As some of you may know, I recently decided to try and get a little more serious with a few things.
I picked a training plan, I started a 4 day a week lifting workout.
I’m making better food choices. I no longer eat McDonald’s for breakfast every morning (yeah, I did that). I haven’t had Burger King in weeks. I’m eating less pizza and more fruit in my smoothies. Working on the veggies.
I’ve doubled my weights. Only missed 1 liift workout. I’m 4 weeks in.
And yet…
The scale hasn’t moved. Nor has the measuring tape. I know, I’ve checked.
I wasn’t expecting miracles here, but come on- give me something here- a pound, an inch. Give me something!
I was feeling discouraged.
On Tuesday, I went for a run and wasn’t feeling it. It was 95*, the skies were filled with smoke from far away fires and I forgot to bring a way to carry water on the run. I told myself to keep it short and sweet, nice and easy, a slow 3. I plugged in run/walk intervals with 30 second walk breaks just so I didn’t push too hard.
And yet…
The pace of those run intervals was something I hadn’t seen in quite some time. At least not with without a serious struggle. Each interval also continued to get faster without me pushing whereas the past few years had me fading in the end. My lungs weren’t on board with the smoke in the air but that’s asthma for you.😛
I also noticed more energy at the end of the Vintners 5 Miler- I wonder what I could have done without the hurt foot. Other training runs have had more consistent moments than usual as well.
So…. maybe things aren’t obvious but it all adds up. Baby steps. Don’t give up.
However I wouldn’t complain if the scale gave a little bit.😂
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12
This week was rough. I hit a stumbling block I wasn’t anticipating but it made me glad that I picked a 12 week training plan instead of the 10 weeks. That said, my miles are kind of sad. 9 more weeks to go!
This week was one I had been thinking about for months because I put a few too many things on my calendar for Saturday and had to decide what was going to lose. There was a half marathon in Salinas I wanted to run, a concert by my favorite band in Irvine, a good friends baby shower and then a hair cut appointment. I need to pay more attention to calendars.
The plan this week was for an easy 5, 3 mile pace, and 7 mile long run plus the 4 Liift4 workouts. Yeah, well….
Monday- 4 miles
I knew my foot could be a problem so I was prepared to call the run short if it ever reached a point of pain or stupidity. In fact I walked the entire 1st mile just to see if my foot protested immediately. Then I used a 60 second run/ 30 second walk method just to ensure I wasn’t getting to crazy. As long as I followed the intervals and paid attention to my form and how I landed the run was actually ok. All the extra thought going into it tired me out though. Haha.
Tuesday- Liift4
Wanted to give my foot 2 days in between runs and not double up on workouts so I loaded up my first Liift4 workout of the week. Which actually ended up being day 2 (backs/biceps) instead of day 1 because day 1 involved a lot of floor work and I did this workout in the garage so I could wear shoes. Concrete is hard on the back so I flipped them.
Wednesday- Liift4
Ahhh, hello day 1. This time on carpet so it much easier.
Thursday- .5 miles
I was ready to run and looking forward to it. About 15 minutes from home town and the river path though I started to feel really weird. My top lip was tingling and my arms were kind of numb. I still drove to my parking spot and tried to run thinking I was just being a big baby about the 95*. However .25 miles in, I knew I was being stupid. I felt so off balance and half of me just felt numb. I turned around and slowly walked back to the car. I went home and just crashed for the night, hence no post on Friday.
Friday- Rest
I woke up feeling like complete crap. I still didn’t feel right and was having trouble regulating my body temp. I had zero desire to go to work but also knew the odds of finding another manager to come out and cover my location was unlikely so I dragged myself in. My coworkers are amazing though so we made it through the day and then I went home and crashed again.
Saturday- Rest
I was still a little off but mostly ok which was good because I had an early morning hair cut and then a baby shower in the afternoon. Something about the heat of the day- 105- felt oppressively hot so I decided another day of rest wasn’t a horrible idea. We’ve had hotter days but this just felt Rough. I was still having issues regulating my internal temp.
Sunday- Liift4/ 4 miles
I couldn’t bring myself to get out bed early on the one day of the week that I was really able to sleep in. Which was not a great idea as we’ve recently broken the local record for days in a row over 100 degrees. Yay. I made up Thursday’s missed Liift4 in the afternoon then rested a bit before heading out for my run a little after 5. Never having run that close to a weight workout, I was a little concerned how my body would feel. I should have been concerned about the heat. My 7 miler turned into 4. For once I listened to the signs of the impending heat headache and knew that even though I slowed it down, it was still 98*. I will probably acclimate about the time fall arrives. 🙂
So, what, 8.5ish milesfor the week and 3/4 Liift workouts. Hopefully the weird sickness has gone away but I will be making a doctor’s appointment this week. Seems like the thing to do.
Dang those targeted Instagram ads that sneak up on you. I was scrolling my feed one evening when a cute wine bottle shaped medal jumped out at me. I don’t know why- I don’t even drink wine- but I saw that it was in Santa Barbara, fit my training plan, reasonably priced and vineyards usually meant dirt of some sort. So I clicked through and registered.
As race day loomed, I was tired and fussy and wondering why I even registered. They said the proceeds were for the Santa Ynez Valley Aquatic Foundation so maybe they could just use the donation? Then I noticed the winery wasn’t actually in Santa Barbara but Lompoc and spoiler alert- it wasn’t really there either. However I laid out a lazy flat runner and tried to get some sleep for the early morning drive south.
Race morning was actually a bit chilly in home town and made me question my shorts choice. After a little driving shenanigans, we arrived at the race location- Sanford Winery and were directed to parking. Then I had to decide on what shoes to wear. If you’ve never run in an actual vineyard before, they can be a mixed bag. They range from super nice fire road to ankle rolling hellish nightmare. I didn’t know what this was going to be. I wanted the cushion of my Levitates but chose my trail shoes. Smart choice.
Picked up my bib and shirt, used the port a potty and waited for the start. It was around 60 and overcast but at the last-minute I tossed my long sleeve layer to my mother. I normally run cold but something told me I wouldn’t need it. After a few announcements that I couldn’t understand over the spotty PA system, we were off through the winery.
Miles 1-2 10:14, 11:29
Dirt roads- yes! But woah, that is some loose dirt. And what the hell, my shorts just turned into underwear. I’d never had that problem with this pair before. I spent the next mile or so pulling my shorts down every 20 or so yards. It was super humid so my lungs weren’t happy and I was breathing hard but I wasn’t out there to set any records. Mile 1 had the cutest mile marker- a wine barrel with 1 foot painted on it. By mile 2 and the wine barrel with 2 feet on it I figured out the pattern but I am a horrible blogger and failed to take pictures of any of the mile markers.
The fog came back, boo
Mile 3- 15:12
On the upshot, my shorts calmed down and behaved the rest of the race. Downside #1, we started a 300 foot climb. Downside #2- I hit a rock with my bad foot and rolled it in a bad way. Colorful words spilled from my mouth and I slammed to a halt. Then I hobbled my way up and on, trying to make sure that I didn’t step on any more rocks. The route was still mostly dirt path but the rocks were getting bigger. This also made them easier to avoid but I had to focus on where I was landing my feet. What was I thinking running a race?
Miles 4-5 9:36, 10:42
Mile 4 started by running through a barn and for some reason I found a second wind. We had a little bit of a downhill but because my foot was being an asshat I couldn’t really RUN downhill. I was still trying to watch where my feet were landing before they landed and avoid all rocks. As well as check out the cool outbuildings and the scenery in the vineyard as the sun had come out and it looked super pretty. I managed to find another rock coming down a little bump in the last mile and let another string of words fly. A guy running next to me asked if the hill was too steep, I refrained from being a smart ass and replying that it wasn’t even a hill in my opinion and just said I had hurt my foot a few miles back. The last bit of the race had us running literally in between the vines. Oh holy hell of rockiness. There was nowhere to put my feet that didn’t hurt. I damn near walked it but I was so close to being done. As it is, I slowed way down. Finally another few curves and there was the finish line!
Finish-57:44
If we consider this a true trail race- it was my fastest 5 miler by 7 minutes but as it only had 400 ish feet of elevation gain, I am not sure if I do.
Once across the line, there was some confusion. Registration claimed it came with a medal and wine glass for every participant but neither was anywhere to be seen. Now, I downgraded from the festival to just the race so the lack of wine glass was not a huge deal to me but the lack of medal was a little confusing as there had been zero announcements.
I was not the only one confused as evidenced by Facebook comments post race. We eventually received an email that said there had been a delay with the medals and that they would arrive Monday, then the race would be in touch with us after that. However it is now Thursday and that was the last time the race reached out. I have run numerous races with no medals but it’s another thing to say you are going to do something and then not do it.
Communication issues aside, I really did like this race and would consider running it again.
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12
So close, so close! I almost hit every work out. But I didn’t. I tried rearranging to fit life, the heatwave and my leg and it just didn’t work.
The plan for the week was 4 Liift4 workouts and 3 runs. The runs were originally laid out as an easy 4, a 30 minute tempo and a long run of 6 miles. I knew I had a 5 mile race on Saturday so I figured that would be my tempo and I would just run another easy 4 to make up for the shortened long run. Well, that was the plan.
Monday- Liift4/ Fair Stupid mistake #1. Possibly 1 and 2. I should have done the Liift4 workout in the morning. I didn’t- I did it after the fair, finishing around 11. I wore flip flops to the fair- which might have been fine if it was just the fair but I also walked home. Everything below my left knee was pissed. The funnel cake was awesome though.
Tuesday- Liift4 I packed my gear to run but my leg was still pissed at me for the flip flops. In the end I decided another day of rest was best and met my mother for dinner instead. However that may have been a bad idea as I spent the rest of the night violently ill.🤢
Wednesday- 4 miles With the temps in hometown around 110, I opted to run in work town where it was a pleasant 66. I always feel super awkward running in work town for some reason but usually settle into it around 1.5 miles in- around when I hit the eucalyptus grove. I feeling good and running an easy pace but the 80% humidity was making my breathing sound like I was sprinting. That said, this was a rare time I powered up the hill back and felt like I could have done it again. I didn’t.
Thursday- Liift4 I wanted to run but it was another 110 degree day and a late afternoon doctor appointment in another town messed with my plan to run in work town again. Traffic getting home due to the Luke Bryan concert irritated me and I really wanted to run but the temps didn’t really cool until after 9 PM and not really even then. I don’t run at night let alone at night during the fair.
Friday- RestThe Liift4 leg workout was on the schedule but I remembered being extra sore last weekend afterwards. Which normally would be fine but with a trail race on Saturday and my leg still feeling funky, I decided to push the workout until after the race. Possibly mistake #3.
Saturday-Vintner’s 5 Mile Race Race recap to come complete with vines, dirt, rocks, barns and medal snafus. My Liift4 workout did not happen that evening.
Sunday- Rest Oh, what the??? Not only did I not do the Liift4 workout I missed, I did not run. Without going into too many details from Saturday, there are some lingering issues and anything weight bearing sounded and felt like it would do more harm than good. I wish I could say I made that choice easily but I kept telling myself that things were going to improve right up to 5PM. Nope. Crap.
So yeah, 9 miles for the week, 5 out 7 workouts. Which on the surface might not look so bad but I am a little for how it going to play out this week.
I need a nap. On a beach. In a hammock. Have I said that before?
Happy Friday!
I have a trail race tomorrow. Oops. I am hoping it is more fire road and less trail but we shall see. I know there’s a 350 foot climb at end of mile 2. What goes up must come down right? What else is it hiding? And I just read that we get to run through a barn so woo hoo!
Something about the fair always brings a heatwave to town. So let’s double the town population ( at minimum), make traffic nuts and weather 110. Yes. Don’t get me wrong, the fair does a good job and I’ve learned over the years that our small town has a damn impressive fair but by the end of 12 days I am over it. It doesn’t help that the fairgrounds are more in the middle of town than you would think. But my funnel cake made it worth it.
My boss is gone for the next few weeks so it’s back to not being able to leave the building for a while. In a way that’s a good thing- can’t be tempted to run down to Burger King for a quick meal on my lunch anymore. Besides, I rarely left during lunch anyways.
Oh and remember how I complained about my lack of reading?? I’ve since read 2 books!😀
Slacker Runner 