Upcoming Races- Surf City 13.1
Focus this week- Long Run
4 weeks in and I already lost count. Oops. But I was just doing the numbers and this week was intense for a Slacker. ๐
Monday- 4 Miles Ugly, ugly run. It was the kind of run of that makes me feel like an imposter. I could not get it together. My head and body were in 2 entirely different worlds. I felt the beginnings of one of those weird asthma/ panic attacks. Maybe it’s a Monday thing? There’s a reason I usually take Mondays off. The last 2 weeks had rough Monday runs but how can I pass on running on a day off?
Tuesday- 11 miles Stationary bike- A recent obsession with Z Nation has been making these bike miles fly by. Who knew zombies would help me cross train?๐
Wednesday- Rest I had packed my gear to hit the gym and run but things went weird partway through the day. I just odd, just very not right for lack of a better description. I’m transitioning back to a lower carb diet and trying a new medication for my stomach issues. I think things just combined in a less than great way on Wednesday.
Thursday -12 miles Stationary bike- I was feeling better but just could not stomach the idea of heading to the gym and running on the treadmill. It was the last thing I felt like doing. I knew I had big plans for my long run this weekend so I figured an extra day off of the feet wouldn’t be horrible.๐
Friday- Rest Cookie Friday also won. #lowcarbfail
Saturday -12.4 mile long run!!!! 3.8 mile puppy jog Who got up and ran 12 miles in the morning?! This Slacker did! 12 miles is like my white whale. I chase it but never hit it. I think I have run maybe 2 or 3 12 milers tops since I started running. Maybe. And they were all miserable. With Surf City 2 weeks away, I really wanted to get a 12 miler under my belt. Both for training purposes and just to say I could do it. I had mapped out a route that was incessant loops or hills the night before. The plan was to meet up with my mom halfway and she would join me for a bit. My route would then double back to where she parked and we would head to lunch. Except when I texted her at mile 3, she said wasn’t meeting me. Well, crap. I had planned on getting more water from her plus now I had to change my route mid-run. Mid-run math always make my brain hurt. I knew I had to make it home so I was either going to end up short of 12 or over but I wasn’t sure which way it was going to fall. I tried to keep my pace as steady as possible aiming for between 10:45-11:15. My overall average pace was around 11:03 but my miles were all over the place. Mile 5 saw a 9:20 and mile 7 an 11:55. Oops. Mile 5 had me running across the bridge and hate the bridge so much that I usually speed up. Mile 7 had a long slow climb and I started having odd feelings in my toes. I also knew there was no way I was going to have enough water. Grr. Mile 9 had some drama with loose dogs too. It was one of the busiest streets in town and chocolate lab and wiener dog were running lose. A lady was trying to catch so I stayed with her for a bit. She then went on to follow them in her car and I ran on. I hope she was able to help them.
Ok, total #firstworldrunnerproblem moment. I was looking forward to seeing 12 miles on my watch, I needed to see it. Except my battery started to die. Seriously?! Finally I decided I didn’t want to risk losing my data so I stopped it at 10.2 miles, saved it and then started it over. It ended up lasting the whole run and I am glad I didn’t chance but I missed seeing that 12. 10.20 and 2.2 just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Plus I still ended up half a mile from my house when I stopped my watch the second time.
Sunday- 5 miles Stationary bike– All right, first 20 mile week in a long time had me feeling sore. I chose the bike over running as I didn’t want to push my legs too hard after a 16 mile Saturday. Plus I wore the wrong shoes on the puppy jog, so I was feeling familiar aches in my knee. 5 steady miles were freakin’ hard. But better than nothing right? Oh and I took a nap. ๐
I am kind of proud of this week turned out. Running, cross training and I only had pizza once, I’m calling it a winning week! โ ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ Question is, can I do it again?? Luckily I am only aiming for a 10 miler next weekend so I am hoping for 3 days running and 3 cross training. Which means I will have to go to the gym and use the treadmills. Grrr. I am counting down to the time change.
How was your week?
Do anything fun this weekend?
Do you have a white whale?
Get it girl! Nice 12 mile run!!!
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Thank you!!
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If you need more zombie distractions, Zombies Run (smartphone app) can be used while running, cycling, rowing, really any cardio!
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I did use that app a few years ago, now I always forget about it. I should check to see if it’s still on my phone- thanks!
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Nice job tackling that white whale 12-miler!! *high fives* Bummer about the watch crapping out though, I know what you mean about wanting to see the proof! Also, I love your photos… that one of the bench is especially gorgeous to me! Maybe because everything here is white and gray/brown and dead ๐
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Thank you! It’s sad how badly I wanted to see that 12 on my watch face!! But I also didn’t want to lose all the data either. I’ve actually turned the bench into my home screen on my phone- I’ve never seen that area so green before- it was awesome! Thank you!
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Wow, good job! That is a wonderful week! I checked my miles for the month the other day and was like, Okay, if I am to hit 50 miles this month, I have 8 miles to go and 5 days to do it in… 5k race is Saturday, so technically I only have 5 miles to get in… so, with that in mind, and the race this weekend, I got in 3.2 this morning, (we have way cold weather coming the next 2 days) and I’ll do 2 more days of a 2 miles and then the race! (And let me tell you how many times I did that in my head Sunday as I was trying to make sure it all added up! LOL) ๐
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Thank you! You can totally hit 50! Is this your first race of the year? Cold weather tends to keep me indoors looking for a blanket. I do the same thing with my miles- do the math and then do it all again. Actually your comment caused me to do some math- how is there only 5 days left in the month?! How did that happen?
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Right!?! I need more than 5 days left! LOL
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What an amazing week! Sounds like a perfect 12-miler ๐ I can’t believe all the biking you’ve been doing too. All you need is the right motivating factor!
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Thank you! I was kind of surprised when I added up my miles for last week- it didn’t seem like that much. Now I just need to keep it up!
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Great job! I still haven’t done more than 10 miles on a training run (which will be changing soon!), so I totally understand about the white whale thing. And I also would have been bummed about not having “12 miles” on my watch.
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I would like to get to the point that 12 miles is less stressful and thankfully I think this run helped. It wasn’t perfect but I made it happen so it was a pretty good confidence booster. Maybe next time I will actually get to see 12 on my watch. ๐
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Great job!!!! My watch died during my last full marathon. I think between the terrible rain, and being out there for so long, it had enough! HAHAH!
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Thank you! This was my own fault- I really thought I had more battery left! Lesson learned!
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