This heat wave is almost over; today, tomorrow, and the next day will be cooler than the last. It might rain this weekend. It might not. That remains to be seen. I'm feeling okay, but I'm still sick. I feel a little shin splint starting up on my left leg. I entered a Walktober challenge, so it always pushes me to do more miles than is comfortable, which is never a good idea. But I'm hard-headed and I don't I like to lose. I'm not thinking at all. It doesn't matter if I win the step challenge if I end up injured. But maybe I can push our other competitors, challenge them. We'll see. I'm also clocking certain workouts on Strava to qualify for a Brooks sweepstakes. To get a bib for the Walt Disney World marathon in early January would be insane.
I don't know; I'm really toying with what to do in 2027-2028. I'm so down on this training cycle, I actually said it out loud. I told a friend, "I don't think I'll keep doing the marathon; I might not even continue running. Maybe this is just too high impact for me." Once you say it out loud and start telling people about it, that's the first step in actually doing it.
I wish I could say I feel a touch of fall in the air. But it still feels unbearable, hot, and gross. Even though this week, I had some extra time I kind of did a bunch of things for the house and for family, which ate up all that time. But I also went to the chiropractor. He checked out my hand and said it's not broken. It's jammed, and it might take six weeks to heal. And now I know. And I can just be at peace with that; it's actually a lot better. The swelling on the back of my hand has gone down. I still can't bend my pinky or ring finger very well. But overall, it's a lot better. It's only been a week and 2 days.
I'm really, really, really enjoying my run club gals' company. I feel so lucky to have met these amazing moms. And I will be sad when the session is over. Ms. Jenna said that she doesn't want to do another session right away because of the holidays. It is kind of hard, though, when I feel like we have some momentum, to just put the brakes on. But hey, it's not my show. And I'm getting ready to promote my faculty development workshops, which are coming up in a few days; the first one is in two weeks. So there's that.
But as I was saying, I'm already kind of thinking about 2028. I don't know, is that healthy, or is that crazy? One thing that definitely is happening in 2028 is a family reunion in Colorado. I love it, and I'm so excited about it. 2028, we have the Olympics coming to Los Angeles. So that's gonna bring excitement, and whatnot. I'm fantasizing about getting a Disneyland Magic Key again. Hanging up my running shoes. Trading them back in for a Magic Key. That's crazy, right?
What else would I like to see for 2028? Oh, wait. It's our wedding anniversary, a big one. We got married in 2008, it would be 20 years. 20 years. Maybe we can take an awesome trip or something. We can take a big trip. Celebrate our anniversary. I don't know what it should be. Also, it would be 15 years of sobriety. It's amazing, it's amazing. We live a new life now. We're happy and healthy. I'm happily married. We love each other. We love each other's company.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how the Mission Inn has changed. Gonna be there in about a week. It's changed ownership. The Mission Inn Run is now the Mission Inn Foundation Run. Don't know if they're giving legacy swag because so many things have changed in the last year. They changed the route. They say it's the 49th annual, the 50th year.
I don't know. It wasn't exactly the 8-week training cycle I had planned. I had one sickness. Then planar fasciitis. A virus and a bad fall. It's a lot. It's enough to derail a training cycle. But when I go out and run 4 or 5 miles, I feel good. I feel good about it. Afterward, I'm still taking what I would consider to be huge amounts of anti-inflammatories. And I don't like to rely on that. I don't take it before the run. I take it after the run and before bed. And it's just what I have to do now, I guess, my new normal.
I did a consultation with a genetic testing firm, they have this technology called AlterMe, and they look at some of your genetic markers, and tell you what you're predisposed to. They told me I am predisposed to holding onto weight. It would be hard for me to lose weight. They told me that I am predisposed to inflammation and stress, and high cortisol. They also told me I have great digestion for protein, carbs, and fats. I know my body can assimilate nutrients; that's for sure. They told me that I should be doing maybe more like 75% strength workouts, and only 25% cardio. That's not what I'm doing now. They said I really need to focus on recovery, intentional recovery, different ways to bring the cortisol down. Like meditation, breathing, stretching, all that stuff.
And one thing that I realized about myself is that I really do thrive in group fitness. In group fitness situations, I love a Zumba class. I love a community. I love the community aspect of exercise. It's not just the workout, and I think that's why I don't love just going to the gym and doing a circuit, because I really like seeing people other people and doing stuff with other people. And I get more energy; I thrive. The social aspect matters to me because I am an extrovert, and I love being around friends. I never really thought about that before; I guess that's why I love races and training with a running group. And that's why I love Fit4Mom classes; that's why I love a good fitness class at the YMCA, and I kind of don't like swimming because it's very solitary; you're not really having any social aspect to it, just you underwater with your thoughts. So I thought that was kind of interesting.
Well. Here we are. Another beautiful morning. Darker, darker, darker every day. You can definitely feel the darkness earlier. Darker in the morning, darker in the evening. Definitely. It will be a new moon on Saturday 10/10; I could see the stars so well last night or 2 days ago. Now I just barely see a little baby crescent moon on the horizon, like a Cheshire cat smile. I'll trot it out a little bit, see how I feel. I still have about 35 minutes to do some kind of not-speed work. Let's not call it that. Just trot it out. All right, then cheerio, friends.
P.S. Unless I am much mistaken, I skipped my period this month.
