Tag: low miles

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 10

Oh, week 10, why you gotta play me like that?

If I ever train for another marathon, I swear I may skip week 10. Just go from week 9 to week 11, you know like they skip floor 13 for some high rises? Week 10 is cursed to be a hot mess. During San Francisco training, week 10 was the breaking point with Hanson’s and I spent the last weeks just trying to hang on and get through the race without making my leg worse.

This time- I managed to hurt everything. Right shin. Left shin. Pulled a left groin muscle. Popped/ pulled something on the right side of my back. Oh and had a panic attack on the side of the road. As for running? I pulled off a whopping, crawling 15.75 miles last week.

So let’s ~~whine~~ talk about what I managed to do-

Tuesday- 1.54 miles I headed to lake path after work, looking forward to bringing it back into play. The path being back means speed work is an option again and I was looking forward to going back to 4 days a week. However my legs didn’t get the memo. I knew right away something was wrong but I was hoping it would go away after a lap of the lake. My left shin hurt but the scary part was my right shin. I felt like something was loose under the skin- kind of like the muscle was pulling away from the bone. It wasn’t getting better, getting worse in fact so I called if after a lap. Grrr.

Saturday- Rain What do runners in denial of injuries do? Buy new kicks.

Sunday- 12.55 run/ 1.66 walk The plan called for 18 and that’s what I set out to do. However between all the rain of the week and all the pains I had been feeling, I was tired and not feeling it but I told myself to get over it. I forgot my pepper spray and had to turn around to get it. I had to change my route less than 1/4 mile in as there was a funeral at the cemetery and I try to not run past when there are actual services. I started out slow and it never got any faster. I was dragging around mile 7 when a passer-by leaned out their car window and yelled “good job” with a thumbs up. It gave me a second wind for about 5 minutes but also made me wonder if I looked as rough as I felt.

My legs were aching, my feet felt like they were swelling. It was 70+* and I was hot. I was so damn thirsty and I had 2 bottles of water in my pack. I stopped for a bathroom break around mile 10 and doused my hat and Buff in water. I kept trying to move faster but I just kept moving through quicksand. I couldn’t catch my breath and it just got worse. By mile 11 I was sitting on the side of the road having a freaking panic attack, crying.

I somewhat pulled myself together, ha, called my mom and asked her if she wanted to join me for my last miles so I would have some company. She said no and told me I should quit and she would come get me and give me a ride. I was stubborn and said no. I tried to suck it up and run on. At mile 12.55, I knew I was being stupid. My pace was in the toilet and my head still wasn’t right. I stopped my watch and decided to walk a shorter way home. That was still almost another 3 miles. I didn’t make it. I ended up calling for that ride.

I was so damn irritated with myself for not finishing 18 but I also knew that pushing on would have done more harm than good. As it was, I was limping, dehydrated and exhausted. I was done.

Now starts week 11… and I am filled with doubt and lingering muscle pain. Oh boy.

How was your week? Tell me something good!

Week 48- Lingering

And the pain lingers on.

Isn’t that a song? I feel like it’s a song lyric. 🎶

Last week was a little better than the previous week though not by much. I doubled the miles but when you run barely more than zero, double is still next to nothing. Which is problematic because filling all my extra time with Christmas movie watching has given me the most intense craving for sugar cookies with icing ever. I want them all. That’s not a good thing.

Last week was kind of odd anyhow. I had my interview on Wednesday which had interesting moments but not of the usual interview kind. Then Saturday saw my mother’s birthday and my dad’s is this week. I also had the world’s messiest oil change. Like my car was leaking oil for the next 3 days. I called the dealer it was so bad, thinking they had screwed something up. Nope, they just slopped oil everywhere.

Ok, so what were the piddly “workouts” I did last week?

Monday/Tuesday- Nothing but a little stretching. My leg wasn’t too happy and I wasn’t going to push it. I am embracing the flats life. It’s so boring.

Wednesday- 2.51 miles I meant to head to the gym for a few test miles but realized I forgot my headphones instead I ran outside. Slowly. My leg wasn’t screaming but it wasn’t marvelous. However I was just so excited to be out there.

Thursday- 2.16 miles Should I have run so soon? Yeah, probably not but I had to take the car back to the dealer due to the oil change fiasco so I was home sooner than normal and I couldn’t pass up the chance. My leg actually felt better than the previous day. Yay!! Oh and it pushed me to 50 miles for November, which considering how many days I deliberately didn’t run because of my leg, I’ll just say Hell yeah!

Friday- Stupid I wore low heeled boots to work. Only about 2 inches but it was stupid and my leg did not appreciate it at all. Stupid.

Saturday-Birthday shopping with my mom. I could feel my shin talking all day. Why did I wear heels on Friday?? Grrrr.

Sunday- 10 miles bike My leg still felt off and truthfully I might have done something stupid and gone for a run but an unplanned afternoon nap changed that. Oops. So I hopped on the bike to try and work up a sweat. Except the cat decided she really wanted to be part of the exercise too. She kept trying to go under the pedals. Don’t do that!

4.68 miles run, 10 miles bike. As I type this I realize I have yet to run in December. Yikes! Come on leg, knock it off, it’s only 3 weeks to marathon training!

How was your week?

Any Christmas festivities?

Anyone race? I was having major RnR San Antonio FOMO.

Week 36- Not Quite

Upcoming Races-

SLO Ultra 5 Mile
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1???
Rock N Roll Las Vegas 5K
Rock N Roll Las Vegas 13.1!!!!!

I had this cutesy little plan that if you lined up weeks 34, 35 and 36 the title modifiers would all add up to say “Kind of Back To Normal“. Except this week wasn’t the normal that I wanted it to be hence the title change. While I ran 4 days, when you add up the mileage it looks quite sad. And adding a run on Sunday became laughable when I was hobbling around and had trouble just walking.

Anyways, moving on. Last week was an odd one. We found out on Tuesday that my boss is turning in her 2 weeks so the week just felt a little off. Well, all weeks after a 3 day weekend feel off but this one felt more off. Then I realized I seriously overbooked my Saturday and couldn’t figure out how to fix it. I had a race, a shift at the Avocado Margarita Festival, a bed delivery and a possible haircut appointment. I needed a clone.. or a teleporter. Everything took place in a different town.

Monday- 3.1 miles With the day off for Labor Day, I had thought about getting a long run out of the way early in the week but then I overslept. It was another triple digit day and my motivation flagged as the day went on. At the last minute I threw on running clothes and managed to get out the door for a late evening 5k. It was short but I am glad I did something other than laze around like a sloth.

Tuesday- Rest I rarely run the Tuesday after a 3 day weekend. Work is usually crazy and runs late. Theory held. 😛

Wednesday- 2.0 miles This was supposed to be 4 miles but work ran late and this was all I squeezed in before the light really faded once I got back to town. Oops.

It looks so much brighter in this pic than it was

Thursday- 1.5 miles Failed kitten rescue! I set out to run but only made it about 3/4 of a mile up the hill before I heard a little meow then saw a tiny kitten in the storm drain. He looked like he needed help so I tried to rescue him. I managed to coax him out of the storm drain and noticed he was limping but he wouldn’t let me near him. I followed/chased him through bushes, freaked out a dog in a yard, almost fell down a little hill, got odd looks from other runners passing by but couldn’t find him. He went into stealth mode! After more than 30 minutes I gave up, sad. By then it was getting dark so I just headed back to the car.

Friday- Rest I worked then out to Avila Beach to pick up my race packet. Packet might be a misnomer- it was a bib and shirt. And I almost got lost in the parking lot- a few more signs would have been nice.

Saturday- SLO Ultra 5 Miler Recap to come but I will say -oh my quad—the hills.

Then I attempted a quick change before heading to work town for the Avocado Margarita Festival. Where I had to park way too far away and book it down to the volunteer tent in flip flops. My haircut appointment was a no go and my dad was a champ and met the delivery guys to accept the bed delivery. Even though that was an adventure in itself. His solution to making sure that the cats or dog didn’t get out while the guys were there was to just have them deliver the new bed to the garage. Then when I got home we carried it into the house and set it up. 😛

Sunday- Haha! Oh my god, I’m broken. I can’t move. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been this sore. Like I wish my bathroom had those handicap accessible bars in it for I need to use the restroom. 😂 I kept telling myself that I was going to run but the very idea of going down my driveway actually scared me. Ouch!!!

11.6 miles for the week. Haha. I really should have run that long run on Monday. Maybe I also should have looked at the elevation profile of the race sooner than Friday too. I might have anticipated my broken-ess a little more. Right now I am just hoping I can walk normally on Monday. 😛

How was your week?

When was the last time you felt abnormally sore?

Week 53 – Goodbye December

And just like that, another week, another month and another year has come and gone. Busy 7 days!

Last week was interesting to say the least. I ran!! Some at least. However, sleep was not my friend and by the end of the week it was all I could just to get through the day. The long days. But let’s back up.

Monday- 4.5 miles A day off work means I have to run right? It’s like a rule, right? I waited until what I hoped was the warmest part of the day and headed out. The whole flu thing turned me into a big baby in the cold. 😛 Man, was I slow. But I ran!!! I thought I would feel miserable after such a lackluster month of December but other being slow, I felt pretty good. I think I was just excited to be running.

And then Monday night. Everything was normal until I tried to go to sleep and failed. I tossed and turned and paced. Covers on, covers off, sitting up, laying down, 2 pillows, 1 pillow, no pillows. I felt like my heart was racing and I could not fall asleep. I even texted my boss at 2:30 AM to let her know I may not be on time to work because of this. Don’t worry, I didn’t wake her- I know she puts her phone on do not disturb but I figured this way she would see it first thing in the morning. I was also hoping that taking that little stressor away would help me sleep. Yeah, not really. I dozed a bit between 2:30 and 4 but that was it. 90 minutes of crap sleep. Sounds like a recipe for success, right? I was up and oddly energized so off to work I went for a very busy Tuesday.

Tuesday night– more of the same. What the hell?! This was a slight improvement in that I think I managed around 3 hours of sleep. Oh yay. All right, Wednesday, let’s do this.

Wednesday night– about 4 hours of sleep. Ok now, this is getting ridiculous. By Thursday, the cumulative fatigue was adding up and I was fading. Combine a day where we down 2 people at work, a vital piece of equipment broke and we were so busy that I didn’t get to lunch until after 3:30 and I was fried. I had brought my running gear with me to go for a run but I barely had enough energy in me to just drive home after work. There was no running that night.

Friday- Rest Yeah, Thursday night saw about 5 hours of sleep and I worked open to close. That same piece of equipment was still broken 1/2 the day and we were still down 2 people, it was a much calmer day though and we all made it through. Woo hoo! From there I only had one more work shift to get through.

Saturday- Rest I wanted to run, I really did. I worked in the morning- maybe my last Saturday shift?!?!- and while I had actually slept the night before, the damage of the sleepless week had caught up to me. I was so damn tired. My New Year’s Eve was spent chillin’ in my chair watching Netflix. Party animal right? 😛

That brought my December mileage to a stellar 14.74 miles. I think that may be the lowest month since I started tracking years ago. Oops. That also brought my 2016 mileage total to 851 miles. Highest number yet!

Sunday- 5 miles My Smashrun politely told me that this was my longest run in a month. I’m trying a new strategy with my long runs and while this wasn’t exactly long I figured why not? I recently bought a book on Galloway’s Run-Walk-Run method and thought why not? So I tried intervals of 3:00 run and 1:00 walk for this run. I was still slow but I wasn’t miserable. I also noticed that I had more energy at the top of the last hill. Now, let me clear, I’ve been running for 6 years and I have never run this hill, just walking up it kicks my ass, I felt a little less tired this time though. Granted it could have been a fluke. I’m still not sold but I’m giving it a try.

9.5 miles for the week. Not great but it’s a start right? I have plans for 2017 so time to stop Slacking! Ok, well not completely. 😛

How was your New Years?

How was your week?

Can you function on little sleep?

Happy 2017!