclear, but perhaps paraphrased from J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Lord of the Rings.
I do love a good quote.
Yep, I'm back to running again--slowly and using walk intervals. But it's worth celebrating, am I right? I'm grateful that my injury wasn't worse and that I can get back to doing my favorite thing while I continue to rehab my knee.
Disclaimer: I received ARCs of The River's Daughter, The Other Side of Now, The Compound, and Sunny Side Up from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.
I don't know if it was because of my prolific reading month in May, but I struggled to get through my books this month. With the exception of one book, I loved everything I read this month. I think I had too many distractions, and it was hard for me to focus on the pages.
It's hard to pick a favorite, but how can you beat Taylor Jenkins Reid? Her new one, Atmosphere, grabbed me and didn't let me go until I read the last page. I'm still thinking about it! On the other hand, Sunny Side Up was not my cup of tea. It was too shallow and fluffy for this reader. But it was very readable. It would be a great beach read. Just not for me.
Overall, I read 6 books this month, which made me happy. I stuck to my goal of finishing all my NetGalley reads plus I was able to read 2 library holds. It's all about balance!
But that's the best thing about books-there's something for everyone!
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Yes, I got my answers this week to what was going on with my knee, as well as my treatment plan. Meanwhile, with my activity modifications, the pain calmed down to almost no pain--except when I did too much. I mean, 'too much' according to my knee. When my knee starts to bother me, I pull on my compression sleeve, which helps quite a bit. Hopefully, I'll be back to running soon.
I runfess: It's too hot to run anyway.
For the past couple of weeks, the temperatures have been in the 90F/30Cs with high humidity. The real feel has been over 100F/40C. It's just gross. It feels as if we are living in the tropics instead of the Midwest. We're not used to this!
This week was all about moving my body in a way that didn't aggravate my knee injury. It helped that as the week went on, the pain lessened. I'm so glad that I'm able to walk. When I first started walking on my trails, I felt like it was taking forever! But as the week went on, I started to enjoy the slower pace. I'm spotting a lot more things that I might not have seen had I been running. And I have to admit that I'm glad to be walking when we are experiencing some of the highest temperatures we've had in years!
I'm working hard to keep my miles up so that when I'm ready to return to running, it won't be like starting over again! Fingers crossed that it will happen soon.
