Author: Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Rambling On 43

Happy Friday!

Can I still be excited for the weekend if I am working Sunday too?

Remember a few months back when I was kind of freaking out about a really long solo drive? Well, I am about to take a longer one. Like today. Wish me luck, I’m kind of freaking out again. I have plenty of podcasts ready to go and lots of water.

In the same vein, I haven’t packed for such a long trip since I was a kid. I outgrew my one bag and I still can’t help but feel like I am forgetting something very important. What is it???

I am so not a fan of the darker evenings. I’ve already had to bust out the Knuckle Lights on a few runs and they haven’t even been that long. The time change isn’t even here yet. I am fighting flagging motivation already and it is not a good thing.

I may use this travel week as a way to try and kick soda. We’ll see. If a McDonald’s is between my hotel and work, all bets are off.😛

Share something random!

Week 41: Monterey Bay Half Prep

Upcoming Races-

City to the Sea 13.1-10/14- maybe
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you BibRave!)- 11/12

This week was an odd duck.

I was so sore post San Jose, it was ridiculous. I started the week planning a few recovery days but it kind of snowballed from there.

Then Wednesday arrived and a baby deer and my car collided on my way to work. I managed to mostly swerve but the deer bounced off my door panel. I pulled over and took a few moments to breathe. The deer managed to get up and run away so I choose to believe all good things. However my brother was not so lucky on the way to work that morning. His was a big deer on the freeway and they collided in a major way. Wednesday was just off.

I supposed to run a race on Sunday- City to the Sea- one of my favorite races. But I kind of never registered for it. Oops. Maybe it was meant to be? Or to not be?

I didn’t really have a plan this week, just wanted to get in some running and some cross training.

Monday-Liift4
I was so sore after Sunday’s race. Seriously, flat is not my friend. I was less sore after 26 miles of Big Sur hills. I didn’t run but I did manage to complete week 2/ day 1 of Liift4. Very, very slowly.

Tuesday-Nothing
I really meant to do something after work but just didn’t. I knew I wasn’t running, I wanted to give my legs and back another day to rest but I had intended to at least do a workout when got off work but I didn’t. Oops.

Wednesday- 1.14 miles, Liift4
Deer day. Then the day was just odd. I changed into my running gear after work but everything felt off. I went to the river path but even the air felt off. Ever have one of those days? I walked/ jogged a short loop back to the car and called it. I didn’t regret it but one of the local sub elites came flying past me I did groan and shake my head. Of course, I was walking at that point.

Thursday- Mes de Mas legs
Haha, I am so uncoordinated. I lost count of how many times I fell over.

Friday- Nothing
It was an open to close kind of day. As I was driving home I suddenly wished I had my running gear because the sun setting on the beach looked amazing and it was warm outside. I totally would have gone for a run on the beach.

Saturday-Nothing
More nothing. I thought about running all day but that is as far as it got. Instead I just kind of lazed about.

Sunday-5 miles
Since I wasn’t running the race anymore, I slept in. I ran some errands before heading out for an easy run. It turned into a progression run thanks to a little pass by homeless person incident at the start. My legs felt good but then why wouldn’t they, they had all week off.

6.2 miles for the week. I think I took more of a recovery week post San Jose than I did post Big Sur. 😛

How was your week?

Let Me Sleep On It

Disclaimer: I received a Bedgear Level 2.0 pillow to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I love sleep, sleeping in, naps- love them. Problem- I’m a total night owl who often struggles to fall asleep. This can be caused by a variety of things on a nightly basis but it makes for a sleepy Slacker.

I upgraded my bed last fall which a fiasco in its own way as I ended up returning the first one 90 days into 100 day trial but I never upgraded my pillows. Change is hard! And who is to say that what I bought would be any better than the current 3 I used or tried to on a nightly basis?

Then, Bedgear presented itself. I thought the name sounded familiar and oh, hey they made my mattress protector! Which I love so I was optimistic. The pillow choice started off with a quiz. Wait- I didn’t study!😂

The Pillow ID is designed to find the right pillow for you- the one that fits your body temperature, size, and sleeping position. Based on my answers, I was recommended the Level 2.0 pillow. The 2.0 refers to the pillow height- 0.0 being the thinnest and 3.0 being the thickest.

Some pillow specs from the website-

Dri-Tec® fabric to continuously wick away heat and moisture, stabilizing your temperature so you can get your most solid sleep.
React® foam has all the perks of a memory foam, without the sad sag or heat build-up. Designed to move with you, it cradles your head while supporting your neck, shoulders, and spine.
Air-X® Panels
Flexible, three-dimensional material vents warm air away from the body.

But how did it feel?

Game changer people, seriously. I’ve gone from 3 pillows and sometimes a stuffed animal (like I said- it was rough) to just 2 pillows on a nightly basis. In fact I tossed one of the older pillows completely. I feel like I fall asleep quicker and I don’t toss and turn. Which is how I used to sleep when I was younger- I’d burrow into a spot and not move all night. I haven’t done that in years. The bump out on this pillow is perfect for my shoulder as I always start out on my left side. Even if I do turn to my back, it still supports me well.

The pillow is awesome by itself too and I did try that for a few nights but unfortunately my GERD wasn’t too fond of that so the second pillow came back.

I’ve even been going to bed a little sooner these days. I choose to believe it’s because the pillow makes sleeping so nice and not that I am getting older.😛 My only issue is that my pillow cases are a little big for it, so now I’m on the hunt for smaller sized satin pillow cases. They have to exist somewhere.🤔

If you love sleep like I do, I definitely recommend checking out Bedgear. I even have a discount! Use code BIBRAVE15 to save 15% on your purchase (excluding Wow deals).

How do you sleep?

Rock n Roll San Jose Recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Rock n Roll San Jose as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

After the worst night of sleep or lack thereof, I was up and getting ready for the race. I was also regretting the Spaghetti Factory dinner from the night before. 😛 I got ready and headed off to the start line.

The race started at 8 and while the Slacker in me liked that, every other part of me was worried. That is late. I knew I was going to be slower than planned. I still had to check out of my hotel. Rock n Roll had sent out a heat advisory email the night before. Let’s get this show on the road! Except we didn’t. I can usually guess exactly what time my corral is going to start for Rock N Roll races but I would have been so wrong this time. There was some delay for the trains? Buses? I don’t know but I was confused. I didn’t cross the start line until almost 8:30 and it already felt warm. I hate humidity.

Miles 1-3 9:58, 10:42, 10:21, 11:05
Irritation fueled the first mile. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to maintain that. My legs felt ok but the rest of me felt off- just kind of not present. I was running and felt like I was pushing but I knew I really wasn’t. I was realizing just how many turns this race course was going take. We turned so many times. We ran through the San Pedro Market area which brought us past the Spaghetti Factory- nope, nope. Then it was another turn and we were coming back towards the start line. I heard a woman tell her running partner that it was too hot for her.

Miles 5-8 11:05, 11:21, 11:31, 11:23
So much flat road. We were running towards the SAP Center and into an area of apartments and strip malls. I found the perfect apartment complex- an Orange Theory and Papa Johns were across the parking lot. Replace the Papa Johns with Domino’s and I am sold! The things we think about when trying to not think about running. 😜 So many more turns and we were in Santa Clara. I felt like we were so far away the finish line. I needed a hill. Why was it so warm, it’s October! There were some damn nice houses we ran by during this block as well.

Miles 9-12 12:58, 11:33, 12:26, 12:02
Oh, what the hell? My right hip/ sciatica seized and I ground to a slow crawl. I spent mile 9 mostly walking and punching myself in the butt. 🤣 I kind of wonder what I looked like to the runners behind me. I ran more in mile 10 but 11 was more of the same. Grrr. My stomach cramps from the morning also returned. Really?? What else? I was taking more walk breaks trying to loosen up my hip area. I was drinking water and Gatorade at every station and dumping water on my Buff then shoving it down my shirt to cool off. Classy, right? This course had an abundance of cheerleaders and they were needed as I was fading.

Mile 13 11:15
Around mile 11.5, the 2:30 pacer passed me. Umm, excuse me? I know they started after me and I was on pace for a 2:30 so they had no business passing me. I picked up the pace a bit because I was so ready to be done. Sure enough I passed the pace group in the last stretch to the finish line as they slammed on the breaks.

Finish – 2:30:00 on the nose

I was done, I was hot and my hip hurt. I made my way through the long finisher’s chute, getting my medal and food before finally making my way out and meeting up with my mother. In one good thing, the finisher chute pretty much dumped us out right at my hotel parking lot so I didn’t have far to hobble.

If you love flat, this is the race for you. I did like running through the neighborhoods of San Jose and course support- aid stations, music and cheerleaders. But I need hills. I don’t know if they would have made much of a difference that day but I missed them. Also, I haven’t been that sore post race in years- even after both marathons. 😛

Week 40:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 12

Upcoming Races-

Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14- maybe
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you BibRave!)- 11/12

Welcome to funk town. I’m in a funk. I need out.

On the work front, things are getting interesting. We had an employee give notice which was sad because we had a great team in place. We were super lucky and managed to hire someone quickly so we were only short staffed last week but another employee turned in notice last week. Aaargh…what is in the water?!? And both of the them were afraid to tell me because they didn’t want to disappoint me so I was always the last person to “officially” know. Thanks, I think?

So workouts- the plan called for a 3 mile run, 4 mile run and the race. I also hoped to fit 3-4 cross training work outs in.

Monday- Liift4 week 1/day 1, Mes de Mas day 1
With my leg feeling cranky from the hot mess fail of a long run on Sunday, I decided not to run and just restart Liift4. It felt harder this time around. Hmmmm. I was feeling like doing more though so I pushed play on the Mes de Mas workout after. A workout for body and brain as the instructions are in Spanish. I’ve been looking forward to this one becoming available and it was fun.

Tuesday- 3 miles/ Liift4
I kept the miles nice and easy and just tried to focus on my form and stride. Nothing hurt but my leg didn’t feel marvelous either. I did another round of cross training once home.

Wednesday- Rest
Something pissed off my stomach in major way. It was enough just to make it through the work day. It also rained so I tried to just see it as good timing to feel crappy.

Thursday- Rest
My stomach was still angry. It’s been a while since I had bad flare up so I guess I was due for one. Race week timing was not great though.

Friday- Nothing
I meant to run a couple miles. I took the day off work in order to get a few things done and checked off my to-do list but only managed to check off a few things. Grrr.

Saturday- Road trip to San Jose
Road trip! I was on the road around 9 for the drive up to San Jose. Luckily San Jose is only about 3 hours away so the drive wasn’t bad. Getting to the expo was the easy part. Bib pick up was a breeze. Getting around town after was ridiculous. It was like Apple maps and Siri just refused to work. We got lost multiple times- on foot and by car. Grrrr. Thankfully I nailed the hotel choice- within walking distance of the start/finish- and it was within walking distance of a Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Though I came to regret that. Then I tried to get a decent nights sleep. Fail.

Sunday- Rock n Roll San Jose Half Marathon
Race recap to come.

16.2 miles for the week.

How was your week?