Tag: indecision

Slow and Easy

While Saturday’s easy run had gone fairly well I was still nervous about my long run.  How were my legs going to handle it?   I knew the planned progression wasn’t going to happen but I was hoping to run long-ish and easy.

An old friend was coming to town for the weekend and we had been messaging about running together.  We have tried this before but never made it work.    We always seem to miss each other.  She ran SLO the year before I did, I ran City to the Sea the year before she did.   We did run into each other at my first Super Fun Run but she was running the 10k and I was running the 5K.   She’s running Wine Country next weekend and was aiming for 8-11 miles.   I said I would be slow but hang on if that was ok with her.  coldrunSeriously, there’s a reason I don’t run in the mornings.  It’s freakin’ cold!!   Yes, I realize that high 30’s, low 40’s is a heat wave to everyone outside of California.  Again let me state that I am a big baby in the cold!  For a variety of reasons we both had rough nights and there were more messages going back and forth on Sunday morning.   🙂  But we stuck it out and met up to run.   I planned the route and figured that my habit of running in circles up hills probably wouldn’t be the best idea.  So I mapped out a very lopsided figure 8 that led us across town and back for a little over 8 miles.  If we were feeling good I had ways to add on miles.    IMG_9458I was stiff and had to take numerous walking breaks.  My stomach has also been an asshat since Saturday night so that slowed me down as well.  I felt so bad for slowing her down.    Other than those 2 things I felt pretty good though which was cool considering how much I had not wanted to get out of bed.   If I am thinking optimistically then it’s not all my fault that we were slower than hoped for.  I live in a small town, proven by the fact that an 8 mile route can take me across town and back.  However, within that route we had 8 traffic light stops.  8.    That said, I wouldn’t mind running that route again.

We finished our run and chatted for a bit before heading our separate ways.   It was nice running with someone.  I so very rarely do that.  It does a little more energy to talk and run at the sametime- it should count as crosstraining- ha!   Maybe we can try that the next time she is in town.   Also, I would not have run in the morning had I not been meeting her.  I am so not a morning person.  I don’t think I ever will be.  Races are my extent of early mornings.

Running before made this seem a little less indulgent.
Running before made this seem a little less indulgent.

I am still on the fence about Wine Country.  I actually felt ok after Sunday’s run.   I stretched really well and rolled a little.    It’s probably just me using it wrong but my roller has not been helping.    I have a feeling I am going to put off the decision-making as long as possible.  On a random note- my Garmin shows 2 different average paces for the same run?!

What is your favorite time to run?

How many traffic lights do you usually have to deal with?

Can you run and hold a conversation at the same time?

Of Choices and Coughing

I have a great new ab workout- coughing!

Oh, it doesn’t work like that?  Well, it should.  If you can’t count that than the only thing I have been even slightly productive at since my last is sleeping.  And even that hasn’t been done well.

My hope that resting on Thursday would get me through my long runs turned out to be in vain.     I was miserable all Thursday night but made my way into work on Friday.   I have this thing about calling in sick, I hate it and rarely ever do it.  Particularly on a Friday or Monday.  That’s a huge no-no for me.  But with a 45 min to an hour commute, I really need to get over that.  I made it 3 hours before heading home.     I proceeded to spend the next 2.5 days alternating between my chair and my bed.  It turned into some cold- flu thing and I have had body aches and chills and a pounding headache.  I spent a lot of time sleeping and it wasn’t even good sleep.  Ugh.

Running did not happen at all this weekend.  I am hoping that I feel up to a few miles on Tuesday but I know they won’t be easy.  The last time I was sick was actually last January and it kicked my ass energy wise for a few weeks.   Doing laundry exhausted me today.  This has me a little nervous.  The 25K is in two weeks and I was already doubting it.

My left leg has been a little achy lately, and my mother has had a bum knee.   She is ok going uphill but as we all know, down hills can be evil.   And the 25K has a lot of downhill.  She did see a doctor about it but he left it up to her.   One of the points of the 25K was that we were going to do it together.   Now I am concerned that both of us may push too hard when we really shouldn’t.  This weekend was supposed to be a 18-20 mile weekend, half road, half trail.  I feel unprepared and don’t think I can catch up.   Plus there is the fact of Surf City 7 days after the 25K.

I am torn.  I feel like backing out would be the smart idea but it feels icky.    Between coughing fits and naps today, I went online to look at other races my mother and I could do in the area.  We are pretty sparse on trail races but I did find a half marathon on an army base in a month that looks like a better fit.    Just not as scenic.   So yeah, torn.

Alright, sorry for the downer of a weekend update! 

Tell me how awesome your weekend was? What kind of running did you get in?

Thoughts on the race conundrum?