Of Running and Cats

It’s race week!!!!   I hit 2 out of 3 planned workouts, that’s a good thing right?

My training plan called for actual workouts this week so that was new.  Usually I embrace taper for all its worth and run lazily once or twice leading up to the race.  However the plan wanted 2 easy runs and 1 interval or fartlek workout.   Hmmm, ok.  I headed out Tuesday and marked off my easy run.  It was one of those runs that wasn’t awesome but didn’t suck so it was just meh.    My one complaint was the wind.  I am so over the wind.   It has been windy here for two weeks- it’s never windy around here.  It just makes things so much colder.IMG_0143

My stomach was feeling pissy, so I pushed Wednesday’s speed work to Thursday.  Yay, more wind…and I ran in a tank top.   I was so cold but this was also intentional.   The forecast calls for rain on Saturday and wind on Sunday so I figured I may as well get used to it.  Plus I was testing out a new shirt.    Can’t find out where it chafes if it’s covered up.    But I was the only loony out there in a tank.  Everyone else was bundled up, jackets, gloves, scarves and hats.   Yes, we Cali people hate the cold.  IMG_0155

IMG_0166I didn’t really want to think about intervals so after a warm up, I decide to run a few fartleks.    I forgot to even look at my watch for the first one so I wasn’t sure what time or mileage I started at- oops!  Oddly enough, all of my fartleks ended up being of similar distance, time and pace without too much planning on my part. I called it at 3.5 miles though, I just couldn’t take the wind any longer.  I may be rethinking my race day outfit to include some more layers.IMG_0167

The best part of Thursday’s run was the lake cat.  For a lot of my runs at the lake, I often see a gray and white cat roaming the back of the lake.  I am pretty sure I know which house he comes from but I have always worried that something might happen to him.   Quite a few cars drive that road and don’t always pay attention.  Plus there are lots of people and more than a few dogs, some dogs off the leash.   The last time I saw the lake cat was that run that ended in horrible stomach pain.  That was in March.   I’ve been looking for him every time I have run there since but no luck.  Until Thursday.   I rounded a curve on the backside of the lake and there he was.  I actually yelled “kitty” out loud.   I had to stop and visit, so that was the end of my first fartlek.   🙂     I was so glad to see him.IMG_0154Which made me feel even worse when I got home to find that I had once again traumatized my cat.   😦   After I come home, I usually carry my purse, gym bag, lunch bag, shoes etc into the house to put away.  Kimi would come to meet me and walk around my legs.  One day I was carrying too much and dropped my boots…they landed on her.  It’s been over 2 years and she still bolts if she sees me pick up a pair of boots.    Other shoes are fine but boots and she bolts.   Now she runs from me if I am holding her yellow food dish too.  😦

The other cat had to go on a diet, so I’ve had a bowl of the normal food for her stashed in the bedroom.  The other evening, I went to get it out of a drawer and turned as she was running in.   In my defense, she jumped headfirst into the bowl but now she bolts from the room and hides around the corner.   Waah, I feel so bad!

I took a few days off around SLO- so today was a lovely vacation day.   I planned on getting in my last run but I took a nap instead.  🙂  I tried to work on a new playlist and get this post up sooner but somehow the day ran away from me.  I did meet a friend at the movies this evening.  We went and saw The Longest Ride.   I am not a fan of the books, but somehow we always end up going to the movies.  She and I crack jokes that we are the only who can stand them.  It was pretty good, not great but good, and luckily not as destructive as his movies tend to be.  Which was fine by me since Grey’s Anatomy was rough enough last night.  Now I should probably go to bed, I have an expo to go to tomorrow!  🙂

What do you usually run during race week?

Ever traumatize one of your pets?  😦

Did you watch Grey’s?  Or see The Longest Ride?

12 thoughts on “Of Running and Cats”

  1. Good luck at your race!

    I usually do a few easy runs and a very short speed session for confidence. It also depends on the distance of the race and my goals. I run a bit more when my race is a half, versus running very little when I have a full that week.

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    1. Thank you!

      Speed work was different during race week but I kind of liked it. It was kind of like an endorphin boost before the race. 🙂 I am looking forward to trying it again before my next half- whenever that may be. 🙂

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  2. I try to follow my training plan the week before the race – lighter, easier runs but still try to get them in to shake out my legs. I caught up on Grey’s last night – awww man….sad.
    Good luck at your race!

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  3. Bummer about the wind! I battled it on my long run today. Will be rooting for you tomorrow! And I don’t know if this was my fault exactly, but one of my dogs once tried to jump on the bed and missed…. To this day they both just ask to be put up on the bed, lol.

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    1. Ugh, I am so over the wind. I thought we were going to blow away at the expo. The wind held until the lat 5 miles this morning but by that time I had a few other issues, so I barely noticed it.
      It’s funny how long they hold onto to memories like that and I feel guilty every time she reacts like that now. 😦

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  5. Aw, poor kitty! I haven’t managed to traumatize our cat yet, but she did a good enough job herself when she was a kitten by falling not once, but twice off an 8 foot overhand at Ben’s parents’ house when she was a kitten :/

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    1. Cats always seem to push the boundaries of what they should do. My brother’s cat used to like sleeping on top of the refrigerator but you couldn’t always see him, so his paw was closed in the door once. He is still fearful of the refrigerator.

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