Category: Slacker

Of Choices and Coughing

I have a great new ab workout- coughing!

Oh, it doesn’t work like that? Well, it should. If you can’t count that than the only thing I have been even slightly productive at since my last is sleeping. And even that hasn’t been done well.

My hope that resting on Thursday would get me through my long runs turned out to be in vain. I was miserable all Thursday night but made my way into work on Friday. I have this thing about calling in sick, I hate it and rarely ever do it. Particularly on a Friday or Monday. That’s a huge no-no for me. But with a 45 min to an hour commute, I really need to get over that. I made it 3 hours before heading home. I proceeded to spend the next 2.5 days alternating between my chair and my bed. It turned into some cold- flu thing and I have had body aches and chills and a pounding headache. I spent a lot of time sleeping and it wasn’t even good sleep. Ugh.

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Running did not happen at all this weekend. I am hoping that I feel up to a few miles on Tuesday but I know they won’t be easy. The last time I was sick was actually last January and it kicked my ass energy wise for a few weeks. Doing laundry exhausted me today. This has me a little nervous. The 25K is in two weeks and I was already doubting it.

My left leg has been a little achy lately, and my mother has had a bum knee. She is ok going uphill but as we all know, down hills can be evil. And the 25K has a lot of downhill. She did see a doctor about it but he left it up to her. One of the points of the 25K was that we were going to do it together. Now I am concerned that both of us may push too hard when we really shouldn’t. This weekend was supposed to be a 18-20 mile weekend, half road, half trail. I feel unprepared and don’t think I can catch up. Plus there is the fact of Surf City 7 days after the 25K.

I am torn. I feel like backing out would be the smart idea but it feels icky. Between coughing fits and naps today, I went online to look at other races my mother and I could do in the area. We are pretty sparse on trail races but I did find a half marathon on an army base in a month that looks like a better fit. Just not as scenic. So yeah, torn.

Alright, sorry for the downer of a weekend update!

Tell me how awesome your weekend was? What kind of running did you get in?

Thoughts on the race conundrum?

A Sleepy Frog

Happy almost Friday! And the first full week of the year. 🙂

I don’t know what it is but I have been so tired this week. I have slept through my first 3 alarms every day. That’s even with going to bed earlier- since Directv and NBC have been fighting, I haven’t been watching the news or Jimmy Fallon. Last night I actually clocked the first 7 hours of sleep on a work night since I bought my Fitbit. Wow. On Tuesday, I headed to the gym after work for a few miles. I was actually sore after hiking Cerro San Luis but per usual the DOMS didn’t kick in until Tuesday. But that just helped me not push it. Finding a consistent easy is kind of hard. I’ve noticed that it takes almost 2 miles on the treadmill to feel comfortable. Then when I do, I have the problem of running into the front of the machine because I want to run faster. I managed 5 miles around a 10:41-10:54 pace. Once again one of the tvs had North Woods Law on and it made the miles seem less miserable.

When I first arrived at the gym I was surprised to find around 10 treadmills free, I had expected more Resolutioner’s to be there. The ellipticals were full though. Part of me feels bad being irritated that they filll up the gyms in January. I mean at least they are making an attempt right? But when you see a man talking on the phone while on the elliptical and a woman reading with a book right up to her face while walking so slowly, I feel less guilty. Then there were the chatty trio who got on the treadmills to my right. They were so loud! I could hear every word of their conversation over my headphones and I wasn’t willing to blow out my own eardrums and keep turning it up. I said this in a comment to FL Runner Boy but I think a gym should be like a library- necessary conversations only. 🙂 But then again, I am the one who hit the emergency stop 2 miles in- oops. My mind is like, "Let's go to the gym!", but my body is all, "Dude chill, this couch is really comfortable." The plan was for another 4-5 treadmill miles tonight but after changing and starting my drive to the gym I had to admit that i don’t feel so well. It feels like a head cold which I could have run on but I decided that running back to back longer runs this weekend was more important for training than some treadmill miles tonight. My 25K is in less than 3 weeks with Surf City right after. I am trying to think smart here but I feel like a baby. Plus I also didn’t think anyone at the gym would appreciate my excessive coughing or throat clearing. Asthma already puts a frog in my throat but now I feel like his friends have moved in to party. Ugh. So instead I am bundled up in the comfy chair catching up with you guys! Oh maybe I should be productive and go update my Goals and Gear page that I haven’t touched in way too long.

How has your week been?

Have you braved the gym?

Sunday Summit- Cerro San Luis

December put a monkey wrench in my run/ hike a trail every other week plans. I feel like I blinked and it was January. I originally planned on hiking on New Year’s Day but quite frankly it was just too cold. At least for this California girl. I mean come on, I use a space heater every day, even in the summer. After working in the morning and a rough, abbreviated 5 mile run on Saturday, my mom and I headed out Sunday for Cerro San Luis.Cerro San Luis is located in SLO and otherwise known as Madonna Mountain. It overlooks the Madonna Inn and has a large M painted on the side representing Mission High School. And I think it may be my new favorite view. I just realized I took 165 pictures! The mountain has a series of interconnecting trails, so I never actually found the M. Guess that’s something for next time! We wanted to add some distance so we parked at a nearby park and headed for the mountain via a trail there. The trail wasn’t very technical and ranged from a dirt trail to a horse path. Could have done without the horse poop everywhere but it was really cool being that close to the horses. I had no idea you get that close to them on the trail. It had an elevation gain of 1160 feet. Which wasn’t that bad until the very end. There were quite a few times that the trail branched in different directions and we had to choose left or right. At one point my mother chose right and holy crap, that was hard. It was super narrow and super steep. I was about ready to start hand over footing it when a woman came down on a bike. Then I was jumping out of the way wondering if I was going to have to call for help. I was afraid she was going to crash. As she passed me she admitted that she should not have gone down that way. She did not look comfortable or confident at all. There were a ton of people out on the trail that day. Bikers, walkers, runners, families and dogs.

Look- it's Bishop's Peak! — Look- it’s Bishop’s Peak!

It was a very warm day which was great but man we felt like we were working. We finally made it to the top! Talk about an awesome view! We then did have to hand over foot some to get to the top of the rocks. I could see another trail down but we weren’t sure where it went. We could have investigated but it was way past lunch and I hadn’t eaten anything all day (stupid stomach) so we just headed back down. We took our time going down because my mom has been fighting a knee thing off and on since we hiked Cerro Alto.

This slacker forgot to charge her Garmin and it pretty much died at the top of the mountain. Oops. But it was 3 miles up and I think it was around 3 miles down but we went a slightly different way. The clouds rolled in and the wind picked up as we got back to the park- perfect timing! Oh and randomly, someone was base jumping off of one of the hills. It wasn’t that high but umm, no thank you.

It was great weather and a great hike. I look forward to going back again and exploring the other trails. I want to find the M! I like to call hiking my training and cross training all in one! It was a great way to end the weekend! The plan is to hike part of the 25K route this weekend but that also depends on how my mom’s appointment goes in regards to her knee.

How was your weekend?

Wrapping it up!!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! We had a good day here in California even though Christmas finally brought in the cold. We’ve hit freezing the last few nights and had colder days. Yes, it has been nothing like anyone who gets actual snow but it’s cold for someone like me. I think the perfect running temp is around 73 and I almost like running in 95-100º. Crazy, I know.

Christmas was good this year and I can finally share a few things I purchased for my family. I was super excited about these gifts this year, there were others but I had fun with these-

Road ID- Ok this one is mine but I ordered a similar one for my mom and I ordered a FIXX ID for my dad for when he hikes.

My mother has been saying that she wanted something with a logo on. This is the back and the front says photographer.

My family proved just well they knew me as well-

I’ve come to realize that part of the reason I may have only run 34 miles in December 2013 was that there are so many things to be done. My mileage so far this month is not where I had hoped it would be. I had two tiny weeks in a row that put a dent in my goal. But that’s ok- people first right? I have one more commitment on Monday evening and then I think I am done! Christmas is typically a lazy day with my family and I have always looked forward to it. Last year, I ran a few miles to break in the Garmin I had received but this was a return to the norm. It was so nice. We hung out and watched Love Actually and then multiple episodes of Supernatural. While enjoying yummy food of course. 🙂

Friday was back to work and I was confused all day. It was a Friday but felt more like a Monday. Even with that, I was able to restrain myself from eating cookies (Cookie Friday) which is kind of huge for me. Saturday consisted of the usual errands and waiting around for it get a little warmer before running. I admit to having little desire to run but I knew I was short on miles and also needed to get in a longish run. 10 was on the schedule but that didn’t seem like a smart idea after 2 short weeks. So I headed out around 3, figuring I would aim for 8 but would settle for 4.5 if I still wasn’t feeling it. For my longer runs, I have decided to aim for a pace around 11:15-11:30. I really want them to feel easier and be more of a focus on time than pace. Up until Saturday, it was going well.

The run felt hard from the start and my legs felt weirdly achy. I figured the cold was aggravating my asthma because I didn’t feel like I was pushing hard. I had a route in mind but going up a hill in mile 2, I changed it up and ran that hill 3 times. That section is kind of triangular so it was run up, walk a block over and run down to repeat. From there it just a series of loops around neighborhoods but I did hit that hill again around mile 6. I paused for a moment at an elementary school to check my shoes- they felt uncomfortable and just off- and use my inhaler again. It was there I noticed my pace, aside from my first mile, every other mile was in the 10’s. Slow down fool! My legs had a mind of their own and the last 4 miles were faster than the first 4. I was literally talking out loud to myself saying “slow down” but I just couldn’t seem to make it happen. I took walk breaks in every mile just to slow down. On one hand this is kind of awesome because it’s closer to what I used to be able to do but I need more self-control. I should have been able to rein it in when I need to. So yay but ugh? 🙂

Sunday called for an easy 6 and it was the perfect time to break in some new, shiny shoes. I attribute the aches from my long run to my shoes. I had noticed my neon Wave Rider’s had gone from good to not good overnight recently but I was hoping for another 50 miles or so. All of my treadmill miles have been run in my Sayonara’s and have been relatively ache free. Granted the condition of our streets doesn’t help but I had a feeling my Wave Rider’s were just done. I bought another pair in October and just stashed them until needed. What a world of difference! Putting them on today made me realize just how bad the previous pair had been, I had arch support again! Today’s 6 miles felt good, no aches other than a little soreness from yesterday. Woo hoo!

How was your Christmas?

Ever have a pair of shoes go bad seemingly overnight?

Ready for 2015? I’m getting there- next post will be goals. 🙂

Festive Follow Through

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!

In all honesty, the last two weeks of running have been more miss than hit. I started December strong but went a little off track once my vacation was over. I drive past the lake path every night and wish I was running there instead of the gym. Driving home last night I noticed that the sunset lingered a little more than usual. I then did a happy little cheer in my car once I realized the solstice was the day before. Here’s for gaining more daylight every day!

Between Christmas activities, shopping trips and my stomach, longs runs have been non-existent the past 2 weeks. It’s not like I have a 25K in 5 weeks right? Oops. Actually, that was the first time I counted and now I am scared! Now I am really glad I followed through tonight. 🙂

I have over 400 Christmas songs but I love these. So odd, I know.

By the time I was off work, I had lost all desire to run- at least on a treadmill. But it was my only option, so I told myself to tough out 3 miles and head to the gym. I have been tired lately, and reading 80/20, so I set it to a 10:46 pace after a short warm up. I had Christmas music playing in my ears and there was hardly anyone in the gym, so that was nice. I found myself distracted by one of the tv’s; it was playing a show called North Woods Law. I admit that the extent of my reality tv is the Biggest Loser so I had no idea what it was. After a few minutes I gathered that it was like cops but with game wardens. 5 miles later I was still watching.. and running. Sweet! A new episode had just started but I didn’t think another 5-6 miles would be the best idea. Driving home, it occurred to me that after my warm up of .5 mile, I ran the rest without any walking breaks. So my stomach let me run 4.5 miles straight, woo hoo, bonus Christmas gift!! I kept the pace easy but other than the usual treadmill aches, I felt good! Oh and my shoes came untied 3 times. Seriously? I really need to put new laces in my Sayonaras.

I hope everyone is all caught up and prepared for the upcoming festivities. Hopefully not too many last-minute details. As for me I am looking forward to a shorter day at work before dinner with my family. And a little bit of re-wrapping. Putting gifts under the tree early apparently was too much temptation for the puppy-Do you run to holiday music?

Ever have a pet open/ damage a Christmas present? When my brother and I were kids, one of the cats clawed open the wrapping on a Sega Genesis- we knew what we were getting that Christmas!

Are you ready?