Tag: Migraine

Week 15 Training Recap

Upcoming races– Firehouse 5K (this week!!)
SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Take it easy and bump it up to 4 days of running

Maybe it was something in the air or the water but this week kicked my trash. I haven’t been sleeping well and that hasn’t helped matters any. I was so tired most days I ordered a coffee and a soda most mornings. Not the best, I know. Towards the end of the week, I made a choice about my stomach meds and that threw some things out of whack as well. I was also feeling very hermit like this week and I ended up bailing on all my public involved plans. #horribleslacker

Running was rough but I hit the days I set out to. Last week was the week of the my first 16 miler attempt and this was the week where I stepped it up to 4 days a week. In retrospect, I should have scheduled those 4 days better.

Monday- 3.5 miles I ran on a Monday! Say what?! I was supposed to have plans later in the week, so I decided to run on Monday. I also ran in some new shorts that I had picked up over the weekend. I have to get over my sudden phobia of running in shorts in public somehow right? Even if it means buying a bigger size. 😭 The run was average if anything. I wasn’t sore after the 16 miler but my legs felt tired. I headed to the lake path for a few easy laps. I kept the pace slow and easy and just tried to enjoy running. However I had shoe issues. I started out in my Launch’s thinking the extra cushion would be a good thing right? My calves tightened up so badly, I changed my shoes 2 laps into the run. Luckily I had my Nike’s in the car as well. I made sure to stretch really well after my run.

Tuesday- Rest This was a rough day at work and a big part of me wanted to run it out. However I was trying to rest my legs after the previous days issues. It was also the lovely shattered make up morning.

Wednesday- Rest– I wanted to run after work, I had everything packed. I had a meeting in SLO in the morning. Part way through the meeting my head started to hurt. By the time I got back to work, I had a full on migraine. I still told myself I was running after work. Around 4:30, I realized that just wasn’t going to happen. I wanted pizza, then comfy clothes and a dark room and an ice pack. So I did just that.

Thursday- 4.5 miles– Ouch, ouch, ouch, damn it. Another run in the Launch’s and a ouch filled 4.5 miles. I probably should have called it sooner but I was stubborn. I kept stopping and stretching out my calves. No luck. I was thisclose to taking my shoes off and finishing the run barefoot. But instead, I went back to my car, then home to stretch. It was probably payback for not going to the work social thing that I was supposed to that evening.

I don’t know if it was the shoes or what but I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst cramp in my left leg. I damn near screamed. It was like a charlie horse all over my calf. I felt like I had barely dozed off when it happened again- in the right leg. WTF?!

Friday- Rest– Ha! Standing in the morning and walking around was real fun. My upper calves were so painful and tight from the cramps. Compression socks can be had to conceal at work but thankfully it was a casual Friday. And I pushed it to the limit when I wore my old dark blue Pureflow’s with my jeans. I meant to change them, I really did but never did. So bad.

Saturday- Firehouse 5K, 3.75 walk– First 5K of the year! It was rough, no lies, recap will be up on Wednesday. I tried to get ahead of the soreness I knew was coming by heading out for a walk later that day. I could tell that I was getting super stiff already. I was really hoping the walk would make things better. I also missed another social situation- this one was family related. #horribleslacker

Sunday- 7.5 miles– Oh my quad. Serious ouch! Full disclosure- I have never run the day after Firehouse. I usually take 2-3 days off, sometimes 4, I’m that sore. I ventured out Sunday morning for a long run. I was hoping for 10 miles but I knew that was unlikely. My quads were so tight, my feet hurt and my knees were sore. Throw in 90% plus humidity and this run was Rough. I slogged my way through 7.5 miles. I welcomed any break so when some cyclists needed directions, I was more than happy to. ☺ 7.5 is better than none right?

All in all, it wasn’t a bad week. The runs weren’t the best but I got them done. The mileage was a little lower than I would have liked but I knew that was likely with Firehouse in the mix. It’s suddenly dawned on me that SLO is only 3 weeks away. How did that happen? I feel unprepared, I’m not ready! I need more time. So this week, I am just going to keep my head down and just keep running. Hopefully the soreness will ease up and I can have a decent week of running. And foam rolling, I really need to do that more. 😛

How was your week?

Ever get horrible cramps in the middle of the night?

Have you ever had a week where you just wanted to be a hermit?

Week 13 Training Recap

Upcoming Races– Firehouse 5K
SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– I forgot to pick one- oops

Week 12 was pretty good so of course this week started off rocky. One of these days the pendulum won’t swing back and forth so quickly. The whole week was wonky actually. It started odd, swung into worse and then swung back again.

Monday- Rest I had planned on riding the bike but as I was leaving work I started getting texts from my brother. He wanted to know where my dad was. Odd but ok, so I called my dad. No answer. Hmm. I called my mom, no answer. That’s odd. Now my mind goes to worst case scenarios and starts thinking that something happened. Turns out my brother’s truck had broken down in the Subway parking lot. As for my parents not answering- well, they have lives. 😛 But eventually, I picked up my mom and we ended up eating Subway for dinner while waiting for AAA to tow my brother’s truck.

Tuesday- 3.5 miles– With my brother’s truck out of commission, he needed a ride to work. His current job has him working in SLO. Not in the town I work or the town we live in. Well that makes the commuting a little tricky. It’s sad how much getting up 30 minutes earlier kicked my butt. I had running gear packed but wasn’t optimistic about getting in a run. It ended up working out, I only had to take my brother halfway and he found another ride home.

I headed to the lake path to get in a few laps. Ouch, Ouch, ouch. My calves and shins were soooo tight. I hoped they would loosen up after the first lap but no such luck. I stopped multiple times to stretch during lap 2 but it didn’t help. Lap 3 probably shouldn’t have happened but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being a big baby. It still hurt, so I called it at 3.5 miles.

Wednesday- Rest-Another earlier than normal morning and time I did take my brother all the way to SLO. That led me on a roundabout way to work but bonus- I found a new road to run on!! You know you’re a runner when you drive new roads and notice how run-able the shoulders are. I mapped it and I can run from my work location to another one and it’s around 14.5 miles. Woo hoo! Just have to figure out how to get back. 😛

Thursday- 7.5 miles– As I mentioned in Friday’s post, this run sucked. Pain, tightness, clothing issues, asthma issues, body insecurities; you name it, I had it and the run blew. I was hoping to pull off 12 but called it at 7.5. My brother took the family to pizza to thank us for the week. 🍕 Then I came home and vented about the run on the blog. I also had the beginnings of a headache so I went to bed early with an ice pack on my head.

Friday- Rest– Like all Fridays. 😀My headache had turned into a migraine. I tried drinking tons of water, caffeine, food, sugar, etc to help it but nothing worked. I even took 2 Excedrin Tension Headache pills. That was probably a mistake. I tend to have odd reactions to OTC medicines. Yeah, my pupils decided they wanted to be different sizes. I ended up going home an hour early.

Saturday- Rest– I worked in the morning and it was chaos. That seems to be the new theme for the Saturdays I work. Can it stop? Part of me wanted to run in the afternoon but I was considering another long run attempt on Sunday. I don’t usually follow the 10% rule but since 2 weeks ago saw 4.5 miles and last week 17, I decided to be smart.

Sunday -10 miles run, 3 mile walk– Holy crap people!!!! After the crappiness of this week’s runs I was not optimistic for this attempt. When my alarm went off and I saw 88% humidity for the weather, I hit snooze. I thought about blowing it off entirely, but an hour later I was heading out the door. I had zero goals for this run, I turned my watch face to the clock and then ignored it. My mother, brother and I were doing lunch so she was picking me up at the end. Erring on the side of caution, I told her to give me 2 hours.

I didn’t worry about keeping my pace slow, I didn’t worry about being fast. I ran what felt comfortable and walked when I needed to. Per usual, I picked up my pace running across the bridge, it was the only time I really felt fatigued. I kept running and was soon off road on the river path. Which turned into a running hopping dance. The path was full of stink bugs! Half a mile of watching my feet and hopping over them when needed- that added some excitement to the morning. Then it was up the hill for the river route and back down. The humidity never broke and it was still around 78% at the end of my run. I felt like a sticky, nasty mess but my lungs held up pretty well. I finished down on the river trail again and stretched out.

Then I saw my watch- 10 miles at 10:27 average pace? Where the hell did that come from? I didn’t think I had seen that pace for a long run since last year’s training for SLO. Hours later and I am still not sure how I pulled that off. And I had time to stretch and walk it out before I met my mother.

When I uploaded my figures into Smash Run later, I realized just rare this run was. I thought it had been the fastest in a year, umm, it was my fastest 10 miler since January 2014. What?!?! I’m still not sure how it happened but I will take it!

My mile splits make me laugh- typical me, all over the place. But I felt good so I’m just going to call it a win.

This week was all over the place- work, life and running included. I feel like I need another day to recover. Boo. Oh well, moving on. My hope this week is to stay consistent and pull off a new to me distance this weekend. Fingers crossed!!!!

Low-carb– umm, yeah, I had Subway 4 times this week. It just kept happening! It was easy and not horrible for you. Ugh, well, Monday is a new week right?

How was your week?

Have any Easter plans?

Surf City Week 1-Oops

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to start an abbreviated training plan last week. I had the previous 2 weeks off, what could go wrong? Oh, and last week was my first week re-attempting Atkins. This time on no soda. Weee!

Monday was a given rest day. I packed my running gear but I knew it wasn’t really going to happen. First day back at work and I slept horribly the night before. According to my UP, I slept for a measly 4 hours. Woo hoo. I knew the day was going to be busy just catching up on things. I only had a couple hundred emails- double yay. 😏

Tuesday was odd as I had an appointment with an allergist/ immunologist to see if they had any ideas about my stupid stomach. Then it was off to work for a few hours before taking a partial half day. Half day after vacation? I was working Saturday but I still felt guilty taking a half day that close to vacation. That said, I didn’t fight it too hard. I changed and bolted out the door. I made it to the river path in home town with only enough time for a short run. I managed to squeeze in 4 really solid miles before it was too dark. Mile 4 saw an 8:45. Hello! Where is more of that? Actually it was a pretty sweet progression-13:08, 10:24, 9:38, 8:45. Plus I finished in time for this view-

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Migraine city. I was supposed to meet A at the gym on Wednesday but I was having troubles walking. I felt so bad when I texted her to cancel. My boss tried to send me home but not only did I feel guilty again I didn’t think I could drive home. It eased up enough by closing time and I drove home. I’d planned on saving my ~~cheat~~ indulgent meal of pizza for the weekend but I ended up eating it that night. I choose to believe that it helped a bit. Thursday, my head still hurt and I barely ate. I zoned out in front of the tv watching Christmas movies that evening.

Saturday– work and Vine St Showcase. I had hoped to squeeze in a run but my stomach had other plans. That said, this was also the first time I’ve hit my step goal without running since I bought the UP. Little victories right? Plus- Christmas lights!!

Sunday– I’ve been in a Christmas funk and having serious troubles with gift ideas. Unfortunately no one else in my family is a runner. 😢 I was feeling stressed. I headed down to SLO to see what I could accomplish. I shopped longer than planned, missed getting in a run but I feel more prepared for the holiday that is rapidly approaching. I’m calling that a win.

So, yeah that was a 4 mile week. Ouch. I am trying to look on the shiny side though. I got in 4 awesome miles. I was low carb half the week and I went 7 days with zero soda. 7! I still indulge if I go out to eat and they serve Diet Coke. I think that built in cheat is helping me pull this off. I went from 2 32oz a day to 1 or 2 a week. I didn’t even give in when I had my migraine. That was the first time in weeks that I was actually craving soda. But I held strong…while whimpering in the dark- ha. 😉

So for the week ahead, I am hoping to get in a few more miles. We also have our holiday party for work to look forward too. The only time I ever order the Filet. Yummm. I’m drooling in advance.

How was your week?

Are you finished shopping? How is it only 11 days away?

Anyone race over the weekend? I saw tons of Santa races online. 🎅

Week Ummm Recap

You know, I am not sure how to title these anymore. Training for City to the Sea may be over but Big Sur is now less than 2 weeks away. The goal was to keep my fitness steady before Big Sur and before I carry out a new training style after that. Well, hmmm.

Monday- Last Harvest Marathon meeting. Race day was less than 7 days away and there was a lot to be done. Again, not that I was doing much- I just upped my media posting for the race.

Tuesday– Had an evening meet up with the some other people from work. There was a point in time when everyone in my position knew each other no matter which city we were in but the company has doubled in size in the last year or so and we can no longer say that. Someone suggested that we try to meet up outside of work. I figured why not?

Wednesday- 3.5 miles It felt good to get out running. I had only taken 3 days off from running but I was feeling twitchy. I went to the lake and just kept it nice and easy. It was a good run. As I ran back towards the parking lot for my second lap, I noticed a group of people all clustered together just staring at the sky. Umm, what did I miss? Turns out there was a giant hawk hanging out in the trees.

Thursday- Kettle bell workout. I had planned on running again but my stomach had other plans. I tried reintroducing some foods I have been missing during my paleo attempts and it didn’t go so well. I figured the dvd would still be a good work out and I could quit easily if I needed to since I was at home. I completed the workout, and felt wrecked. Man I need to strength train more. 😂

Friday– Oh mama, it hurt to walk. I think the weighted squats broke me. Let’s not even talk about sitting and standing.

Saturday– 3.1 miles. I woke up with a niggling headache but ignored it. I originally had a shower to attend but things had changed so I headed out for a short run before I needed to head to volunteer at the registration/ pick up tent for the Harvest Marathon. Seriously my legs felt broken, I ran so slowly. They finally loosened up a bit when I hit my driveway. Figures. 😌 I then went to registration. The temp being in the mid-80’s with high humidity was not helping my headache any. I worked the pick up tent for a few hours before heading to the school to find out where I was stationed the next day. I was assigned to be the course monitor for my mother’s water station so score. My head was pounding so I headed home after that. Slept with an ice pack in an effort to try to head off a migraine.

Sunday– Harvest Marathon!! So early. It was dark but not cold when I got up. My head was so rough, I headed to McDonald’s for a coffee and a soda before the volunteer meet up. Yes, soda, even though it wasn’t even 6:15 yet. I was hoping the caffeine would help my head. Picked up some of the kids and headed out to our little corner. Thing about the Harvest Marathon? It is a benefit for Paso Robles School Athletics- all the aid stations are staffed and run by the high school sports teams. This station was the tennis team- hi mom! We set up and we were ready! We were at mile 8.5, so the first runners would be coming through around the hour mark. The kids had water and Fluid and were cheering on the runners. They all looked strong but you could also tell the hills were harder than they had hoped. Another thing about Paso? There is no such thing as flat. One guy was hilarious. He had a thick Texas drawl and he comes running up saying- “Well, I had been running a 9 minute pace, but that last hill put me at 11!”. He got water and rounded the corner- up another hill. We could hear him saying “and now I’m at 13!”.

My head was really throbbing and I was feeling super nauseous so at one point I went and sat in my car for 20 minutes. I could no longer deny the migraine. Grrr. The last of the runners went by and after waiting longer we all headed out. My mom had planned breakfast with her team after and I went along. My head hurt so bad, I just sat there. Once home, I took a super long nap. I really wanted to get in a 10 miler but I had troubles getting to the bathroom so that did not happen. Grrrr. I usually average one migraine a month so hopefully it will be cooler when the next one hits. This weekend was pretty warm and humid. Cooler than the 90’s but still pretty warm.

So it was a week filled with running related events just not as much running as I had hoped. I’m rolling with that though and it just leaves room for improvement this week. Truthfully getting through this weekend was a big check on my to-do list. I feel so much less stressed now, so yay!

How was your weekend?

Ever work a water station for a race?

Migraine tips? Mine usually need ice, dark rooms and lots of food.

Little Lessons

Things I learned today-

Don’t go to physical therapy with a good hair day, it won’t survive.
My posture sucks.
The cute new running shirt I just bought, yeah it sucks too. I bought it to be a shirt, not ride up into a sports bra.
I’m a bad friend who has still not made it to see my friends new house.

After toughing it out on Saturday, I was hoping that some decent sleep would help me feel better on Sunday. I was aiming to get in 6 easy miles. Yeah, um no. My headache had traded up from the minor leagues to a migraine. 😦 I was not up to running; I wasn’t up for much of anything at all. Normally migraines make me super nauseous and I don’t want to eat anything. I swear this one gave me the freaking munchies. I was so hungry all day. I managed to go to lunch with my mom and a friend but I hardly talked. All I did was inhale pizza. How social of me. After that I just went home and crashed.

ilovetorun.org | RUNNING CAN BE GIVEN — Or pizza…

Today, I started physical therapy for my neck. Apparently I use the wrong muscles and everything I do aggravates it. Except running, running makes my neck feel ok. 🙂 That is the only time I have good posture, but then I worked hard on that. I pay attention to my posture when I run and correct it when I start to slump. Shoulders not invited to that party 🙂 The other 95% of the time, not so much. So I let the doctor poke and prod and push and pull, I almost jumped of the table and smacked her at point, it hurt- a lot. Yeah, so maybe I should have gone in sooner. I tend to procrastinate doctor’s appointments. So now I have some new stretches to learn as well change how I sit at work as well as drive. No fun.

My head wasn’t happy today but it was nowhere near yesterday’s level, so yeah for small things! Work was actually pretty good, we are finally operating with a full staff again, woo hoo! I decided to run a few laps around the lake after work. I figured if my head started to hurt, the car would be fairly close.

It started out a little awkward. Nothing really hurt, I just felt like I was running weird. Then again, my lower back was sore was trying to adjust the way I sit all day. That may have been the reason for hinky-ness. It took about 1.5 miles before I felt settled down, and the next 2 miles flowed pretty well. I ended up averaging a 10:18 pace for the run and after the last week, I will take it. So even though I had to keep pulling down my shirt, I will call it a good run. Hopefully, I can get in a another good one in the next couple of days, maybe 4-5 miles. I have 6 days to go until my half marathon! Eek!!!!!

Gotta love Pinterest — That about sums it up 🙂

Last night, I dreamed that it was already Sunday and that I overslept. I dreamed that I woke up at 6:40 and freaked out. The race starts at 7:00 AM and is 35 minutes away. I about had a panic attack. I lurched to my phone, half asleep just to check the clock. Only 4:42, whew. Then I realized it was Monday, I still had days to go. Crazy!

So this week I have volleyball and school and hopefully one last good run in. And fingers crossed, I will get to my friends new house!

Hope everyone had a decent Monday!

Anyone else ever have any crazy race dreams?