I had my week planned -when I was going to workout, how I was going to eat healthier, be less of a Slacker, yada yada. And well… yeah.
Cold wind kept me indoors on Monday which is silly as I hate wasting a non work day. But I also really hate a really cold wind. Then my stomach turned into an asshat on Tuesday and that lingered for a few days. That’s what I get for thinking I was having a good spell. Then there’s the random tiredness. Which actually isn’t so random. This was week 2 without soda and my new migraine medication can make me groggy. Not the greatest combo… or maybe it is, who knows. I did manage to finally clean my car this weekend so that in itself should make this week a win. Ha!
Monday- Transform 20 Well, I started the week slightly according to plan. Then it was off to that doctor’s appointment I made a month ago when I was so sick. Which didn’t really get me anywhere.
Saturday- 8.4 miles Long run Saturday. Despite the opinion of my Garmin, I actually felt pretty good this run. I kept things slow and easy and started with run/walk intervals but was able to ditch them around mile 4 and only walk occasionally. Which I thought was great considering how little running I’ve been doing but my Garmin judged me and told me I needed 3 days to recover post run. How rude!
Sunday-4 miles I headed out for some nice and easy recovery miles. I won’t lie- even though I kept the pace slower than Saturday’s long run, there were parts that were the very opposite of easy. I kept pace and ran all but one of the hills though. Still, I wish it had felt a little better.
12.4 miles for the week and only 1 Transform 20 workout. Which means I will be restarting week 2 come Monday as I was barely hanging on as it was. I am hoping to get in 2 short-ish runs before race days so fingers crossed!
This may be the latest I’ve ever finished a race recap.
I’ve been talking about half marathon #30 since October but never made it work, finally I stopped talking and just signed up for a race the same day my training plan called for 19 miles. I figured 13 supported miles with other runners followed by 6 solo miles was better than 19 lonely miles.
Tent City is in it’s first year and that generally makes me leery of races. It offered a full, half, 10k, 5k and None run. Packet pick up was a sure sign that it was a first time, small town race- a folding table next to an open van with the shirts and numbers. Did I mention it was in front of a creepy abandoned building?😜
Ok, maybe not so abandoned. The race was a fundraiser for the Printery Foundation which is working to restore the Printery building which is over 100 years old. But until then I think it looks kind of haunted. Call the Winchester brothers. Did I mention this was also the start line? In the dark.
The race started at the crack of dawn in the cold and dark. Seriously, the sun hadn’t risen and it was 34*. Dude, what??? I had my fleece vest from the week before and debated wearing it, I mean 13 miles…I’d warm up right??? I stayed in the car until the last possible moment before heading to the start line to find a port-a-pottie. Luckily I had thought ahead and brought a Knuckle Light with me as the bathrooms were completely dark. I was so cold. Luckily, the announcer said a few words, the National Anthem was sung and we were off.
Miles 1-3 10:16, 10:46, 12:04 I wasn’t planning on racing this- it was more a training run so I was going to happy with anything around 2:24-2:30 overall. The first mile looped us around numerous downtown city blocks before heading out onto the highway out of town. I was kind of surprised when I figured out what highway we were on, we were running on the closed shoulder while the lanes were open. We crossed a bridge and I was wondering where the first mile marker was. Checked my watch and saw that we were past a mile so I figured I missed it. But I never saw mile 2 or mile 3… ok, so there are no mile markers. Ummm? I was feeling an odd tingling in my backside during mile 3- it was more that I felt like the zipper to the pocket on my pants was super cold- almost too cold but I ignored it and it went away. Probably shouldn’t have.
Miles 4-7 11:37, 10:43, 12:22, 11:52 I was slowing for no apparent reason but the reality is that I actually had no idea. I was trying not to pay attention to my watch as this was a training run. I had to look at it occasionally as the lack of mile markers was actually frustrating. I wanted some idea of where I was. Plus the course was an out and back so I knew the turn around had to come at some point but it seemed too far out. I was enjoying the scenery of the back road we were now on but once again, it wasn’t the best road for runners. We now had an entire lane to ourselves but drivers tend to treat this road like a speedway and they weren’t slowing even with the cones. They were down to one lane and buzzing around us upwards of 40mph.
Miles 8-11 11:56, 12:07, 12:20, 12:27 The turn around! Yay! And I had finally realized that I was moving slower than I thought I was. What was going on? Wait, I can’t feel my butt! Or my quads and thighs really. What the hell? How long had I been numb? Seriously? Like I smacked myself in the butt and couldn’t feel it. So I tried it again, same thing. I couldn’t really feel the effort my legs were putting in or lack thereof. 🤣 It wasn’t that cold- wth? My fleece vest had kind of frosted over though, haha. There was a person out there in a tank! Apparently I have zero tolerance for the cold these days.
Miles 12-13 11:58, 11:37 Back to the highway and my backside was finally starting to warm up. But only in patches, haha and those sections were just itching. Oh for crying out loud. As we came back into town, I could see the finish line at the park (different than the start) but instead of going straight to it we had to go around the block the long way.
Finish-2:33:51
Yes, that’s fidget spinner for a medal
Not horribly off my long run pace goal and I learned that I really need to practice running in cold weather. Nah. After getting my medal, it was time to join the party in the park. There was yoga, food tents, beer tents, cupcake tents, local businesses and one of those tables with computers that prints your results. I’ve never had one of those! It was barely 9AM, there was no way I was drinking a beer but I wasn’t passing up a free cupcake. 😀
For a first time race, they did a decent job, they have room for improvement but it’s a race I would run again. Just move the dang start time back. And maybe put up a few more road blocks.
Or the one where I almost got mowed down by a car.
Even before that though, this week wasn’t going so well. Between the less than helpful test results, a busy week at work, a sudden cold weather snap and a bout with the stomach flu, I watched a lot of Netflix.
Monday- Rest I planned on running, I mean a day off from work meant a perfect day for running right? Yet somehow, between cleaning my car, inside and out- it was so dirty, getting my tires rotated and balanced and then my doctor’s appointment to get my test results, I just never made the time. Plus it was super windy and cold.
Tuesday- Rest I never take my running gear on the Tuesdays after 3 day weekends knowing that work is likely to be crazy busy. Plus I knew we were down 2 people so I was calling it being prepared. It actually wasn’t anywhere near what I thought so I probably could have brought my gear.
Wednesday- Rest I felt off, kind of moody, odd. I brought my gym bag into the building to change but just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t figure out why.
Thursday- Sick Ok, maybe that was it. I didn’t even make it through the full day at work. I was spending more time running to the bathroom than I was working. Sorry, TMI. So instead of running I spent most of the day resting in my chair and binging Netflix. Hello, 100.
Friday- Rest I made it to work but was still feeling off, at this point was just hoping I would get in my weekend runs like planned.
Saturday- 7 miles I started the morning by filling in as a coach for the JV boys tennis team for an away match. Yeah, that was interesting. I had 4 boys show up, the opposing team had 19. The opposing team was locked out f their own courts so they were literally climbing fences to get us tennis balls. 😛
I headed out for my run late in the afternoon. After having so many unplanned days off in a row, I admit I was a little concerned how things would go. However it was a pretty good run. I was feeling decent so I decided to throw in some hills. Apparently not enough because at the end of 7 miles I had only hit 600 ft in elevation gain.
Sunday- 15 miles Longest run since last marathon training cycle. My side was hurting in the morning so I slept a little longer and headed out for my run in the afternoon. I had a route planned and I was planning on taking it slow and easy considering it had been a rough week. The first 1/3 felt pretty good but I told myself not to celebrate yet as I still had a long way to go. The second third was also the warmest section and I slowed a bit as well as had a stand-off with an off leash dog. I am not sure who was more alarmed by who.
Things went south around mile 10. I was crossing the street to get to the park with the bathrooms. I checked all 3 ways (T intersection) for oncoming traffic, I had reflective gear and I was paying attention. I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT! Yet 2/3 of the way across the street, this blue car came flying out of nowhere speeding towards me, blew through the stop sign, the cross walk and squealed it’s tires out into oncoming traffic. WTF?! I was seriously close enough to the car to touch it.
Here’s where I reacted wrong. After avoiding getting mowed down by the crazy, oblivious driver I looked around wondering if anyone else had seen that while cursing and yelling out loud. Before remembering I was still in the cross walk and therefore still in street. Move, stupid!
I had 5 more intersections and stop lights to get through on the busy side of town before I was back in the neighborhoods and side streets I run all the time. Once I was in calmer streets it was like all the adrenaline left my body and everything cramped and my brain caught up to me about the near miss. The last mile or so home were kind of rough but I could tell it was more emotional than mileage driven if that makes sense.
22 miles for the week. The weekend rescued the week but things were a little rough this week. That said, I am ok with the mileage that I did pull off.
And just like 52 weeks have gone by and bring 2017 to close.
And the calendar did me a solid and worked out perfectly… unlike last year.
I had my second PT appointment and this time they had me try lumbar traction. Then all laughed at the expression of fear on my face as they described it. It really wasn’t that bad.
Last week was a little rough, I felt a little ragged around the edges. I was looking forward to the 3 day weekend- not for the New Year’s parties but more for the opportunity to sleep. Truth- I just barely managed to stay awake through midnight on New Year’s Eve but I still managed to miss the ball drop on TV. Oops.
Monday- Christmas And I was about as active as a lump on a log.
Tuesday- Rest/ PT Exercises I knew work was likely to be busy after the 3 day weekend and oh boy was I right.
Wednesday- Missed Run Work was exhausting and I was tired and cranky so instead of running I just headed home. Which might have been fate telling me something- maybe that’s dramatic but barely moments after picking my mom up to go to dinner, we were driving down the street to see flames literally shooting out of the top of an apartment building. Then it hit the power lines. I pulled over while my mom called 911 and jumped out and stood with the homeowner, we asked if anyone else was inside or if there were any pets. I then just got my car out of the way and stayed out of the way while we waited for the fire department and PD to show up. It was definitely not how I thought the night was going to go.
Thursday- Rest/PT exercises Work this week just kicked my butt. Plus I was denial that I was sick. If I ignored the sore throat and the coughing, that meant they weren’t real right? Despite the fact I’d fallen asleep in my chair almost every night. I missed a dinner with old high school friends because I didn’t want to get anyone sick, so I wasn’t being completely stupid.
Friday- Rest More of the same. This time I missed a dinner with a coworker who was leaving another location. Boo. Also fell asleep in my chair again.
Saturday- 3.1 miles After sleeping in, I headed out for what I figured was going to be an afternoon slog. Except I was moving way faster than I should have been for only having run once last week and being sick this week. Legs what are you doing? I had no business seeing miles in the 10 minute range and my lungs let me know so I ended up take a break to sit on a wall at one point.
Sunday- 4 miles Once again I headed out expecting a slow run and once again my legs and lungs were at war. My legs just wanted to go! But my lungs were not quite on board. It was better than the day before though. Other than a little wheezing, this 4 miles felt pretty good.
7.1 miles for the week. Better than last week. Still super low but I’m not mad. The last week of the year always throws me a curve ball and this was no exception.
This week was pretty good. My brain felt fried for part of it but eh, that happens sometimes right? I ran, I ate yummy food, I read and I tried to sleep. I had a really bad moment at work one day where I got a little frustrated with a situation but I dug myself out of that mood and moved on. Not to say it won’t happen again but I got past it for last week. And my coworker made me laugh hysterically- a customer asks her “so, any big plans for the 3 day weekend”. Her very calm, almost bored response was “not really, just having a baby’. I damn near spit out my water. I’ll miss her sense of humor while she’s on leave. 😛
Monday- 3.5 Miles Holy tight calves, batman. Ouch. I headed to the lake after work to get in a few miles and I was feeling good. Until I started running that is. My calves were so tight, I felt like they were going to rip. I crawled these miles and stopped to stretch about every 1/2 mile. Nothing seemed to help. I called it after 3 laps of the lake. They weren’t loosening up and it wasn’t worth risking an injury for more miles.
Tuesday- Rest After the day before I was taking time to rest the legs. I made sure that I foam rolled that evening though. It was a long day at work with an early morning meeting so my brain was kind of fried so I just vegged that evening.
Wednesday-3.1 miles I had planned for running more in the morning but the weather had turned on me by the evening. I had packed shorts and a tank which was fine for Monday but today the weather barely hit 60 and the winds were gusting up to 25mph. Luckily I had an old race shirt in my emergency stash of clothes so I layered that over my tank but my ears were still cold. I made it to the turn around for 5K before I decided to bail. I hate cold ears. Cold ears turn me into a giant baby. I need to make sure I keep a Buff in my bag for rare days like this. My legs felt ok, if I could have warmed up my ears I think I would have kept running.
Thursday- 2.5 miles Cold and misty miles. Seriously, weather just pick one and stick with it! I was just better this time though- capris, long sleeves and my Buff. My legs were feeling fussy though so I kept the run short. I just did 2 laps of the lake before stretching it out. I figured out part of my problem may have been that my shoes were tied too loose. I was stretching on the parallel bars and my right shoe popped right off! Oops. I was also to meet someone I’ve been following on IG for the last year. We’ve run a bunch of local races at the same time but I’m slow and she’s fast so we’ve never met in real life. 🙂
Friday- Rest It was an open to close kind of day. I planned on riding the bike when I got home but yeah that didn’t happen. Slacker.
Saturday- Rest I went to SLO for some shopping with my mother. I feel like we walked miles. We didn’t but that’s how I felt. I may have spent more than I had planned. Which I had planned to spend zero but that never seems to work, does it? I meant to ride the bike that evening when I got home but I didn’t. I also briefly considered trying for my long late that evening but I was exhausted. That seems to be my current state. I discovered that Hulu has Eli Stone and that is how I spent my evening.
Sunday- 8 mile run, 5 mile bike I had planned for 10 miles as my last long run before Rock n Roll Diego. However I really didn’t want to get out of bed that morning. I pushed it later then I should have. The plan was to run 10 miles, have my mother pick me then we were going to lunch. I left later then planned and it was warmer then I wanted it to be. As I passed the cemetery, I paused and thanked all those that had served. There were a lot of flags on the graves.
While the first 5 miles were pretty good, I slammed into a wall in mile 6. My pulse was jumping and I was too warm. It was also uphill. I pretty much walked all of it. I decided to just run 8 and spend some more time stretching before she met me. Plus those last 3 miles were slow so they took me longer than planned. 😐 I actually ran more than 8 too, at some point my Garmin paused and it took me a while to figure it out. Boo. Later that evening I hopped on the bike just to get some miles in before dinner- the family bbq’ed on Sunday- once again, I really need to find my fan.
17.1 miles run, 5 miles biked. Another week of 5 workouts. Can I keep this up? Maybe get to 6 or 7? How about adding in some strength workout? Woah, that’s crazy talk for this Slacker. We’ll see how it goes. Especially since this is a race week so I shouldn’t be doing anything too radical during it. That wouldn’t be very smart of me, right?
