Tag: Migraine

Eat!, Hiking-Trails, Training

Week 28- Of Birthdays and Dirt

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

This week was a little all over the place.

Also I didn’t mean to only post one blog post last week, the week flew by oddly fast.

I only worked 2 days before starting my first real vacation of the year. It was also my birthday so a few more indulgences may have occurred than normal. My stomach chose to remind me of it’s asshat ways on a few occasions and I also had a fun migraine try to join the birthday party.

I also may have gotten a little creative with my training plan. First by liberally rearranging things and then taking some creativity with certain runs. Then came the heat advisory. Hey, when life gives you lemons, right?

Monday- 2 miles up/down, 4x 800 at 5k pace/ Nailed it
Speedwork on a Monday is a little different. I headed to the lake so I didn’t have intersections to worry about. Why haven’t I done this before? For once it was nice to nail the pace for all of the 800’s. Could I have run faster? Yes, but maintaining it was not likely.

Tuesday- 1.5 miles/ 1.5 miles
Easy, not so breezy miles.

Wednesday- 1.5 miles/ 4ish mile trail run
First day of vacation and my rearranged week was already taking hits. Instead of my long run, I headed down to SLO for some shopping and ended the day by hitting a trail. Have absolutely no complaints about time spent in the dirt with ocean views.

Thursday -10 miles/ sick
I started to get sick on Wednesday evening and it was downhill from there. Unless a
2.5 hour naps counts as training, I did nothing.

Friday- .5 mile warmup, 6 mile tempo/ 5.5 ish meltdown
Birthday!! I admit I slept in a bit- it was my birthday, why not? It was still early my standards but it wasn’t enough. I managed 1 mile at tempo pace before I spectacularly blew up. It was 80* with 50% humidity and I was not handling it. At all. I all but crawled the next few miles and cut the run short by a mile.

Then it was time for a cold shower and off to birthday lunch.

Saturday- 10 miles redux/ migraine city
A migraine moved in Friday and took up residence. I tried my best to deal with it in my usual ways but ending up taking one of the heavy duty pain pills in the evening. My neurologist will be so proud. It did level my vision so yay!

Sunday- How many times can I type 10 miles?/ 8+ mile trail run
Still in the midst of a heat advisory, I figured heading south would be my best bet for the run. I had my mom and S along for the ride- I love this trail but it has given me some creepy vibes in the past. This way they could hike and I could run and at least they would only be few miles behind me. I underestimated the heat. By mile 4 I was feeling it. I don’t think I’ve ever been so sweaty in my life, it was gross and it was hard. So hard. I relished the break I got at the top while I waited for them to catch up. I was so looking forward to the run down but the heat had gotten to me, the return down was more of a jog/walk and a lament as to where all the shade had gone.

So 23.83 miles for the week. Plan called for 26.5, oops. Still, it could be worse and I can’t complain about any week where I get to run on the trails twice.

How was your week?

Run!, Slacker, Training

Week 25- Whimper

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

I so wanted the headline to say Nailed It. In fact, after the first 4 days of the week that title was looking pretty good.

The week started with such promise, almost nailed a super challenging tempo, I was hitting the miles, making healthy eating choices, etc, etc. Then my good friend migraine came to visit. He was very uninvited and stayed way too long.

Due to some other plans after work during the week, I had to shuffle some things around in the training plan.

Plan vs Actual

Monday- 1 mile up/down, 5 mile tempo/ Nailed It! Maybe
I was super nervous about this run. I am still not a fan of tempos. Blame it on Hanson’s or maybe I just got too comfortable being a Slacker all these years. I almost bailed but then I told myself to get over it and just run. Oh holy head wind. There were points in this run that I was being pushed backwards. I actually like headwinds but this was ridiculous. 2 of my 5 miles were on pace, 1 was damn close and 2 were 30 seconds slower. So, not exactly what I was supposed to do but it made me feel good about it.

Tuesday- 1.5 miles/ 1.56 miles + yoga
Oh, yeah I was feeing yesterday’s miles. I kept things super slow and easy. Then I did a yoga video when I was home.

Wednesday- 1.5 miles/ 1.6 miles
The schedule flip put 2 easy days back to back but I think I needed. My legs were still feeling the speed workout. That said this was a peppy 1.6 miles.

Thursday- 2 miles up/down, 4x 800 at 5K pace/ Nailed it! Well, almost
Another run I wasn’t exactly feeling. However I just went out and ran. I took the wrong freeway onramp so I ended up doing these repeats in home town on the streets. 3 of my repeats were on pace and was 1 was a minute slower. Oops. The slower one was the second one and at that moment I didn’t think I was going to finish the workout. But I did.

Friday- 1.5 miles/ Nothing
This day was crazy at work and I felt the beginnings of headache move in around 4 and grow worse over the last few hours. I decided to skip the run hoping rest would make it go away.

Saturday- 8 miles/ Migraine
The migraine was in full force when my alarm went off, I went back to bed. I made it out for a few errands but wound up taking a seriously long nap.

Sunday- Rest/ Migraine
Funny how a migraine doesn’t feel very restful.

13.4 miles for the week. Not even close to what was planned.

How was your week?

BibRave, Run!, Training

Week 37:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 9

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races-

  • Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
  • City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
  • Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
  • Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you BibRave!)- 11/12

This week was ruled by sunburns, migraines and then peeling.  Oh yay!

That said, it surprisingly wasn’t a complete wash on the workout front.   I was feeling a little adrift after the Liift4 challenge was done so I joined another challenge group but this one is less focused and you pick your own workout so I was a little slacker-like in that respect.

The plan called for a 4 mile run, 30 minute pace run and a 10K race.  It was kind of a step back week.  There weren’t any 10k’s locally so my original hope was to sub in a 10 miler.

Monday-Rest
The sunburn from hell kept me from doing anything too active.  I wore one of my loosest dresses but even that made me cringe anytime I moved at work.

Tuesday-4.2 ish miles
I headed for the river path to get in a few miles. I really wasn’t feeling it but I told myself to just get started and see what happened.    I felt better once I got started and even threw in some tempo bits.  I guess I should say fartleks.  I was glad I didn’t bail and followed through with my run like planned.

Wednesday- 21 day Fix- upper fix
What the hell? After 8 weeks of Liift4, I figured 21 Day Fix would be a walk in the park.  People, I was sweating in the 2 minute warm up.  10 minutes in, I was like what the hell is this?????   I finished but need to reassess my fitness level.

Thursday- 3.6 miles
The plan called for a 30 minute pace run.   The migraine that rolled in had other plans.   I still headed to the lake path for a few miles but I wasn’t optimistic.  The pace run didn’t happen but I did get a few easy miles around the lake.  Took a few walk breaks whenever I felt like I needed and just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Friday- Nothing
I meant to do another 21 day fix but the migraine was still hanging around and by the time I got home after 7, I was done.

Saturday- 21 day Lower fix
I was supposed to do my long run.  I was supposed to go to my boss’s boss retirement party.  Instead I didn’t get out of bed until 10 AM and I took a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon.  Damn migraine, you can leave anytime now.  I did manage to complete another workout in the evening though.

Sunday- 7.2 miles
I woke early to run but my head was still fuzzy and I admit when I saw the temp was 42*, I wimped out.  Where did the cold come from?? So like an idiot, I put it off until the afternoon.  Where I rode the struggle bus.  I had hoped for 10 miles but yeah no.  My headphones died just past mile 2.  My stomach cramped horribly around mile 4.  Cramped like I started walking a lot- there were no bathrooms on my route.   I had the driest mouth ever- even though I was chugging all the Gatorade.  I called it at 7 miles.

15 miles for the week and 2 cross training workouts.  Considering how I felt for most of it, I am calling that a quasi-win right now.

How was your week?

BibRave, Run!, Training

Week 32:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 5

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races-

  • SLO ULTRA 5K-9/2
  • Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
  • City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
  • Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
  • Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12

If I had one word to describe this week, it would be- pain.

I think I watched more stupid movies than ever before.  Netflix shamed me with “are you still watching” a few times.  😛I kind of buried myself in a dark hole, I was barely even paying attention to those movies, I just needed background noise (there were some good ones though).

The plan for this week was 3 runs- 4 miles, 40 min tempo, 8 mile long run- and 4 Liift4 workouts.  Reality, however-

Monday- 2.5 miles 
I was looking forward to my run after work.  I thought I had 5 miles on the plan -oops – but I was on board with that.  The bottom half of me apparently was not.  Right from my first few steps, things felt off.  My legs hurt- not just sore but hurt.  I walked the first half mile hoping they would loosen up but no luck.  I tried running and it felt like the pain was deep in my bones.  WTH?  A little over a mile in, I stopped to try and stretch it out and almost screamed.   It hurt from my hips to my knees but in the bones.  I turned around and hobbled back to the car.     I didn’t know what was going on but it wasn’t worth risking an injury.

Tuesday- Liift4
My legs were still not right so I focused on my form and modified anything that required any jumping. I kind of do that anyway as I know my limitations but I really did it now.

Wednesday- Liift4
I drove to the lake path to run.  I had changed, I had my pack in my lap but I wasn’t feeling it.  Like deep down, really NOT feeling it.   I’m not a believer in there are no bad runs.  Yes, there are.   The times in the past that I have forced myself to run when I feel that against it I have either hurt myself or broken a piece of running gear.  I drove away without running but I wasn’t completely lazy.

Thursday- Migraine
Bring on the pain.  I woke up to the oncoming pain but hoped it would ease up.  Both because I had an early morning meeting and because I wanted to run after work.   I finally admitted defeat around 11:30 and did something I rarely do- I went home sick.  Then I spent the rest of the day napping, watching movies and alternating between being too hot or too cold.

Friday-Liift4 ish
I still had a migraine but I made it through work.  I attempted Liift4 in the evening but I only pulled off the lifting portion.  When it transitioned to the HIIT work, I tried one move and was like, umm, not happening.

Saturday-8 miles
Maybe it was the migraine that was still around but this was the hottest 8 miles of my life.  In hindsight, I maybe shouldn’t have tried for my long run after 2 days of pain.   I started my run around 9:15 and while that is early for me; it was already hot.   Miles 1 and 2 were good and I was optimistic.  I slowed during mile 3 but I was also entering the section I lovingly call the “surface of the sun” so that was to be expected.  However mile 4 went south.   It got super warm, I was too hot, I was feeling dehydrated and I almost threw up.    I was almost out of water and I was only 4 miles in.  I rerouted back to my car but I had slowed to a shuffle.  I refilled at my car and sat there a bit as it was fully in the shade.  By then I needed less than 2 miles so I dumped my pack thinking running without it would be cooler and just shoved my phone in a pocket and carried a water bottle and my pepper spray.  I then looped the river trail and the neighborhood until I hit 8.   This route needs some shade!

Sunday- Rest
I may have gotten in my long run but I was kind of broken the rest of the weekend.  Not only did the migraine not go away, it was a little pissed at me after those 8 miles.  The most strenuous thing I did on Sunday was clean my car.  Except it was so dirty, that really was a workout.

10.5 miles for the week.   I couldn’t have 2 good weeks in a row, could I.  Shake it off.

How was your week?

BibRave, Run!, Training

Week 29/ Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 1

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

That was a mouthful.  All right, when I said things were getting serious, I wasn’t exaggerating.  So let’s do this-

Upcoming Races-

  • Vintners 5 Mile-7/28
  • SLO ULTRA 5K-9/2
  • Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
  • City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
  • Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
  • Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12

Still with me? Ok, that tired me out just typing that up.   But I have a game plan.  I really do.

Remember how I mentioned in my San Jose post that I wanted to get as close to a PR as possible?  That is still my hope.  So with that in mind, I know I need to change things up.  Oh, so many things.

The real title of this post should be Shit Just Got Serious.

As my social handle suggests sometimes I lack motivation.  In my “about” section I mention that it was a competition with my mom that got me into the best shape of my life.  Well, outside of high school but we can never go back right? 🤣

So I put my money where my mouth is and joined a challenge group.    Now I have a partner I don’t want to let down as well as getting my jiggly butt back into PR shape. So how did week 1 go?

*If you’re interested, I am using Hal Higdon’s H3 training plan.

Monday-  AM- Liift4/ PM- 3.77 miles
Look who worked out in the morning??? 40 minutes of weights and a little bit of HIIT.   Who am I?

However, I may have hydrated way too much during the after that because I kind of bottomed out right before my run.  That and my run was extremely uncomfortable as I felt like I needed to pee the entire time.  It was supposed to be 4 miles but I could not hold it any longer.  I needed to be done and I needed a bathroom.  Lesson learned- don’t consume almost 200 oz of water in 9 hours.

Tuesday- Liift 4
More weights.  However I woke up with a headache so I snoozed for another hour so this workout was done after work.

Wednesday- 2.5 miles
It was a rest day from Liift4 and even though my next running day wasn’t supposed to be until Thursday but it seemed perfect to move it up so I didn’t have to double up.  I didn’t feel sore and the plan only called for 3 miles so easy peasy right?  Haha!  My legs quickly let me know they were not on board, all the soreness I had been missing suddenly showed up.   I could barely move and was just getting slower and slower.  I figured I wasn’t doing myself any favors and called it at 2ish laps of the lake path.

Thursday- Liift4
I slept right through my alarm- first and second ones- so that meant my workout was pushed until after work.  However, my family ended up texting me asking if I wanted to join them for dinner.  I am never one to turn down free food.  😛  Instead of being my usual Slacker self, that meant I was doing a shoulder workout at 9:30 at night.  But I got it done.

Friday- Liift4
Once again, I hit snooze one too many times plus I had an early morning lab appointment.   So after a long day of work, some slacking in the evening, I was again completing the workout after 10PM.   Part of that was also due to some animal drama outside though.

Saturday- Rest
I thought about getting my long run in.  I thought about going to the fair.  Did I mention the Fair is in town? It’s chaos, just chaos.   In the end, I did neither.  I had the beginnings of a bad headache that I really didn’t want to turn into a migraine.  So got my errands done, hydrated and just tried to rest.

Sunday- 6.2 miles
My fight to stave off the migraine failed.  My alarm went off to get up and run and any movement made me either want to cry or hurl.   I set the alarm for another hour and hoped for the best.  Nope.  Another hour and repeat.  Nope.   Finally I gave up and decided to push my run to the evening hoping the temps would drop enough- we’re under a heat advisory for the next week.

I headed out a little after 5 when the temps dropped to around 90.   I knew I was going to be moving slower than normal and I was ok with that.  That turned out to be true and it was hot but it was actually a decent run.

12.7 miles of the 13 on the plan.  All Liift4 workouts completed.  My training plan starts out on the lower mileage side and I am fine with that as I incorporate cross training in for the first time in years.   Only time will tell if this pans out.

How was your week?