fundraiser – Slacker Runner

Even though the extreme pain of Thursday evening eased, I still felt sore on Friday. Sore isn’t really the right word but it’s the closest thing to describe how my left side felt on Friday. I didn’t pay much mind to it throughout the day. Partly because the day was too damn busy and chaotic and partly because I figured it would go away by the end of the day. When the text messages start coming before your alarm, you know the day is going be a little rough. But eventually it was over and I was looking forward to a weekend of running and maybe a little shopping.

Saturday morning was a fundraiser for my mom’s tennis team. They were completing a walk-a-thon and each boy had to walk or run or crawl 20 laps on the track. One boy brought a unicycle! They had a few hours in which to do this so my original plan was to run to the school and then complete my 12 miler on the track with them. When my alarm went off, I could still feel that odd soreness before even getting up. So I chose to sleep a little longer and then just head straight to the school. I figured I would get in as many laps/ miles on the track that I could. They had the track for 3 hours, I was still hoping I could get in 10-12 miles. I didn’t really think they were going to be there that long and I was right about that. However I was overly optimistic about my goal.Running hurt. I walked a few laps and tried to run one. Ouch. Walked a few more and tried running another one. Still ow. Ok, fine I get it. I walked out the remainder of laps. So 5 miles walking done. I still hoped to try and run later in the afternoon. I ran a few errands and then had the afternoon free. I could have/ should have run but instead I took a nap. Naps are training right?

I’ve been doing the math and realized that if my Wave Rider’s wear like they usually do, I will need a new pair before the SLO Marathon. Even if they did hold up through April, I would be running the race in very worn down shoes. I’ve been hoarding the gift card I got along with my Heritage award for just this purpose so today called for a trip to SLO. My mom and I headed down for a day of shopping, yummy food and hopefully a good hike to end the day.

The weather was awesome and the food was yummy as always. My stomach was not cooperative for a hike, however. This was more of the usual though and less of the odd soreness. Which is probably partially my fault. I start a new diet with lots of restrictions tomorrow so I may have indulged a little too much this weekend. Oops, but not really. I had to say goodbye. 🙂 So the hoped for hike didn’t happen. I did clear 10,000 steps on my Fitbit though and that is only the second time I have done that outside a day with a run. Yeah, I need to work on that. 🙂The highlight of the shopping was the new shoe purchase. Aren’t new running shoes always the best? I knew exactly what I wanted to try on so that made it fairly easy. Per usual, the Running Warehouse was packed on a Sunday afternoon. There were already numerous people being helped and a few waiting. I checked out all the pretty shoes while waiting. So very many colors! I guess being a familiar face is helpful because one of the employees was able to grab the shoes I wanted to try while he was getting another customers. Score! I tried the Wave Rider 18 and Wave Inspire 11. I still love Mizuno. 🙂 I had 2 pairs of Wave Inspire 9’s that I loved but just could not get behind the 10’s. I never even bought a pair they felt so off. I’ve been in the Wave Rider 17 ever since and am on pair 3. I was nervous I wouldn’t like the update for the 18. I liked the fit and feel, nothing felt too different, I just liked the feel of the Inspire’s better today. In fact the only real issues I had with both pairs was deciding which to buy and the shoelaces. The laces seem short, so I may be changing those shortly. It’ll be interesting going to back to a support shoe after being in neutral for so long but I think it may be a good thing. I picked my shoes and was in and out of there fairly quickly, double score! Now I just can’t wait to take them for a run!

And I need to get back on track with training. This was not a shiny week, it happens right?

How was your weekend? Did you race? Or run?

Shoelaces? Do you like them longer or shorter?

Saturday started a little rougher planned.

I had set an early alarm because I was heading down to SLO to take part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I dragged myself out of my nice, comfy bed before heading out to work town to pick up T before continuing to SLO. It was that drive that turned rough. I saw something that I know happens but have never seen happen and never want to again. Let’s just say it involved a deer and a car. I learned that I must have a soft heart because I literally cried for the next 10 miles.

Yeah, I had to put an epic filter on it- it deserved it

Once picking up T, I had to laugh. She hadn’t wanted to get up anymore than I had and was wearing a nice comfy maxi skirt and flip-flops. And she rocked them both for the whole 5K. Thanks for the smiles T! We met up with R and L and headed over to the park. There was a good size group of people walking at the event. Some in regular clothes, others in exercise gear. Checking in and getting our shirts was a breeze. Then we headed to a table to pick up a promise flower. The flowers were different colors representing different things. I was torn between yellow- you know someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s- and orange- you support the cause to end Alzheimer’s. Both applied, but in the end I went for orange. We could write names on the flowers to honor those we knew. As we crossed the starting line, we handed them to volunteer. They were going to make a promise garden for when we returned.

I ran a race in this park years ago so I should have knownn better. 2/3 of it was trail. I was thankful I had worn running gear. However I think they should have put this on the website, people might have dressed a little differently. One older gentleman fell. It was also freakishly warm with little shade. However they did have the Grizzly Academy handing out water bottles along the course. There was also a 3K option if you didn’t want to do the 5K. Along the course, they had signs of people with Alzheimer’s as a way to honor them. It was great to see so many families out there. I also know that a good amount of money was raised as well. After completing the walk, we could view the promise garden. There was also a breakfast booth and various vendors and live music. Over all it was well put together event. Just next year, they should warn about the lack of paved course.Following the walk, we headed to the Madonna Inn. The original intention was for Bloody Mary’s but it turned into breakfast. A little truth- I drink so rarely you could say I don’t drink. All I wanted was a Diet Coke. They ordered the Bloody’s and food and I ordered the french toast. I did try T’s drink, apparently my face was hilarious. I should have asked what was in it first. 🙂 But the Diet Coke was awesome. The food was good too.

From there I headed home for the usual errands. Later in the afternoon I decided that it had been too long since I had taken the puppy for a walk. So once I wrangled her into her harness, we headed out for an easy 3 miles. She kept a good pace and never once laid down.