Oh, Friday was a long time coming this week. Anyone else feel like that?
And yes, I’m too lazy to look up proper number right now.⬆️
I come up with great things to write while running but then I open the laptop hours later and forget it all. At least they sound good in my head. But we’ll never know since those thoughts disappear like sweat in a washing machine.
I’m having sock or shoes issues. What else is new right? The PureFlow’s seem to work pretty well but I still get a blister on my right foot. Soooo, I ordered a bunch of socks to try from the Running Warehouse… and maybe shorts.😂
Except apparently I brought the work town weather back north with me. It’s been mostly cold and gray for the last 2 weeks. Except of course last week’s long run when I melted.😛
I need a new series to binge watch when the mood strikes but nothing seems to catch my eye. Any suggestions?
You know what’s perfect portion control? Kids meals. No lie, I may have ordered one or two recently.
First full week with Endure Strong Coaching and first full week at the new job. I got this!
Maybe.
I think I can, I think I can. Maybe, this week took a lot out of me. Well, and the previous week. I need to get better about how/ when I eat now. I also drank way less than normal and that is not good. I ate so much crap but at the same time not enough. I lost 3 pounds but can’t claim that it was out self control and healthy choices.
2019 Race Schedule (so far):
6/2 RnR San Diego (Thanks BibRave)
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)
Planned vs Actual
Monday- 1.5 easy miles/ 1.53 miles Short, easy miles. I can do this!!! Except I will say that figuring out a 1.5 mile route is harder than it sounds.
Tuesday-2.5 miles hills/ Nada I was having lingering wardrobe malfunction issues from Sunday’s race and any movement hurt. I had mostly ignored it the day before but I just couldn’t.
Wednesday- 1.5 easy miles/ 2.64 miles hills I chose to do the missed workout instead of the easy run. I still wasn’t comfortable exactly but the hills felt decent. Until I checked my elevation gain at the end and realized it kind of sucked. But I ran that hill multiple times!
Thursday- 3 miles with strides/ 3.1 miles with strides Strides are fun! The rest was easy miles and they felt ok. The mileage doesn’t worry me with this plan- the back to back running does which is why I chose a beginner plan, ha!
Friday- 1.5 miles easy/ 1.72 miles easy Wait, what? Running on a Friday? After work? I don’t think I can…I did! And again planning a 1.5 mile route was the hardest part. Oh and this “easy” run had more elevation gain than my hill workout a few days back. Ha!
Saturday- 5 mile long run/ 5 mile slog The long run wasn’t long so when I woke up to a spinning room courtesy of my head and not an earthquake this time. I went back to sleep and figured I could just run later. Which I did but it was freakin’ miserable. I was hot, overheated, dehydrated and just couldn’t. I should have turned around 2 miles in and taken the short cut but I pushed on. I wouldn’t call it running, it was mostly walking and then stopping to try to prevent more damage to an already popped blister. Plus, the shoes I wore on Wed- Friday had pissed off my left ankle.
Sunday- Rest day/ REST day I did nothing. I tried to nap but couldn’t, boo.
14 ish miles for the week. And I only missed 1 workout! Who am I????
On Sunday, I toed the start line for my 5th SLO Half Marathon.
I have mixed feelings about this race. There was a time I loved it. Then it drove me batty. I’ve run it 5 times but only paid for it once. I was a race ambassador for the first few years but then I just couldn’t. Not to say I would have made the cut had I applied, I just stopped. This most recent trip down memory lane was sponsored by my work.
In the 5 times I’ve run it, I’ve run 3 different courses. I get that the city and the county dictate what roads could be closed and when but that’s a lot of change. The first course I ran was my favorite. I ran that one 3 times. Also, I seem to get slower every time I run SLO.
I headed into this race with no goal other than finishing. The preceding week and a half had wrung me out and I was hanging on by a thread. I was wondering why I hadn’t signed up for the 3 person relay. Oh yeah, needed 2 other people.
Unlike the last time I ran it, we made it into the parking lot before I jumped out of the car.
Then it became the “what pace is this?” game.
Mile 1- 10:10 Who starts a race uphill? I mean a short hill but still. Also I had to stop and tie my shoe so I don’t know where that pace came from.
Mile 2-10:35 Oh crap, I am already exhausted. This isn’t good. Oh, look another hill.
Mile 3- 11:00 Oh thank goodness, a water stop. Another reason to walk. More hill.
Miles 4- 11:13 More walking but a little bit of downhill. Also I know SLO pretty well but we’ve turned so damn many times I am so confused.
Mile 5- 11:42 Another hill, more walking and I must lose this long sleeve shirt before I melt. Oh crap, it’s under my pack. Why?! Oh and the work water station. Anyone want to tap in for me???? Please?
Mile 6- 12:44 Ok, I’m toast. Did I say I missed the Johnson hill stretch? I take it all back. Or as the pacer in front of me said- “Welcome to the hospital hills”.
Mile 7- 11:07 The climb is never ending. My brain broke. I had no sense of pace. I just remember walking. BUT I didn’t eat asphalt here like I did my 2nd time running it.
Mile 8-12:23 I’m done. Why do I do this to myself? Oh, Orcutt road is pretty, damn forgot about the hill. Not really, just lied to myself.
Mile 9-11:11 Tiny downhill, weeee! Also lost the 2:30 pacer, like they were miles ahead. Totally realizing this could very well be my slowest half marathon.
Mile 10-11:59 So much walking. Just keep moving, just keep moving. Oh look, it’s the railroad path.
Mile 11- 12:13 At this point I actually comprehend the numbers on my watch but they make no sense. Wait, if I drop 2 sub 10 miles, I’ll be around 2:25? Did I stop my watch somewhere?
Mile 12-12:30 Stupid, you don’t have sub 10 in you. Oh, hey it’s the criss cross bridge to run up to cross the railroad. Can’t we just run across? How much more is there?
Mile 13-11:14 I see the freeway overpass- run! The finish line is on the other side. I hate this last hill right before the finish- weeee! Downhill to the finish.
2:30:16
I had a team shirt on but was overheating from the humidity, I stripped fairly quickly after finishing
Wait, what? I started walking in mile 2 for crying out loud. I was ballparking a 2:45 finish, how the hell did I cut 10 minutes off of Oakland? I mean, yeah I was sick at Oakland but I was in a fog during SLO. I had no idea what pace I was running for 90% of the race. Or walking. So somehow I inadvertently proved I do better with hills. I’m not crazy!
Last week was jam packed full with life, work and running. Also Avengers but possibly not enough sleep.
2019 Race Schedule (so far):
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
6/2 RnR San Diego (Thanks BibRave)
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)
As I mentioned in Friday’s post my work world saw a lot of change last week. I had 3 days to pack and transition out of my former position/location and I was in the new one by Thursday.
I knew the week had a lot going on so I front loaded my miles. Which works for the old Slacker but the new Slacker started a new training plan with a Coach last Monday and totally failed at week 1. But more on that later.
Oh and it was Endgame week so you know I had to clear my schedule for those 3 hours. Well plus the time to ruminate on it. 😂😢
Monday- 2.3 miles I wanted to run in work town as a sort of Sayonara run but a super heavy marine layer rolled in. Instead I headed to the lake path for some easy breezy miles. It was kind of a so long run to the lake path as well. It’s now in the wrong direction of travel so I have to really want to run there to drive there.
Tuesday- 4 miles The marine layer held so I headed out for my goodbye run. We actually ran really late that day and I would have blown it off if it wasn’t my last chance to run there. I was slower than normal but I was also pausing to take a lot of pictures so it makes sense.
Wednesday- Yoga Oh, good golly. I did another Beachbody yoga and it kicked my ass. I was looking for a gentle flow/ stretch for the lower half but this was freakin’ intense. I also had the first coaching call with Endure Strong.
Thursday/ Friday- Adapt No working out just survival.
Saturday- Work/ Expo I worked a shift in the morning, it was busier than the last Saturday shift I worked. Once off work, I jetted down to SLO to pick up my race packet for the next morning. And maybe do a little shopping. Then I couldn’t take it anymore and made an evening showing of Avengers: Endgame. 😍
Sunday- SLO Half Marathon What was I thinking? Race recap to come.
As long as I’ve had this blog, I’ve worked in the same location and commuted on the daily. In the beginning it didn’t effect my running. In later years, I am not so sure. I really could just be that lazy. 😛
Prior to that I had somehow managed to work within a mile or 2 of home since I was a teenager. Numerous things changed over the years but I managed keep a short drive throughout. I hated long drives, who would want to?
Then I earned a promotion and transferred 30 miles away. And those 30 miles took between 45 minutes to an hour. Yet, I didn’t hate it. Suddenly things didn’t seem so far away. My temper calmed down too. Hmmm. It helped that I worked with some truly awesome people over the years.
On Wednesday, I said goodbye to those people and that office. Goodbye to some great customers. Goodbye cute little beach town, thanks for making me like the ocean. So long, nice, mostly regular breezy temps. But that also means goodbye to filling my tank so often as gas prices average in the 4’s these days.
Hello to opportunity. Hello, new office with other great people. Hello to a much shorter drive. Hello promotion. 😀
Slacker Runner 