Tag: mileage

2016- Shiny and Dull

It’s that time of year again- time for the Slacker’s recap of the Shiny and the Dull for the year.


Let’s get the dull out of the way so we can move on to shinier things.  We all need shiny right?  So without further adieu, the Dull of 2016-

  • I lost both grandmother’s this year.   While one was kind of expected, the other was a total blind side.   Either way, both sucked.   I don’t handle loss well.  I don’t adult well in that way.
  • My identity was stolen.   That was fun.
  • 3 debit cards were hacked.  All at different times. Separate issue from above.
  • My credit card was also hacked.   And who the hell spends that much money at Whole Foods??!!?!
  • I added 10 pounds to the 10 pounds from 2015 I needed to lose.  Probably from a combination of my litany of meds and my reliance on chips and pizza as comfort food.  Like I said, I don’t adult well.
  • I officially DNS’ed my first 2 races-  Rock n Roll LA and Spooner’s Cove Trail Run.  Grrr.

Ok, ok, enough Dull.  Bring on the Shiny!!!!!!!


I started 2016 by kicking goals to the curb.  I do not regret that decision.   As far as I am concerned goals can get taken out with the trash.  They work for some people but they do not work for me.  I did not miss them this year and I will not miss them in 2017 but, oops, spoilers.  😛  So why did my goal free year work for me?

I ran 12 races this year.  6 half marathons, 1 8 mile race, 2 10k’s, 2 5k’s and a little something else😉😉.    Fewer races than previous years but I tried to approach this year differently.

As of the time this post goes up, I have run 850 miles in 2016.   100 more than my highest previous year.     Woo hoo!  Do I wish it was higher?  Sure.   Had I not had such a lackluster November and December I might have come close to that ever elusive (for me) 1000 mile mark.   One day I will get there, until then I can dream right?

I had the opportunity to join Bibrave.   Join a group of  runners where we can talk about running and races all the time??? Sweet!  I’ve also been able to meet some of them in real life except I’m fired because I now realize I’ve never taken pictures.  Boo.  I’ve had the opportunity to try some really great products too.    Which is awesome because I use a lotof them on a daily basis now.

I road tripped to 3 races- Huntington Beach for one and San Francisco for two.  I went to Disneyland twice.   This from the person who used to never go anywhere.  Woah there!

And that little something else race?

I TRAINED for and RAN a freakin’ marathon!!  This from the Slacker who said she would never run a marathon.  Not only was the distance daunting but I couldn’t imagine that I would ever stick to the training.  I am not the type to voluntarily get up early and run 20 miles on my own.  And yet I did and I was smiling at the end.  Ok, smirking.img_7233

Even more surprising was the marathon itself.  If you followed along during training, you know I was a hot mess in July leading up to San Francisco.  When I left for race weekend, I was seriously considering dropping to the half, I was still thinking that when I picked up my bib.   Then race morning dawned and I was cool as a cucumber.  I had no doubt I was going to finish… and I did.  Without hitting a wall.  Who am I????  Granted I was slower than I wanted to be and went over 5 hours but you guys I ran a marathon!   And somehow looked like that after 25+ miles.

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2016 had a mix of the shiny and dull.  I let myself get mired in the dull a little too often.  It’s something I need to work on.  Overall, there were some really Shiny moments in there though.  As for 2017?  More on that to come.

How was your 2016?

Name your Shiny?

Name your Dull?

 

February Recap- Realizations

Well, that didn’t go according to plan.

 

Miles– 59.8 run
29 Miles Stationary bike

RacesSurf City 13.1- 2:28:24

Originally I was planning to ramp up training for SLO post Surf City.  Speed work was  going to make its first appearance this year and I was going to force myself to be a grown up and go run on the treadmill.   But, my lungs had other plans.  With 5 rest days leading up to Surf City and the 6 days following it, I missed out on a lot of running time.   And bike time, somehow I kind of forgot about the bike.   I see it on a daily basis but I only rode it 3 times.  Umm, oops?

So back to those pesky lungs.  I closed out February with a follow up at my doctor.  My chest x-ray came back clear.  So the current theory is to blame El Nino.   No, seriously.   The El Nino  weather systems have wreaked havoc on those with seasonal allergies.  So we haven’t yet seen the buckets of rain that were promised but hay fever and other assorted issues are in overdrive for everyone.   So, I have a shiny new rescue inhaler and still have to use a heavy duty, daily inhaler twice a day.   My thyroid is also messed up, so I have a new medication there as well.  Seriously, I am beginning to think I need one of those AM/PM pill containers just to keep it all straight.  Stupid stomach, whiny lungs and a lazy thyroid?  Grrr.

I also had some realizations in February.   I don’t remember exactly when I started running but my first race was in September of 2010.  So 5+ years of running and 16 half marathons later and I only just now realized that I suck at long runs.   For once I am not referring to the pace or the number of walk breaks, I mean doing the runs themselves.   If you had asked me I would have sworn up and down that I did a few 10 milers each training cycle and some 11 milers.  Ha!!  Remember in January when I ran what I said was my slowest 10 miler ever?  Something about that statistic on Smash Run made me do some research.     It claimed that it was my slowest 10 miler coming in at #13.  13?  That didn’t seem right.   So after Sunday’s more successful 10 miler I looked into my stats on the Garmin.  Then Nike+.

Holy crap, in 5 years of running I’ve only run 15 10 milers?  2 11 milers and 2 12 mile runs.  And I call myself a runner?  A few years ago I know I used to split my long runs up but I really doubt they would make those numbers look any better.   Well, that was a wake up call.  I didn’t think I was that bad of a Slacker.  #facepalm  Do people still do that?

 

Fave pic of February

So, I am chalking February up as a learning experience.   Or the clearing of the fog of denial I was living in.   Moving into March I would like to work on making the run a consistent occurrence.  Which is necessary as I have a 16 mile run on the training plan for the beginning of April.  I conveniently ignored that box on the plan during last years SLO race prep.   March also brings the start of daylight savings.  Which means the lake path is back in play and speed work may actually happen on a somewhat consistent basis. We’ll see how the lungs hold up.  Fingers crossed!

How was your February?  Any plans for March?

Am I just a huge Slacker?

Ever faced a sad running realization? 

 

 

Week16-Redux/ So Long September

Will the real week 16 please stand up?  😉  I am not crazy, well maybe a little, I really did miss a week.  I knew I couldn’t be at 16 yet so I went back and checked.   It looks like I went straight from week 6 to week 8 a while back.  Oops.   So let’s recap week 16 and then see how September went.

Monday – Rest

After 2 races the day before, I knew this was going to be a rest day.   I was also taking my car to the body shop and getting a rental so I wanted as little as possible to carry so it kind of worked out.   I was so excited that the previous weekend was my last busy one that it didn’t occur to me that I had the work week to get through before the coming empty weekend.  Doh!  😋

Tuesday- 3.5 miles

I was so damn tired and just not feeling running still.   I headed to the lake for a few laps aiming for 4 miles.   It wasn’t a fantastic run but it wasn’t bad.   I visited a little too much with lake cat on the backside of the lake so I ran out of daylight.  But he wouldn’t get out of the street!

 Wednesday- 3.5 miles stationary

This probably shouldn’t count.  I wasn’t feeling well, my neck and my head have hurt for the last month or ever since my car accident, so I was thinking a rest day. I had to get my race recap up for the HOB Fun Run so I figured I would do that.  Until I hit a button and installed Windows 10.  I told it to wait!!   While I was waiting for the computer to be usable again I got on the bike.    It was after 9 and I didn’t want to be up all night so it’s not like I was pedaling all that hard.   😐   Oh!  Look what I finally registered for!


Thursday- 1.6 miles

Yeah, it says that.   I was still feeling rough and all the vitamin C and Airborne I had been taking all week wasn’t helping.     I headed out for a run but had to call it before I got a mile out.  My chest hurt- like the kind of pain you have with a really bad chest cold.  I turned around and headed back to the car.   It wasn’t totally unproductive though, I felt like something moved or popped and some of the neck pain eased.

 

why do my grimaces look more like smiles than my smile?

Friday- Rest

Race day is too damn close to be pushing things.  I would rather go into race day having missed a few workouts than get sick so close to race day.  Been there, done that.  Bring on the vitamin C and Airborne.    I also started a new medication for my stomach which has the side effect of drowsiness.  It’s no lie.  I was in bed by 11 that night.  For me that is freaky early.

Saturday- Rest

Sensing a pattern?  No lie, I didn’t get out of bed until 10.   I was feeling better but not great so I stuck close to home.   I rearranged some furniture and managed to knock myself loopy.     I was lying on the ground trying to move something and smacked the left side of my head into my dresser.  As I rolled away in pain, I slammed my right temple into the bed frame.    Yes, I am that talented.  At least I didn’t give myself a concussion this time. 😞

Sunday- 7 Miles

My training plan called for a 60 minute long run with 20 minutes at pace.    Smart runners follow the plan… I on the other get lost on a mountain.   Truthfully, I needed to get lost and spend some time in the dirt.  But more about that next post.  😄😄


 Overall it wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible and I am ok with that.   I was feeling really rundown and stressing about it wasn’t helping.    My mileage may not look pretty but the rest helped.    That weekend with no plans was kind of awesome too.

September Wrap up!!!

Adios September- you kicked my ass.   But let’s look at the numbers-

september15Miles Run- 69.6

Stationary bike- 36.2

Hey, I got over 100 miles if you add those!  Grr.

Races-

Central Coast Cancer Challenge 5K- 27:10
HOB Fun Run 10K-58:54
HOB Fun Run 5K-37:49

While the numbers aren’t where I want them to be, they are headed in the right direction.  Yes, that .4 missing in the running mileage bugs me but it is what is.   I would like to see that mileage number grow in the coming months.  I looked at my calendar and noticed that October and November are equally busy months and contain 3 races so I need to stay on top of things.    Hopefully laying out there will help.  😁

How was your September? Did you have a good weekend?

Is anyone else accident prone?  I should be wrapped in bubble wrap.

What are you looking forward to in October?