Upcoming race– SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus–  Keep working on the 4x a week and enjoy a step back long run.

Mission partly achieved.   As for the other part- uh oh?   For someone who has a propensity for colorful phrases, whether cursing or not, my training week ended with a very quiet, meek “uh oh”.

Monday- 3 miles  3rd day in a row and I was feeling a little tired.  However, that was part of the plan so I kept moving.    Mile one was super sluggish but I loosened up for mile 2 and 3.    I finished strong and headed home.  I did miss running with NikeC though.

Tuesday- 4 miles  4th day in a row?!  Who am I?  There is a method to my madness here, really.    By the end of the work day I was not feeling like running at all.   So I ran in work town; I knew that if I had to drive anywhere else, I would lose motivation and bail.   My legs are not used to 4 days in a row yet so they were feeling pretty tired.   I kept the pace easy and just tried to enjoy the view.  By the time I got to the eucalyptus trees and shoreline I was glad I had stuck to my plan.   Mile 4 felt the best to me which was funny as it is all uphill.  I was just shy of 4 miles when I hit my car so I figured another loop of the block would get it done.    Except I cut through the alley behind the police station.  Should be safe right?  And it was if you don’t count the crazy Husky that charged me.  Seriously, what is my luck these days?!  Someone called the dog off but he had the crazy dog look like he could snap at any time.

Wednesday- Rest  Except my mother had a random Wednesday tennis match so without pizza night or running, I felt a little adrift.  😝     Ha!  I ended up cleaning half of my car.   It still needs to be vacuumed though.

Thursday- Rest   I planned to run, I even changed into running clothes after work.   My mother wanted to reschedule pizza night but I said I wanted to run first.  Once again, she dropped the dad kryptonite.   So I enjoyed pizza in un-sweaty running gear.

Friday- 10 miles  I worked on Saturday and had plans to spend a day shopping in SLO, both of those things were stressing me out about my long run.    I was able to leave early on Friday though for a partial day.  As I was changing into my running clothes it started pouring in work town.  Boo.  I headed towards home hoping it would clear up on the drive.  When I parked it looked stormy and threatening but was not even raining.  A little rain is one thing, the pouring diagonal mess I drove in- not so much.

My first mile was super slow- more walking than running- I was mentally debating if I was going to run or bail.   I didn’t have a mile goal in mind at all anymore, I was just out running.  At every point where I could make the run shorter or longer, I would assess the situation.  How did my legs feel and what did the skies look like?    It was cold and windy but the storm clouds were holding.    My upper left thigh felt a little off, kind of like there was a band around it.   Nothing hurt, so I kept running.   I was keeping a pretty steady pace and while it was faster than it should maybe have been, it felt good.

I was coming down a hill about a mile from my car when I felt it.  Something in my left leg moved.  I felt it shift on the outside of my upper thigh.   I calmly said “uh oh” out loud and continued to run.  Smart, right?   It didn’t hurt but it felt very off if that makes sense.    Good news was that the band feeling had gone away.    I finished out 10 miles and stretched really well.  At least I hoped so.  I also attempted some butt kicks and high knees.   Things felt weird.  Oh crap.

Saturday- Rest  I still wasn’t in pain but things weren’t normal.  By midday, I was limping.   But it still didn’t hurt?  How does that even make sense?    I chose to skip my planned easy run.  Boo.  If I didn’t have a race (SLO!!) next week, I may have pushed it.

Sunday- Rest  For the most part, I felt better.  Every now and again, I would feel an odd twinge but overall it felt ok.    I spent the day schlepping around SLO and by the end I was exhausted.  I haven’t slept well in almost a month so even though there was plenty of daylight when I got home, I passed on a run.   I did however spend a very long time at The Running Warehouse, trying on all the shoes.   At least it felt like that.    The Launch’s and I broke up for good after that last cramp-tastic run.  I hate returning shoes but I also can’t keep giving them to my mom.  My budget is not that big!

So yeah, not the week I was hoping for but it could have been worse.   I wasn’t planning on tapering for SLO but that will depend on my leg feels on my first run this week.    It’s being weird so who knows?   Fingers crossed?

Funny story, Friday I was sitting at my boss’s desk talking to her.    I heard something behind me so I looked- crazy husky!!!!!  He was in the building!   Turns out he was looking for a treat.  Small towns, right?

How was your week?

Ever have an odd, weird twinge?   I’m thinking it’s my IT band.

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