Last week was another lazy week. However, this was not my fault.
If you’ve read the news or watched it, you may have seen that California currently has an unprecedented number of fires. While the fires near my city and in my county have been small and put down quickly, the same cannot be said for the rest of the state.
What time is it?
While our fires were small, the smoke was not. Something about the way our county sits seems to make it a settling zone for the smoke from other fires. It’s happened with other fires over the years but this was a new level. Our air quality made headlines last week and not in a good way. The one site only went to 500 for AQI and we were maxed out.
I spent very little time outside all week and had the air conditioner maxed at home (with a new filter). I still ended up having asthma troubles most of the week and ended up going home sick on Thursday. Boo. So it was a very low key week.
The beginning of the week was crazy. The middle wasn’t much better.
A heatwave- all days above 100*- rolled in on Friday.
A migraine followed that for Saturday and Sunday.
I did not run at all last week. Zero. I didn’t do any workouts.
Hell, even my step counts look horrible. I work in a 2 story building with a stand up desk and I was never anywhere close to 7500. Which is the goal set by my calorie tracking app.
To add to that insult- our bathrooms broke on Wednesday at work. So that meant each time I needed the restroom, I had to go outside, cross 2 parking lots and an alley to get to the bathrooms in one of our other offices. Which I did twice. I still didn’t hit 7500.🤦♀️
The weekend brought more than heat and the migraine. Severe dry lightning sparked several fires around the state- 3 in my county- which brings the smoke into the county. I usually sleep with my window open a bit and my fan going full steam but after waking up choking, I won’t be opening that window anytime soon.
So here’s to hoping for an improved week to come….although the heat warning is still in effect. For at least another 7 days.
All though I loved the time I spent in the dirt on the trails last week, parts of my body did not.
The sun burn lingered for a few days but had mostly eased by Tuesday. What had not eased was the pain in my foot. To the point where even coworkers commented on my limping. Not good.
I wore flats all week instead of heals or boots and kept my feet up as much as possible at home. Which, let’s be real, that’s not too hard to do with my new recliner and general slacker-ness.
I did that for 7 days… Sunday through Saturday. I will say not running due to foot pain felt different than not running due to laziness. Ha!
Sunday, I wanted to test things out. I taped up my foot with KT tape and headed for a soft surface. I went to the beach.
Dude, where’s the pier?
A heavy marine layer meant it was not as crowded as I had feared but there were a ton of dogs out! They all wanted to play.
He was cute! Watched his family.
I started off real slow, with around 3/4 of a mile walking. From there, I moved on to intervals of 1 minute run, 1 minute walk. I tried to keep the pace real easy and focus on how I was landing. I also had the marine layer keeping my pace down- this is the same beach I’ve had a massive asthma attack on. I didn’t climb any rocks and turned around at the rockiest point.
My right foot- the injured foot- felt pretty good the whole time. And I did take my shoes off for the final .3 miles.
Not cool was that my left foot went numb around 3.5 miles in. What?! I had that problem at the beginning of last year but it got better. It did! Plus, I was wearing my PureFlow’s and those were the one pair of shoes that they never went numb in. Granted, I have turned this pair into beach running shoes but still. I slowed to a walk while I tried to stomp feeling back into my foot. It came back around 3/4 of a mile later. Grrrr.
In the grand scheme of things, last week didn’t suck.
I ran some, walked some, and napped some. Worked a lot, got a little dizzy. You know, the usual.
I did 2 5K’s last week.
The first one was a toasty one on Wednesday evening after work. But it wasn’t too bad. It actually ended up being more of a walk as my mother was out there too and I kept running- no pun intended- into her. It’s hard to run and talk these days. Yeah, that’s what I will keep telling myself.
Friday saw me feeling like my blood sugar was crashing, skin went clammy and and I had the shakes. And my first quasi panic attack wearing a mask. I dealt with it and made it through work- with my mask on- but I was so damn tired by the time the day was done . I picked a bad year to finally decide I needed nose surgery. That’s what you get for putting things off. I thought surgery was scary before, ha!
I was still feeling a little rough on Saturday but I headed out for a short run. It was another warm one as well as a another 3 miler. Well… at least I am consistently short! Actually it was a decent run. I think I have finally accepted where I am pace wise these days. Still trying to find the inner motivation again though.
Which is why Sunday saw me napping instead of running. My nose has been affecting my sleep as well so I know that contributes to my tiredness. But I could also be using it as a cop out too.
I feel like I wanted to write something else about last week but I can’t seem to recall what it was! Oops! I barely know what day it is anymore and I’ve been going to work like normal this whole time, ha!
It’s slowly dawned on me that I’ve come full circle.
I started running in 2010. I was at my highest weight and feeling gross and out of shape. I had been counseled at work for less than professional dress- apparently I looked frumpy. Work sponsored a Fun Run every year- though true story- this was more legit road race than fun run, it seriously warped my view of how races were run for the longest time. A friend was training for a marathon. I thought why not??
So I started changing at work and attempting a run right after work. I was so out shape, I hoped no one I knew saw me running. Or walking. Every now and then a customer would say that they saw me out there. I would always where they lived so I could be sure to run past their house on future runs and not walk.
Slowly I ran more and more, the weight started to come off and I started to get faster. I ran more races and discovered PR’s and bling. I learned that even though I am a socially awkward people person, I loved the camaraderie of races- everyone grumbling at the early morning starts, long lines at port -a -potties and the people you encounter throughout the course.
Then, I started to go backwards. My times got slower and the weight starting coming back. With a vengeance. Running became harder and I was struggling to keep my motivation.
I’ve run 40 half marathons, 2 marathons and countless other distances but now, I can barely make myself get out the door.
L-R-2nd half, PR half, half 39
When I do, I remember what I love about running even though it is harder than ever. I took that above mentioned highest weight ever in 2010 and not only met it but raised it another 40 pounds. And yes, while the weight does make it harder, I also realize my deep running ennui with life right now is the biggest stumbling block.
I was changing after work to go for a run last week (for the first time since I transferred back) and that’s when it hit me. I am back in the same office I was in when I started running all those years ago. I feel just as awkward now as I did then. I’ve come full circle. I think my shame at what I let happen has overpowered everything else.
Slacker Runner 