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Ultimately, the reason I decided to not run was the heat. With POTS, I have problems cooling myself effectively, and got overheated really quickly while running in hot weather. Plainly put- it’s dangerous for me to run in hot weather, as evidenced by the goosebumps and shivering that occurred at mile 12 of a half marathon I ran last summer. Heat stroke or exhaustion is no joke. It’s dangerous to put myself in that situation, and I wasn’t willing to do it again.
There were other factors, however, that made the weekend difficult as well. I spent all last week in NYC, and walked 9-10 miles a day, so I was pretty tired- there was no real tapering and I definitely didn’t have rested legs. My flight got delayed coming home so I would have slept a few hours after landing and then driven to Chicago in a rush, hoping I made it in time. There’s no way I was going to do that. And honestly, I’ve been traveling almost non stop for over a month now, and I’m just tired. It’s all been fun and SO worth it, but all I was craving was a low-key weekend at home, and the race wouldn’t have been that. If I had a friend I was doing it with, I might have tried to run, but being in the city on my own with potential huge medical situations that could arise with the temperature and POTS just wasn’t worth it to me. This was confirmed when I checked the weather yesterday morning and the feels like was 86 degrees when I knew I would’ve only been at mile 9 or 10. I would’ve ended up walking most of the race anyways.
As runners we’re faced with regular choices for our health and well-being, and this was one of them. I would’ve loved to have a fun weekend in Chicago racing on streets that I loved, but it wouldn’t have been smart of me to do so, especially with my POTS diagnosis. Sometimes we have to check out of what we want and tune into what we know is safe and healthy for ourselves.
I do look forward to running my next RnR event, however, as they put on a great race! And, if you’re wanting to sign up for a RnR race for yourself, here’s a code for you to use!
Now it’s your to turn to share! Have you ever decided to DNS a race because you knew it was the healthiest or safest option for yourself?
Nail polish at the statue of liberty. I didn’t intend to line it up like I was holding it- just a happy coincidence 🙂 The gel has held up really well, and I’m almost at three weeks with only a bit of a grow out line. The color itself is a great neutral pink, which makes it easy to match with most things.
Here are some random facts for you this week:
1. I’ve been in New York City this past, and arrived home today. I’ve absolutely loved being in the city, and have had some pretty amazing experiences while there. I can’t wait to share a bit about it next week!
Ellis Island, taken from Liberty Island
2. I bring my kindle most places with me. That way if a client is running late or I get stuck waiting somewhere longer than expected, I can get some reading done! I feel a little nerdy carrying it with me, but it’s definitely causing me to read more, so I don’t mind 🙂
3. Let’s talk about rain for a minute. Has it been raining a lot where you live? It’s been raining a ridiculous amount here this summer, and it’s become absolutely destructive. We got 13 inches of rain in June and it’s rained a good percentage of days in July as well, so we just have these huge standing ponds of flooding all over the place. The drains on some of the streets aren’t even working anymore, so streets are flooded, and of course the crops around here are being drowned as well. I wish we could send some of the water out to California and other areas with droughts!
4. Sticky Rice. Have you ever had it? If not, head down to your local Thai restaurant and get some for yourself (it’s a dessert- make sure you get it with mango on top!)! There’s a cute little Thai place right next to the hotel I stayed at and I got sticky rice every night on my way home. Delicious!
5. I finally got to try Shake Shack! I’ve heard so much about it over the last year, and I was so happy to randomly stumble upon it one day at lunch time! It’s delicious!
Now it’s your turn to share! What is one random fact from your week? Have you ever had sticky rice before?
I’m thankful for a wonderful week with my cousins. I spent an entire week with my cousins over the 4th of July, and I’m so thankful for that time! I miss them so much when we aren’t together, and even though it’s been that way my entire life, I don’t really get used to it. I’m so thankful for wonderful hugs, laughter, and memories throughout the week.
I’m thankful for times of rest. This summer has been pretty restful for me, which has been so wonderful after an absolutely crazy spring. I’m thankful that my work schedule has very relaxed times in it to help balance the long days and weeks I work throughout the year. I’m a fan of the ebb and flow.
I’m thankful for all the fresh blueberries I picked! I picked just under 5 pounds of blueberries in Missouri over the 4th of July weekend, and I’ve been eating them non-stop since then. They are so fresh and delicious, and bring back happy memories of childhood!
I’m thankful for plans falling into place. There have been some big question marks and unknowns for my life this summer, and I’m so thankful that I’m starting to get answers and that I can move forward with certain things!
I’m thankful for the ability to talk to my brothers when they are overseas. I’ve said this multiple times over the course of the spring and summer, but seriously- I can’t imagine not being able to talk to them much at all, and am so thankful that technology exists that allows us to continue to communicate.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
I’m obviously worried about heat, especially with POTS, so I’m hoping it will be a somewhat reasonable morning. If any of you are running the race, say hi if you see me out on the course!
If you are interested in running a Rock’n’Roll race at some point this year, here’s an awesome discount for you:
So what’s my goal this weekend? Have fun and finish! And maybe not get heat stroke like I did last summer…
I can’t really remember the first time I heard about Goodreads- I’m sure it was a status update on Facebook at some point, but the first conversation I remember having about it was with a co-worker as we were going on a retreat for work last August. She encouraged me to sign up, but as people close to me know, I need to think about things for awhile before I make the jump (that’s why I thought about my tattoo for about a decade before getting it!), so I didn’t sign up, but continued to see posts from goodreads on Facebook. I let the idea marinate for awhile. I finally took the leap and signed up at the end of December, and immediately started putting in books and ratings for things I had previously read.
Goodreads serves as a sort of virtual book shelf. When I signed up the three shelves were “read”, “currently reading”, and “want to read”. I’ve constantly struggled to remember the books that I’d previously heard about that I wanted to read, so now all I have to do is add it to my “want to read” shelf, and I can access the list from anywhere. Even better- on the goodreads app, there’s a scan option so if you see a book you’d like to read, you just scan the bar code and it pops up on your account. So convenient, right? You can also add other shelves that you might like. For instance, I’ve seen people make lists like “DNF” (did not finish, mostly due to the book not being good) or I have a list that says “need to get from lib”. That shelf is for books that I need to get from the library itself, as a kindle book option isn’t available. That way, when I go to the library, I won’t get a hard copy of a book that I can get on Kindle, and I can focus on the books I have no other way to get. This is sounding pretty good, right?
Goodreads ALSO has a place to rate and review any book, so I can see if it’s worth my time. Goodreads also has a social media component, in that you can connect with friends and see what they are currently reading as well. I LOVE this, and have found so many great books simply because someone else I follow has marked a book as “want to read” or “read”. If you’re needing motivation to get back to reading, this app will certainly help!
So, I’ve suddenly become obsessed, and started spending ridiculous amounts of time each week organizing my shelves, searching for new books, etc.. And I’m totally ok with that 🙂 If you don’t have a Goodreads account yet, I’d encourage you to make one as soon as possible!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have a Goodreads account? If you do, what do you like most about it?
tattoo on the beach in Cancun
Here I am, a year later, and even more happy than I was the day I got it. Simply stated, I LOVE my tattoo. I love the story behind it and I love what it means to me. I love that it has become a conversation point at times as well.
tattoo after sunset in Marco Island, Florida
I find myself almost absentmindedly lightly rubbing my thumb over the words when I’m stressed or anxious- it’s a permanent reminder that this all will pass- the things we go through won’t last… that it is ultimately well, even when life isn’t well at the moment. It’s a grounding point for me.
Tattoo on the Indiana Motor Speedway during the Indy Mini
Our thoughts have a lot of influence over our emotions and our actions, and I love that this has become a consistent thought for me. It’s helped me in countless situations this year, and I’m sure that it will continue to be powerful throughout my life.
Tattoo at Chichen Itza in Meixco
I love hearing the stories behind people’s tattoos, and have gone with several friends throughout the years to get tattoos themselves. It wasn’t until I got my own that I realized how deeply meaningful and impactful they can actually be.
A year ago I sat down so nervously (seriously- I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet), and decided to take a leap into something that felt crazy to me.
I don’t regret it at all 🙂
To end with a few lines from a song I’ve listened to many times on repeat the past few months:
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me
Here are some random facts for you this Friday:
1. I REALLY enjoy going to the dentist, and I’m totally baffled as to why people don’t like their dentists. I guess I’m lucky in that I have a really friendly dentist who doesn’t nag excessively about flossing 🙂
2. I’m planning to share a post about the book Truest each week until it comes out at the end of summer! Here are 9 surprising facts you didn’t know about Truest.
3. I just finished reading the “Matched” series (technically I listened to them on audiobook), and I feel really torn about the series. I love the dystopian series that are so popular right now, but this one was just a little too boring for me. At least it got me through the over 24 hours of driving I did in a week’s time span!
4. When I was at my cousin’s house I took advantage of her hammock for some quality reading time. Seriously- how comfortable does this look?
5. I returned home from my trip to a living room and kitchen stacked with boxes, and immediately wanted to shut the door and walk away again. I’m in the process of doing a HUGE clean out of my place, and unfortunately that means things get worse before they get better. I prefer to leave for vacation with my house being clean and organized so I come back to happiness instead of… what I walked in on. Yikes!
6. I got my tattoo a year ago today!! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I sat in that chair, shaking violently, and paid for someone to permanently ink me. I have a post planned next week about this, so stay tunned!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you try to clean your house before you go on vacation? Where’s your ideal reading place?
Happy Thursday – and the first Thursday I’ve done this in July! I tend to really love the month of July, so I’m thrilled 😀 Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
I’m thankful for a great visit to Mayo. I’m thankful that I have the option of going to Mayo and getting treatment there. It is a spectacular place, and I’m thankful for all that the doctors there have done for me, especially with my POTS.
I’m thankful for safety in traveling. Every time I arrive home after a trip, I am very thankful for the safety in traveling that I had.
I’m thankful for the long days of light. I try to pause and be thankful for this each and every day. These beautiful, long days are what I dream about in the winter, so I’m trying to soak them in as much as I can right now.
I’m thankful for my garmin watch. My phone is so old now that I can’t use runkeeper on my phone for any long runs or bike rides (the battery drains to fast). I’ve used my garmin more in the past two months than I have in the rest of the time I’ve owned the watch, and I’m so thankful that I had the watch already. I’m thankful for the usefulness and convenience of it.
I’m thankful for the access to so many different types of books. This week I posted my book list for the 2nd quarter of 2015, and I was thinking about the fact that so many people in the world wouldn’t have the option of reading that many books in their entire life. I was overcome with thankfulness for something as simple as books.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
My morning started out at 5:30 when I hopped out of bed to eat and then run 3.1 miles for Nuun’s Run Race HydrateVirtual Race. I had 8 miles on my plan for the weekend, so I thought that running back to back races was the best way I could celebrate a holiday weekend! The air was cool when I set out, but my legs felt still from all the travel and peak week workouts I’ve done. The first 3.1 miles I did I couldn’t get my pace below a 13 minute per mile pace, which felt pretty frustrating.
I made it back to the house with 5 minutes to spare, and drank some nuun as I gathered up my handheld (with more nuun) and grabbed a banana. I don’t think I’ve ever run half my miles, then been in the car for almost half an hour, then waited for a race to start, and then keep running. It was definitely different, and made for a tough first mile of the actual race.
Hydrating with Nuun
The race was pretty well attended, and I loved seeing all the patriotic outfits. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any patriotic running clothes, and chose my lightest weight outfit for a good breeze since I had so many miles to run. The first mile of the race was packed and I did end up taking a single walk break since we were running so slowly that my heart rate was fine.
Mile two things spread out a bit more as we started to climb a very steady uphill section of the course. It felt rough, especially since I was actually at mile 5 of my long run. Luckily I was able to keep my pace faster since I was running with my cousins, both of whom are much faster than me (they also ran the race much slower than if they hadn’t been running with me).
Somewhere towards the end of mile two we started to turn around and we hit a nice gradual downhill slope for most of mile three. It felt nice after the steady climb of mile two. The last mile of the race flew by, and before we knew it we were racing towards the finish!
We crossed the finish line in about 50 minutes which is slower than I’d like for 4 miles, but I’m happy with it due to the heat and the fact that I was using this race as my long run.
We grabbed our medals and ran about 1.2 more miles so that I ended the day with 8.3 miles for my long run. While 8 milers are typically a bit more rough for me, this one felt pretty good once I shook my legs out. Of course it helped that I got in a good run with my cousins too!
After we finished we walked back to the race area where they were serving root beer, oranges, bananas, bagels, and water. The winners got to take home an apple pie. I guess they were serving very American-y types of foods. They had music playing at the atmosphere is great. I would definitely sign up for the race again!
On the way home we stopped to get patriotic donuts. The donut I got had what I thought were sprinkles on top, but once I started eating it I realized they were pop rocks. It was fun to add an extra little pop to the 4th!
The race was $30 and we got this medal and super comfortable shirt, which I ended up wearing for the 4th! We also got a free finish line picture (above), which was a great deal!
The rest of the 4th was spent going out to a big Mexican lunch, going to the pool, going to a parade (where we had a picnic), and of course enjoying the fireworks show!
Now it’s your turn to share! Did you race on the 4th? Do you have a food that you enjoy eating every 4th of July?
Last Saturday morning we headed out to a town called Preston, where we parked the car and ate an early-ish picnic lunch. We changed into our biking clothes there and headed on the trail! The part of the trail from Preston to Lanesboro is almost exactly 10 miles, and goes through woods and alongside a river.
Lanesboro is a quaint little touristy town that is well visited in the summer. There are several little hotels and bed and breakfasts, restaurants, shops, and places to rent bikes, and I love exploring the town.
From Lanesboro we headed onto the town of Whalen (home of the standstill parade) where there’s a great pie shop with fresh homemade pies made daily. We actually biked a mile past it and then turned around before enjoying some fresh baked pies!
Aroma Pie Shop
Cherry and Boysenberry pies-delicious!
Oh- I forgot to mention. Between Lanesboro and Whalen I think I ran over an animal. I saw a flash of gray and then felt a large thud underneath my tire. I have no idea what it was, or if it was even an animal, but it sure creeped me out!
The ride back from Whalen to Preston went quickly, and I enjoyed seeing the cute towns and biking through the woods. I really enjoyed getting to bike somewhere completely different than I normally do, and especially enjoyed getting to bike with family members!
Round trip I ended the day with 33 miles and my fill of nature, fresh air, cute towns, and pie!
Now it’s your turn to share! On any of your running or biking routes, do you have a place you like to stop for a snack?
