I called in sick on Monday. I don’t really remember doing it. When I woke at 1- 1 PM!- I panicked. I was late! Oh, wait, my phone shows that I both texted and called my boss. Oh ok, then. But really?! I called in sick?! To emphasize how rare that is- my boss told me she was proud of me for calling in sick. Proud. And I’m sad I’m no longer in the 200’s for accrued sick time.
Wednesday, I woke to find the room spinning. Boo. I still sound like an angry Minnie Mouse. I’ve made it to work since Tuesday but it’s been rough. Talking tires me out. And when I momentarily forget and try to sing along with my iPod while driving, it comes out more of a wheezy screech.
Combine all of that with a projected storm on race morning and even I can see the writing on the wall. I will not be running Wine Country this weekend. My streak stops at 5 years. My wine glass collection stalls at 4. This year’s medal will probably be awesome. I briefly considered trying to run the 5K instead but I’m not up for that kind of pain right now.😁
2015- closest to my PR in years
I have run this race post flu before. In the rain. It was my second half marathon. It was miserable, it made me want to quit running. I burst into tears around mile 10 and scared the crap out of a volunteer. But watching them pick up the mile markers while you are still on the course is pretty demoralizing. It still stands as my slowest half ever. It was also my first experience with an out and back. So not a fan. Thankfully, they changed the course the following year. Granted the new course included a beast of a hill at mile 12 but that’s ok. I mean beast- it climbs around 130 feet in less than 2/10 of a mile. The race itself has around 1000ft gain in elevation throughout. Ok, I’m making myself sad now.
So, here I am being smart. Smart sucks. This cold sucks. Boo.
Do you run the same race every year? Longest streak?
Upcoming Races- Wine Country 13.1??
SLO Marathon 13.1
Focus– Keep it slow and steady but solid.
The lament of runners all over- Easy is hard! Grr. I’ve been thinking a lot about pace. It’s part of that insecurities post I’ve been sitting on for a while. But in short, I’ve been thinking about how I ran better when I didn’t care about my pace as much. 98% of my runs were also “easy” runs. So, I’ve been revisiting 80/20. I bought it about a year ago but really just skimmed it. With my lungs being what they are lately, I figured this would be a good time to read it again. Plus, running slower is fun when it’s the plan. 😀 But still hard.
Monday- Rest I really love Monday rest days. I really do.
Tuesday- Rest I usually run on Tuesdays and that was the plan. Work was insane that afternoon and ran late. By the time I would have changed and gotten out the door I would have only had time for about a mile before the sunset. I took it as a sign that I should just head home and get to the pharmacy for my new medications before it closed. Since I’m still only running 3x a week right now, I figured I had plenty of time to make up my run. Plus I was able to take part in my first Twitter chat. Damn that moves fast!
Wednesday- Rest Spanish tutoring. Or I tried. My mother volunteered me to help one of her tennis players. Except that the days of me being fluent have long since lapsed. Conjugating my verbs is not something I do anymore. But I tried…and since we met at the pizza place, I still had my Wednesday pizza night.
Thursday- 3.91 miles I headed out after work for a few miles. El Nino has been threatening to drop some heavy storms in the area so I knew the humidity level was up. A heavy marine layer was rolling in and I knew this run was going to be a struggle breathing-wise. It was but I just slowed down and tried to keep my breathing under control. It was rough but there was an amazing sunset so it all evens out right? I hit 3.9 miles at my car. I was going to run around the block to hit 4 miles but there was a crowd of cops outside the police station so I just called it. Running around the block a few times looks crazy to most people- what would the police think?
Friday – Rest day Something about this week kicked my ass. I was so tired by Friday and the scale pissed me off in the morning. I was waiting for closing time a little more eagerly than usual.
Saturday- Rest This was not the plan. My mom had been wanting to go shopping in SLO so we were going to head down in the AM and I was hoping to get in a few miles later in the day. It was also supposed to pour all day. SLO did happen but running did not. I felt super tired when I woke up but other than that ok. I didn’t realize anything was wrong until my first few words to my mom. I had no voice! I sounded like a squeaky frog! What the?! It continued to get worse throughout the day and I felt off. Like I couldn’t keep my body temp regulated. So I skipped my run. Boo. But I did indulge with some pretty kicks.
Sunday- 8 miles My training plan called for 10-12 miles but I wasn’t even going to try for that. I still had no voice but I felt ok, just tired. I decided to head to the lake path and attempt my long run. Lapping the lake meant I was never even a mile from my car so if I had to bail, I could. I also had my mom and S along for the ride; they were going to walk while I ran. This way I had backup if things went south. The weather was sunny and high 50’s but I wore pants and long sleeves just in case. I tried to keep things easy. I went back to my old method of running at the lake- ran all of the lap except the park. I walked through the park. That way every lap had a built in walk break and it was easier to avoid all the children playing. I felt tired and sore but not bad. I just kept moving. I told myself I would be happy with 6 miles. That put me on the backside of the lake so I figured why not finish out the lap? Then back at the parking lot I could see my mom and S on the backside but they seemed closer so I figured I would keep running until I caught op to them. Yeah, my eyesight must have been off. I didn’t catch up to them until 7.6 miles. Then I figured I may as well just run until I hit 8 miles. So I did. But there was nothing else left in me. Surprisingly though, the run was one of the steadiest paced runs in a long time. Go figure!
I don’t feel any worse right now but I don’t feel better either. Wine Country is 7 days away and I am on the fence about it. It’s one of my favorite races and this would be my 6th year running it. I will just have to see how I feel this week. Hopefully my voice comes back soon, I am tired of sounding like an angry Mickey Mouse. At least according to my mom and S.
Low-carb-– I did damn good last week, I really did. I was so proud of the myself. Then the scale pissed me off on Friday and I let it derail me this weekend. Time to start over on Monday- again.
So it wasn’t the best week but it could have been worse. Right?
So I kind of liked last week’s Guilty post. Then I was thinking about my “motto” for 2015 and 2016- Find your shiny. So while this week bordered on crazy and I could complain about any number of numerous items, how about I flip the coin and find the shiny.
Sunsets-
I never really saw these before I started running. Or before I started commuting but that’s beside the point. I’ve been running in work town lately and have had the opportunity to see some pretty spectacular sunsets. Like come to a halt and stare sunsets. I wish the camera on my phone did them justice. In person, they are just awesome. I usually stare a little too long and end up finishing my run in the dark but it’s worth it.
The Oatmeal via iFunny Dragons-
So, last post I shared my serious lack of long runs over the years. I’m still kind of shocked by how well I lied to myself for so many years. Anyways. Looking for the shiny- This year I’ve run 3 10 milers, an 11 and a 12. That’s actually pretty awesome! Which leads me to dragons. This image popped up in my feed the other day and the first thing that popped into my mind was long runs. #runnerbrain If running is a fairy tale then long runs are my dragons. Time to get slaying. Ok, maybe that was cheesy. 😃
You guys!!!-
Seriously. Thank you for all the positive thoughts on my last post. And Twitter. The online running community is huge but small at the same time. It kind of rocks. You all rock. See what I did there?😛
That’s all for now, but maybe I will do this again sometime.
Originally I was planning to ramp up training for SLO post Surf City. Speed work was going to make its first appearance this year and I was going to force myself to be a grown up and go run on the treadmill. But, my lungs had other plans. With 5 rest days leading up to Surf City and the 6 days following it, I missed out on a lot of running time. And bike time, somehow I kind of forgot about the bike. I see it on a daily basis but I only rode it 3 times. Umm, oops?
So back to those pesky lungs. I closed out February with a follow up at my doctor. My chest x-ray came back clear. So the current theory is to blame El Nino. No, seriously. The El Nino weather systems have wreaked havoc on those with seasonal allergies. So we haven’t yet seen the buckets of rain that were promised but hay fever and other assorted issues are in overdrive for everyone. So, I have a shiny new rescue inhaler and still have to use a heavy duty, daily inhaler twice a day. My thyroid is also messed up, so I have a new medication there as well. Seriously, I am beginning to think I need one of those AM/PM pill containers just to keep it all straight. Stupid stomach, whiny lungs and a lazy thyroid? Grrr.
I also had some realizations in February. I don’t remember exactly when I started running but my first race was in September of 2010. So 5+ years of running and 16 half marathons later and I only just now realized that I suck at long runs. For once I am not referring to the pace or the number of walk breaks, I mean doing the runs themselves. If you had asked me I would have sworn up and down that I did a few 10 milers each training cycle and some 11 milers. Ha!! Remember in January when I ran what I said was my slowest 10 miler ever? Something about that statistic on Smash Run made me do some research. It claimed that it was my slowest 10 miler coming in at #13. 13? That didn’t seem right. So after Sunday’s more successful 10 miler I looked into my stats on the Garmin. Then Nike+.
Holy crap, in 5 years of running I’ve only run 15 10 milers? 2 11 milers and 2 12 mile runs. And I call myself a runner? A few years ago I know I used to split my long runs up but I really doubt they would make those numbers look any better. Well, that was a wake up call. I didn’t think I was that bad of a Slacker. #facepalm Do people still do that?
Fave pic of February
So, I am chalking February up as a learning experience. Or the clearing of the fog of denial I was living in. Moving into March I would like to work on making the run a consistent occurrence. Which is necessary as I have a 16 mile run on the training plan for the beginning of April. I conveniently ignored that box on the plan during last years SLO race prep. March also brings the start of daylight savings. Which means the lake path is back in play and speed work may actually happen on a somewhat consistent basis. We’ll see how the lungs hold up. Fingers crossed!
Upcoming Races- Wine Country 13.1?
SLO Marathon 13.1
Focus– Just like last week- Just keep running, just keep running.
This week felt insane but I am not sure why. Work was a little crazy, trying to get all the month end stuff done, giving reviews, etc but I’ve had worse. It just seemed to take a lot out of me this week. I swear I had trouble finishing sentences. I feel like I need a vacation but I’ve booked most of my vacation time this year around races. So yay but boo at the same time?
Monday- Rest For some reason, I can’t remember much about Monday. I even just checked my food log to see if there was something exciting. Nope.
Tuesday- 3.5 miles The original plan was to work a half day as I work on Saturday. However, one of the employees was feeling poorly so they went home and I stayed. Luckily my gym bag is double prepared so I had clothes to run in work town after getting off. While the marine layer stayed back, a definite haze had rolled in. My lungs did not appreciate it at all. I tried to keep the pace super easy but I was still wheezing by the end. But I was able to enjoy that sunset so score! I also had an irrational moment of tsunami panic but I got over it. We’d had an earthquake earlier in the day, the tide was farther out than I had ever seen it and not a single bird or sea lion was making a peep of noise. Like I said, irrational moment.
Wednesday- Rest day. Pizza day- woot woot!
Thursday- 5.5 mile “run”/ 7 mile stationary bike Miserable, straight up miserable. I took my rescheduled half day and I was hoping to get in my long run so I could just focus on a short run over the weekend. I like to move things around when I work on Saturday. I changed at work and drove back to home town. I had an 11 mile route mapped out and was looking forward to running. But it sucked from the get go. I couldn’t seem to get started and when I did, all I did was wheeze. I couldn’t keep any sort of pace. 2 miles in I switched to run/walk intervals. Except I couldn’t even maintain a run for 4:30. So another mile in, I changed it a 3:00 run. Nope, still couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t decide if I should call it or just keep pushing and stop being a baby. Where is the line between pushing and giving up? I told myself to just get to the next big corner and I could take a seat on the bench there and figure things out. Except there was no bench when I got there. It was too much, I plopped my ass in grass on the corner and damn near cried. I was done. I sat there for 15 minutes before finally mustering up the will power to shuffle- run the mile+ back to my car. I couldn’t even maintain a run going downhill. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, I couldn’t breathe, my legs were rubbing together uncomfortably and my shorts were riding up. I was 1/2 mile-ish shy of my car when I hit 5.5 and that was it. I turned off my Garmin and stood there for a bit. Then I took off my shoes and jogged the remainder in my socks because why not? I was hot (it was 80), tired and cranky. This was one of those runs that made wonder what I was even doing. I went home, and jumped on the bike for some miles to try and ride out the cranky-ness.
Friday- Rest Glorious. I was still frustrated after the previous day.
Saturday- Rest I think this was second most chaotic Saturday that I have worked. I was literally turning people away because I could not help them, we were so busy. I considered attempting my long run again in the afternoon but passed instead. I ran my errands, ate dinner with the family and then took my mom to the movies. We were leaning towards seeing Race but I was also trying not to think about running. We saw Deadpool. And it shows my demented sense of humor that I thought it awesome and hilarious. I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that at a movie.
haha😃 source- iFunny Sunday- 10 miles Long run attempt 2. The plan was to head out in the morning and meet up with my mother around mile 6. That way if it sucked again I had a large walk break to look forward to. I had also stashed my Brooks in her car so I could change into them if the Nike’s were giving me grief. I slept a little longer than planned so I was rushing to get out the door. I considered putting it off until the afternoon but the more I thought about the long run, the more it stressed me out. I also realized I probably wasn’t going to pull off 6 before I met up with my mother.
I took a slightly longer walk warm up and then just tried to run easy. I turned off the run/walk intervals and changed the Garmin screen to just the clock. I took walk breaks when I felt like I needed them and just kept going. I cut the first part of the run to 5.5 miles so I could make sure I was at the meeting point in time. I also lost 5 minutes at 3 stoplights. The only split I really saw was right after I ran the bridge- 9:15. Typical, I hate running the bridge and tend speed up when I run it.
I wasn’t feeling horrible but it wasn’t all sunshine and daisies so the 1/2 mile walk break with my mom was kind of awesome. Then I picked up the pace to finish my run before meeting my mother back at her car for lunch. I just kept trying to run easy and walked when I needed to. And I tried to not think about the fact that I was now running the same route where I have had 2 blow ups on long runs in the past month. I finished down on the river path and was glad to be done. I was glad I had followed through and made myself get out of bed for my run. And it didn’t suck!! It did not feel easy but I stayed calm and watched my breathing and just kept running. 7 out of the 10 miles were all in the 10 min range which for me is very consistent. Yes, I consider all 60 seconds in that range to be consistent. Long run success!
Low carb– I would say I was around 65/35%. Not too bad. I did feel better for most of the week, so I need to keep on cutting back on the carbs. Cookies got the best of me last week. Oops.
This week was a little all over the place. Work was crazy and I think I went a little crazy as well. Hopefully I can keep my head on straight this week. Fingers crossed!!!
How was your week?
At what point do you decide a run is not worth it?
Slacker Runner 