Category: Training

22/ Six

Holy crap, week 6 is already gone????

Granted 2 of those were gone in a COVID blur but what about the rest of them? They say times flies when you get older but this is just silly.

Anyways, back to last week. Monday through Friday were mostly spent adjusting back to work and trying not to be so tired. The tiredness sneaks up and hits you when you are least expecting it. Or at least when I am least expecting it, ha!

I was more productive over the weekend though. I managed to get in miles on both Saturday and Sunday. Still walking and not running but that’s so much better than the previous weeks.

On Saturday, I headed for the river path as I am nowhere near ready for my driveway yet. Hell- I wasn’t in driveway shape before I got sick, it’s gonna be a minute or two before I get back to that. I aimed for a few easy miles. Mission accomplished but I did have to avail myself of a lovely bench seat along mile 2.

Sunday, I headed for the lake path. I haven’t been there in months. Figured the nice and flat dirt path would be nice. And it was a good choice. 3 laps for 3.5 miles. Hey, look, I even extended the distance!

6.5 miles for the week. Which let’s be real- not far off from where I was before I got sick.

I’d say how was your week but we’re actually 2 weeks on, so how have your weeks been?

22/ Positive

Otherwise known as weeks 3 and 4 of January.

2 years. I made it 2 years, customer facing 5 days a week with a crew of 10-12 people. 2 years and I went down on Friday, the 14th. I tested positive for COVID the next day.

The following 2 weeks are all kind of a blur. There was a lot of sleeping, a lot of chills, too many silly movies, a lot of apple juice, not enough food, and time spent alternating between my bed or a recliner. Mostly I just remember being exhausted. I got out of quarantine and tried going to the store for a few things since I hadn’t been anywhere in forever and needed things and one little trip knocked me on my ass for another 2 days.

I returned to work 2 weeks to the day. Going back on a Friday was odd but it did feel good to feel human again. I missed people. Didn’t miss the hundreds of emails I had to get through but that’s life.

I ventured out for a 3 mile walk over the weekend and while it was tiring, it also felt good. I seriously doubt my ability to run 2 half marathons in 5-6 weeks. I am not feeling ready to run yet, walk, maybe, run- not so much.

So, yeah, that was January.

22/ One

I am not sure if I am going fully back to weekly recaps but right now it gives me a direction.

Did the first week of January feel like a month to anyone else or was it just me? Someone mentioned something about New Year’s on Thursday and I was so confused. I almost asked why we were talking about a couple of months ago. Then my brain came back to reality and I remembered it was only the 6th. Oops.

I still haven’t figured out post work running- how was is easier when I was commuting an hour each way every day?? I did actually follow through on the weekend. Mostly, that is.

My training plan called for an easy 3 on Saturday. Miles completed but maybe much easier than originally planned. My stomach wasn’t loving what I had for lunch and the new crops that I had just bought were not a marvelous combination. Those 3 miles were 95% walked. So, a reminder to never eat Chipotle before a run and those crops are being shoved in the back of drawer. Maybe they will see another life if I ever cross-train.

Sunday had me in a mood. One of those moods where I wanted to do nothing and was overly emotionally tired like a toddler. It wasn’t long until I knew I was skipping my long run. Long, ha. It was week 2 of training, the long run was 4 miles. I felt less stressed once I made that choice and went about doing all the other things I needed to do. Coming home from Lowes late that afternoon while sipping on a Frappuccino, it occurred to me that a few miles might not be horrible. I changed super fast and was out the door as quick as I could. It was even more of a low key walk than the previous day but it was 3 miles more than I had thought I was going to get in that day. Gonna call it a win.

However, I know it’s not marvelous, which puts me doubtful that the race I am scheduled for in 3 days is a bad idea. Like, can’t walk the next day, bad idea. So, now to decide if I am smart or stupid.

Countdown

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Santa Rosa Half Marathon 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 am at the point of fitness where sometimes a rest day is smarter than pushing it before a race. But that also makes it way too easy to remain a Slacker.

Last week wasn’t horrible and I did get out for 2 days of runs. They weren’t bad either. Both were short but both were decent. Slower than crap but decent. The only downside was the humidity during Saturday’s run. What was that all about??? We don’t do humidity here! 100 degrees, sure but humidity, no. Yuck.

Then I rationalized that a long run on Sunday wouldn’t help me for the race but could possibly hurt it. I was feeling an odd ache in my left leg and was freaky tired. Nap time!

I still had a shoe dilemma though. The farther I had run in the Torin’s was 6 ish miles and that makes me nervous for Santa Rosa. So I figured I would try a short in the Wave Riders even though Idaho made me want to burn them. Nope, no change. In fact, I took my shoes off and finished my run barefoot. Well, let’s be real- I was walking. Only crazy people run barefoot on concrete. Or people with stronger feet than me.

Then the week ran away from me and now Santa Rosa race weekend is here. What????

Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to it but I have some concerns. First is obviously my fitness level, well lack there of. Next is smoke. It’s hard to find somewhere in Ca that isn’t affected by smoke at the moment. Worse is the fires causing the smoke.

So, Santa Rosa, here I come!

Forced Rest

I didn’t plan on radio silence but I think I was in denial.

If I didn’t recap the previous week’s runs, I wouldn’t have to think about the pain in my right leg.

The pain that had been there since we returned from the CDA Half. It would ease at times and then come back with a vengeance. There were times that it felt like there was a giant knot in the back of my leg on my calf. Sometimes it would radiate up past my knee. I could never see anything but it hurt to touch as well. I occasionally tried rolling it out but the pain was too much.

Then it eased up.

My trail run with my dad was fine and I was good for a couple of days. I headed out for a short run in the middle of week 2 (new training plan) and I mean short- it was 2 miles. That was due to a time crunch though and I felt fine. Or so I thought. The leg was little tight the next few days and didn’t really loosen until the weekend and I rested it on that Saturday.

My long run for that week was 6 miles according to my training plan. My leg was feeling looser so I figured I would give it a shot. I wanted something softer than pavement though so I headed to the beach. I really need to start checking the tide schedule- the tide was so damn high. I was dodging beachgoers as well as the tide. Also got stuck on some rocks but at least it was an adventure? Then I cooled off with nature’s ice bath- the Pacific Ocean. I felt pretty good.

Until the next morning, Monday, got out of bed and damn near fell over ripping of 4 letter words. I felt like I had the biggest know ever in my calf and could barely straighten my leg. Walking was super gimpy and painful. It was now also noticeable to everyone at work that I was having trouble walking. Between them and my mother being Dr’s of Google, they had all narrowed it down to a blood clot or I tore something. Thanks for the negativity. Also, I didn’t like either of those options. I finally broke down and made a dr’s appointment.

Then of course, that very same day, I moved in a way I still can’t recall but the constant pressure on my right calf suddenly eased. What??? But, why? I swear I hadn’t done anything different. I still limped a little for the next 2 days but nothing like before.

I’m not completely stupid so I took the all of last week off. And so far this week. The limp is 98% gone. My doctor’s appointment is tomorrow morning. Not that I am expecting much… I don’t usually have good results from my PCP… I usually just use him for referrals. So, fingers crossed?