Category: Training

Week 13- Crash

In so many ways.

After returning to Oakland, even though I felt like crap, I figured would only need a couple days with no running and I would kick it. Not so much. I barely made it through Monday at work and ended up going home early. Tuesday I actually called in sick and spent all day either in bed or my chair.

Had to get sick to get her to hang out with me😂

Wednesday I should have stayed in bed. I went to work partly because I am stupid and partly because I had an interview in the afternoon. And adding to the chaos of the week, someone backed into my car outside work. I have parked in the almost the same spot for the last 6 years with no issues. Until Wednesday. We couldn’t open the driver’s side door in the beginning. Well crap, how do I get to my interview?? Luckily, my boss was able to force it open. Yay.

Thursday I still felt like crap and had the bonus of a swollen left eye but made it almost through the entire day of work. I had to leave early as the body shop was able to fit me in for an insurance appraisal. Now I wait for the insurance companies.

I managed to make it through a whole day of work, this time with a swollen right eye. Yay, the weekend was here except I was working Saturday. When I originally volunteered to work the shift, I had no idea I was going to wind up with the plague.

By Sunday, I felt a pain in my throat that reminded me of strep throat. I took my lazy butt to Urgent Care. No strep but acute bacterial pharyngitis. Which I think is fancy terms for a bad sore throat. But it got me antibiotics. Now, we wait to see what this bill will run as my fancy insurance has no in-network providers for urgent care.

So yeah, that was a crap week. 0 miles run and let’s be real here, I barely moved more than was required last week. Fingers crossed these antibiotics do their job and I stop feeling like a creature soon-ish. Oh and I missed one of my favorite local races this past Sunday. Verdict is out on whether or not I’ll be able to run the other one coming up this weekend.

How was your week?

Week 12- Denial

Oh, denial is such a fun place to live in. Until reality slaps you in the face.

  • 2019 Race Schedule (so far):
  • 3/24 Oakland Running Festival (Thanks BibRave)
  • 4/28 SLO Half Marathon
  • 8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

This week was rough, a few more early starts at work, but mostly due to my ability to ignore the signs. It’s a skill. I have many skills but a lot of them seem to only give myself ways to get in my own way, ha! But it was race week- I had to be excited!

Monday- Liift4
I really planned on running, packed all my gear but realized half way to work that I forgot my shoes. Doh. Stupid. Work was a little chaotic so maybe it was a good thing? Who knows, all I know is Liift4 felt harder than usual.

Tuesday-1ish miles
A rain storm was predicted to arrive overnight but I figured I could get in Monday’s run. It wasn’t cold but I didn’t account for the very cold, very strong wind. Less than 1/2 a mile in I could feel an asthma attack coming on. I slowed to a crawl and the feelings eased but do not go away. I called it at one lap of the lake and ended with a serious wheeze. It took a few hours for it to really ease.

Wednesday- ????
I woke up with a sore throat but attributed it to the asthma issue. Other than that I can’t remember much of the day.

Thursday- 2ish miles
Another sore throat and another early morning meeting. I think this was the second of the week. I headed out for 3-4 miles after work but wasn’t feeling it. I felt off. The denial is strong with this one.

Friday- Nada
I worked the late shift which was amazing after the early starts. Again, I was ignoring the sore throat and increasingly consistent coughing.

Saturday- Race Road Trip!
I felt a little more rested as I was able to sleep longer than normal before heading up towards Oakland. It took around hours and I only had 1 missed exit, ha, but I made it to the expo area around 2. Instead of going directly there, I decided to drive to the start line and check out the area for the next morning. That didn’t take long and I was dropping my car with the valet at the Marriot all to soon. That hotel is deceptively large and the expo was in the Convention Center. I picked up my bib, wandered around and then wandered around again. Bought a shirt, was able to get my shirt AND medal from the canceled Monterey Bay Half last year and met an Olympian!! Alysia Montano was at one of the booths and I got her autograph! Y’all this required so much stepping out of my shell. Then I couldn’t kill time anymore but the hotel let me check in early and then I just crashed. I ordered food from the hotel and never went anywhere. The coughing was becoming a thing.

Sunday- Oakland Marathon- half
Race recap to come.

16 ish miles for the week. And a heaping pile of denial. Stay tuned for the slap in the face.

How was your week?

Week 11-Bump in the Road

Otherwise known as sickness, heat wave and ouch-oh my.

  • 2019 Race Schedule (so far):
  • 3/24 Oakland Running Festival (Thanks BibRave)
  • 4/28 SLO Half Marathon
  • 8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

Last week was rough. I had long days at work due to early morning conference calls. I ended up getting sick and then even when I felt better I was so damn tired. Like tired enough I slept through 3 of my alarms and had to get ready in 20 minutes on Friday. A similar story to Sunday when I set an alarm for an early morning run and instead dozed right through to 10AM. What?? That came back to bite me in the ass. Figuratively and damn near literally.

Monday- 3.1 miles
Starting the week out on a good note- I love the time change. I made it all the way to hometown before my run with plenty of light in the sky. I wasn’t sure if I was running 3 or 4 but settled on 3.1 so I could meet my mom for a late dinner. There were so many people out enjoying the extra daylight. My run was pretty decent- it actually ended up being a very short progression and the last mile was speedy for me these days.

Tuesday/ Wednesday- sick
I felt fine when I woke up on Tuesday but took a sharp decline mid morning. I was not ok, sick to my stomach, watering eyes and feeling feverish. I ended up leaving work early on Tuesday and barely made it through Wednesday.

Thursday- 3.5 miles
I was still feeling off and bordered on cranky. My new plan called for intervals but I didn’t think there was any way that was happening. I headed to the lake path after figuring it was easier to bail if I wasn’t feeling it. For some random reason, I pushed play on the interval workout. The first running interval almost killed me, ha! However I was able to increase the pace on each interval after that so yay? Granted, I am way off from the days when I ran paces of low 7’s, high 6’s for 1/4 repeats. I was struggling to hold a 9 minute pace but you have to start somewhere, right? Not cool was the numb left foot… again.

Friday/ Saturday- ???
Work was super long but I was abnormally hyper. It’s not the first time this has happened but it usually means I am still not feeling well. So no running but I randomly decided to rearrange all the furniture in the bedroom and closet. Moving dressers and beds is not exactly restive. Oh and I did push the limits of my lunch break on Friday and made it the Running Warehouse and back to pick up a new pair of shoes.

Sunday- 7.25 miles
Holy heat wave, Batman. It was almost 80*, I was so not prepared for that much of a jump. I had planned on running 10 miles for my last long run before Oakland but knew by mile 3 that wasn’t going to happen. I was so hot I was taking walk breaks more than occasionally. My pace actually wasn’t too horrible but I knew it wasn’t going to get any better. Good news is that there weren’t any issues with the new shoes. Bad news is that being hot wasn’t the worst- this turned out to be a chafe-tastic run. Ouch!

Just shy of 14 miles for the week but no cross- training. Unless you count sleep, haha. Not what I was hoping for when the week started but better than it could have been.

How was your week?


Week 10- Rain, Tears & Consistency

  • 2019 Race Schedule (so far):
  • 3/24 Oakland Running Festival (Thanks BibRave)
  • 4/28 SLO Half Marathon
  • 8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

This week was a little all over the place. I am so over the rain. Work was busy, like stupid busy. I took Monday off from running to rest my leg, turns out it was the driest day of the week.

A Target mirror gave me a rude awakening, I managed to stick to a workout plan- mostly. Now if I could just get my eating habits in order. It was a fairly consistent week that ended with a slight emotional breakdown when I thought I lost the necklace I’ve almost everyday since I was 17. I eventually found it but not before more tears than I ‘ve cried in recent history.

Other than that-

Monday- Liift4
Restarted the entire program- liked it the first time, decided to commit again.


Tuesday- Liift4
Following the plan.

Wednesday- PiYo
Rest day from Liift4, more rain, thought this would be a good stretch. Haha, this made me sweat.

Thursday-2 Miles
One last run in the twilight before the time change. The moisture in the air angered my lungs but other than that it was a decent short run.

Friday- 5 Miles
A day off from work meant I could run in the afternoon! I almost never run on Fridays so it was kind of cool. I played dodge the rain drops for a few miles and melted the other few. I also chose to run #allthehills. Why? I was feeling decent so I was looking forward to powering up the last hill and was doing so when my watch vibrated. I looked down to see “power save”. Oh for crying out loud! I stopped in the middle of the hill cursing out loud. Seriously, again?! I legit back tracked to the point I had paused my watch and ran the damn hill again. Which I did not make it all up without a walk break but then it was my second time up it. The only downside was the almost blisters my Altra’s gave me. I have to admit that they are dead.

Saturday-Liift 4, PiYo
My right leg and left ankle were feeling a little cranky so I opted for a non-running day.
I did make myself productive though and completed 2 more workouts.

Sunday-4 ish miles
I set out for my long in the early afternoon. Right as I parked my car there was a random lightning weather warning. I debated it because how likely would that be? Knowing my luck? I turned around and headed for the gym. Oh lord, I was melting. A blister was forming on my right foot and felt chafing on my left side- my butt. I was seriously overheating and thankful every time someone opened the door and the cold air puffed through. I couldn’t hack it anymore, I called it a little after 4 miles.

So 11 ish miles for the week and 4 cross training workouts. I worked out everyday this week. Who am I? Now, can I keep it up?

How was your week?

Week 9-Close

  • 2019 Race Schedule (so far):
  • 3/24 Oakland Running Festival (Thanks BibRave)
  • 4/28 SLO Half Marathon
  • 8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

Last week was a mixed bag.

Some things went like I hoped and others not. My leg was angry for more days than I would have liked. I know it’s due to the stool I was using at work. Last week I switched back to the desk chair, which is only slightly ridiculous as I have a counter height desk with a Varidesk on top. It usually takes a couple weeks to unkink though. I attempted cross training but didn’t check that box as much as I hoped.

It also rained quite frequently which put a damper on some of my runs.

I did sign up for 2 more races though. I also finally got my tires rotated. Oh and I paid off my bed so there were plenty of positive things too.

Wednesday- Liift4
Haha, I was so sore after this. Starting it over may be harder than I thought.

Thursday- 2 miles
Wanted to run at the lake which meant a shorter run. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the time change. I ran a fairly easy 2 miles and called it a night.

Sunday- 8ish miles
I headed out for a long run but wasn’t really feeling it. I was aiming for between 6-10 miles and would see what happened. A car parked at the end of one my frequent roads had me rerouting so I turned down a street I’d never run on before. I did have a vague idea of where it would let me out though. However I soon realized that if I kept running the adjusted route, I would be short of 8 miles. I also failed to resume my watch after a picture break so the mileage is at least a half mile off. Grrrr. Also around mile 4, I noticed that my feet were going numb. What?? It hadn’t happened since Surf City where I blamed my old shoes. Well, I was running in newer shoes this time. So much for that theory. I walked until they felt normal and then would run on. This repeated for the next couple of miles until they felt completely normal. I finished my run and everything felt fine. What gives?

So, 10ish miles for the week. Not great but better then the beginning or middle of February.

How was your week?