Tag: cold

Lions and Smoke- Weekly Recap

Part of me thinks the universe was trying to tell me to take a break and part of thinks I am just trying to rationalize how slacker-like I was this week. Ohhh, it was bad. So bad. But life happens right? You gotta roll with the punches right? Ok, that was a little cliche. So let’s just get to it.

Monday- Sick. I actually called in sick to work. I had felt poorly all weekend and Monday morning just wasn’t happening. Lots of rest, water and sleep.

Tuesday-Rest I told myself I was well enough to run so I packed my bag- I wasn’t. My subconscious must have known better as I forgot my shoes. Then came the air quality warnings due to the Chimney Fire. I found out from my mother that even the schools canceled all outdoor sports practices due to air quality. Ok, I get it.

Wednesday-Rest I had to stay late at work for phone issues so I knew I wasn’t running. Boo.

Thursday- 4 miles I ran!!! Mile one was too slow and mile 4 was way too fast but I got out there. I still wasn’t feeling the greatest and I was moving a little sluggish. The smoke in the air made things rough. My legs were also freaky sore. I stopped to stretch a few times on the run. I was glad I got the run in though, it felt good to be moving. I remember thinking that there were fewer people out and chalked it up to the smoke.

Friday- Rest And backslide. I woke with a very sore throat and some tightness in my chest. Boo, smoke. I used my inhaler on the way to work. Things got a little better while at work as work town is a little farther from the fire. That didn’t stop the sky from glowing when I left though.

Saturday- Rest. I had laid out all my clothes to run the night before and I was really hoping for 10 miles. Surprisingly, marathon training made me like long runs. But I felt worse Saturday morning than I had on Friday. Boo. So I lazed about all day and the ended the day at the movies.

every parking lot is full of fire trucks

Sunday- 8 mile stationary bike, 10 pushups and a plank attempt. My clothes were still laid out to run but yeah. I was exhausted and learned something about my running route. Mountain lion sightings?!!!! Oh hell no. Apparently there have been a few sightings and the game warden has been out. Seriously?!

Ok, enough is enough. Smoke, lions and sickness? I’m done.

So yeah, this was an interesting week. I am over it and moving on. And now debating if that running route is public enough to chance running. I mean there are houses on one side, right? Hmmm.

How was your week?

What creatures do you run into?

Seriously, how awesome was the men’s marathon?

2016 Rock’n Around the Pier Half Recap

I love beach races and I hate them at the same time. I have learned that I personally will never set a PR on sand. Partly due to the sand and partly due to how the humidity jacks with my lungs. Either way, I seem to be a glutton for punishment as I keep signing up for them. Plus this race tends to fall around my birthday so it’s become sort of an unofficial tradition.

This was my third year running some form of this race this year, second time running the half. I didn’t have many goals going in other than complete the first part of my last big run and maybe finish quicker than 2014’s hot mess.

Yeah, neither of those were achieved. In fact, I managed to turn in my slowest half ever! That said, this recap will be a little different than my usual ones.

The morning started off interesting as I made it all the way down my driveway before realizing that I had forgotten my Garmin. Seriously? I actually debated going on without it but in the end I went back to get it. I had hoped to run a little warm up prior to the race but my stomach was feeling iffy so I headed straight to the bathroom lines after parking. Major props to clean, well stocked real bathrooms. Once that was taken care of, I walked around the Rock parking lot and tried to shake loose. Then I headed for the starting chute. For the first time, I was actually in the chute when the race started. I can’t say that for the other years. 😛

It was clear at the start and I was hopeful it would stay that way. The first 2 miles actually felt pretty good. 9:59, 10:31. My legs were cooperating and the sand wasn’t too bad. I was naively hopeful that things were going to stay that way.

Around mile 2.5, we hit the rocks at North Point. They were no joke. We bottle necked and slowed to crawl as we all tried to figure out the best way to cross them without breaking our faces. Once that was done, it was back to the beach to run on. Around mile 2 we had started to run into the marine layer. And it was dense. But I ignored it. Until I couldn’t. 11:18, 11:18, 11:31.

I could not breathe. My lungs were so tight. I was slowing down with every mile. I seriously considered quitting at the pier. When all the 10k’ers were heading to their finish line and I had to turn around and head the other way. I almost quit. Almost. But my car was at the rock, my parents were coming to the finish and San Francisco has fog right? Besides the pier was clear so I was hoping the marine layer was burning off. Mile 6-12:29

I was wrong. Half a mile later, we were back in it. And it seemed worse. I was struggling big time. I tried running .75 miles, walking .25. Couldn’t do it. Next was running .5 miles and walking .25. Another fail. Ok, how about .4 mile run, .1 mile walk. More fail. Ok, walking was fine. Walking was moving forward right? 12:55, 12:44, 12:41

Breathing was so damn hard. My throat was on fire, my lungs and chest hurt. I was beginning to wonder if you could OD on an inhaler. But there was no where to go but forward. There was only one way off the beach.

The rock patch the second time through was sketchier- by now I was mostly by myself and there was no one to follow. Plus I was tired. But I made it and knew I had less than 3 miles to go. The fog was so dense, I was beginning to worry I was going to miss the turn off to head up the beach for the loop around the park. Someone came up behind me and passed me so I just followed them. Between the rocks and sinking in the dune sand, I had slowed to a crawl but I just kept moving. 14:33, 15:59, 14:16

I was able to pick up a bit of speed on the pavement around the park but not much of anything. I suppose I could have quit at that aid station but the finish was less than 1.5 away. So back to the beach to finish out my crawl. I was a mile from the rock but I could not even see it through the marine layer. It was getting patchier so I was keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine. Half a mile from the finish and my wish was granted. Way too late but oh well. 13:13

The advantage of crawling? I was able to spot my parents and wave to the camera as I jogged in. 😛

Finish 2:46:15 New personal worst!!!

So yeah, that was fun. I actually finished with a smile on my face though. It is what is. Was it the race I wanted? No. But I listened to my body and slowed way down. Had there been anywhere to go, I may have quit but in reality there weren’t any shortcuts after the pier so I just kept going. I do wonder now if the race is prepared for emergencies though, I only saw what looked like a course monitor once. And it could have just been a cyclist in a yellow vest- who knows?

I do however know that I cannot run 26 miles like that. So now I am hoping for a clear day in San Francisco. Fingers crossed!!!!

I still really love this race. I will be back next year… but maybe just the 10k. 😛

Mid Week Musings 7

Thursday can be mid-week right?

I thought about posting my food post but nah, I’m not in the mood to be cranky. So let’s clear the tracks (brain fog) instead.

Remember when I said I liked to browse websites and put things in my shopping cart but never buy? Yeah, marathon training has made it even worse. I want all the shiny new things! It’s like I’m starting over! I feel like a stalker considering how often I’ve been on the same websites. How long can you stare at a water bottle?

Handheld Hydration Pack, Black, Running Water Bottle

Wind sucks. Go away El Nino, you’re drunk. Getting used to running in humidity is one thing. Cold wind turns me into a baby though. Monday and Tuesday were crazy windy and cold. Branches and trees came down, boats were evacuated off the water. Yeah, I didn’t run. #sorrynotsorry

I ate 2 big cookies today. Low carb fail. It was in the name of research though. Ok, one was. We’ve been testing different bakeries for cookie Friday’s and how else do you know if they are good? I’m going with dang good since I ate a second one.

Where is time going? It’s almost April for crying out loud. How is the year a quarter over?

I have a long run of epic proportions that I am trying not to freak out about this weekend. And I am trying shorts on a short again tomorrow. Aaaack! Not sure which is more stressful.

I have a 5K in a week. I kind of feel like I forgot how to race. It’s been so long. Especially for a 5K. Yikes!

I ran intervals tonight. Again, it’s been so long!!!!

I had so much more to say but I seem to have forgotten most of it. Oops. That’s where my brain has been living lately.

How has your week been?

What’s on your wish list?

Research calories don’t count, right?

Week 5/ January Recap

Upcoming races- Surf City 13.1

Focus– I forgot to choose one this week. Oops.

How is it February? Seriously, how did that happen? Wasn’t is just Christmas? Or I don’t know summer? Anyways moving on. One plus about El Nino is that things have been warmer than usual but that changed this week. Brrrr.

Monday- Rest Mondays really work as rest days for me. Why do I keep trying to change that? I will say that I felt guilty for not getting in some miles on the bike though.

Tuesday- 4 miles Some very, very slow miles. I had an episode of Z Nation to get me through it. Though I do wonder if anyone can see my phone, between Z Nation and Blacklist, I feel kind of weird watching my phone at the gym.

Wednesday- 6 miles Stationary I woke feeling more sore from 4 treadmill miles than I had from my long run on Saturday. Grrr. Daylight savings, are you here yet? I ended up testing out the new Little Caesar’s on the way home so it almost ended up another rest day. But instead it was just a very late start and fewer miles.

Thursday- 10 miles I had to work this weekend so I was able to take a half day and I actually made it out of work by 1. With a storm predicted for the weekend I had planned on trying to get my long run in early. After last week’s successful though slow 12 milers, I was looking forward to it. I almost quit in the first 2 miles. Everything felt off, I was still sore, I felt uncomfortable in shorts, my throat had an alligator instead of a frog in it. Every time I started to run I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. What the hell?! Was I embarrassed to be seen in shorts or something?

I got to the top of the hill and just stopped. I stretched, had a conversation with myself and scrolled Instagram. Anything to get my mind off of my panic issue. I didn’t feel like anything was actually really wrong and I didn’t want to miss the chance to complete my long run so I reassessed. Pace meant nothing so I turned on the run/ walk interval on my watch and set off again. Slowly. At mile 5 I assessed again, felt ok so I continued on. Between walking and running my pace was holding around 11:30. Since I was moving slower than planned I ended up having to run through the traffic when the high school let out. Cuz I wasn’t feeling fluffy enough?!

When the run was finally done, I joked on Instagram that it was my slowest 10 miler ever. Except it turns out it wasn’t a joke- it really was my slowest 10 miles ever. It took me 2 hours to run 10 miles plus another 20 minutes of stopping for head games and a chafing concern. But you know what? I ran 10 miles. Trying to think on the shiny side here. ☺

Friday- Rest Woo hoo!!!

Saturday- 11 miles Stationary It was cold and the storm was looming when I got home after work. I had planned on getting in a run after I finished my errands but just couldn’t bring myself to go back out. Cross training and the comfy chair won.

Sunday- 4 miles The storm was predicted to clear by the afternoon so I was going to run then. While the rain did clear, it was freakin’ cold! I still feel oddly achy and sore, so I kept it slow and easy for 4 miles.

And that wraps up my last full week before Surf City. Since I am treating it like a very large, friendly long run I normally wouldn’t taper. But the treadmill and I need to break up and this soreness needs to go away so this may be a heavy cross training week. We’ll see. And that brings us to the end of January-

Double what December was and that was with 6 days off due to the flu. I am calling this a good base building month. I will probably continue to build into February. I’m currently trying to mash 2 training plans together. Excel is giving me a headache trying to merge the 2 books. Ugh. I get the feeling I may just have to start over.

How was your January?

Anyone have any Excel tips?

Week 1- Training Recap

Upcoming races– Castle to Coast 8.2 m
Surf City Half

Focus– Finding the rails. As you saw in my mileage post, I derailed a bit in December.

I’ve been doing some thinking and with having a goal free 2016, I decided I didn’t want my recaps to be based around race training. The year has 52 weeks though right? Who wants to bet on how long it will take me to lose count? 😝 That said, I still want the upcoming bigger races highlighted so I figured I would open with those as well as what I focused on during the week. This is all new so I may be ironing out a few kinks in the next few weeks.

Monday- Rest
Tuesday-4.66 miles
Wednesday-Rest
Thursday-Rest- crazy day at work/ New Year’s Eve
Friday- 1.25 miles
Saturday-Work/ Cleaning of the closet
Sunday- 6.22 miles

I worked on Saturday so I had a half day on Tuesday. I was feeling optimistic and had wanted to try for a longer run around 8 miles at the river path. My stomach had it’s own plans and was an asshat Monday and Tuesday. I still wanted to try to get a few good miles though. I headed to the lake path to see how things went. If worse came to worst, I figured the laps of the lake would make it easier to get back to the car. It was actually a pretty good steady run but by 4 laps in, I knew I was done.

I really could have used a run on New Year’s Eve but my gym closes super early and there was no way I could get there before work ended. Boo.

Ok, Friday looks small but it was awesome in reality. A local business- Moore Sports Recovery had posted about a short New Year’s Day group run led by none other than Olympic hopeful Jordan Hasay. Hmm, really? But I don’t mingle well with strangers, I’m so awkward. Never fear- enter Heather of SloLuckyRuns and Ashley at Rather Be Runnin’. Both are bloggers that I had multiple conversations with on blogs, Twitter and Instagram but not met in person. We’d seen each other at races but never really chatted. Where do I sign up?

The event was great. It gathered quite the crowd for a smaller event. Jordan started the event with a group stretch and then we all went out for the run. It turned out to be shorter than planned but that’s ok. I ran with Heather- she knows everyone!- and Ashley and it was awesome. After the run, we took a tour of the recovery area, Ashley tested out some of recovery tools and we took photos with Jordan. She was super nice and it was great meeting her. After, Heather, Ashley and I chatted so long we were there longer than anyone else. 😄 I can’t wait to hang out with these ladies again.

Saturday was odd, I had planned on running after work but it just never happened. I started cleaning my closet and it just grew into this huge organizational project that ended up expanding to rearranging all the bedroom furniture.

I’ve been fighting a tickle in my throat for days and Sunday morning it reared it’s head. I’m not very surprised, people were dropping like flies last week at work. I slept a little longer and ran some errands before heading out for a run. The weather was perfect for a t-shirt and shorts (mid 50’s) but I bundled up in full pants and sleeves just to be on the safe side. I knew it was going to be a slower run and again I was fine with that. Overall, I ran 6.2 miles around an 11:00 minute pace. Some miles were faster and some were slower. I took fewer walk breaks than I thought I would need so I am calling it a win.

So it wasn’t a super strong week but it went a long way to getting to back on track. I found the rails again! Three days of running is a good start to that. I am keeping my plans flexible for the coming week. The first heavy El Nino storms are supposed to hit so I may be spending a lot of time on the treadmill. In the gym. In the first week of January. Wish me luck!

How was your New Year’s?

Did you have a good weekend?