progression – Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races:

Livermore 13.1 -March 26!!
Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13
Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1 June 4

So yeah, last week was odd. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good week. I got a lot done at work, more things were completed in preparation for the merger- those all turned into funny situations too. I got in a good run and a creepy run. My stomach was a total asshat at the beginning of the week and I was abnormally tired but I was in a super good mood most of the week. Maybe I should have realized that was a sign of things to come but I’ve never been too good at actually listening to my body. I mean for crying out loud Friday’s post went up unfinished! Sorry about that by the way. 😞

Monday- 4.25 miles– I love daylight savings. I headed to home town after work and was able to run this entire run in full sunlight. I took it really slow in the beginning as this was my first run in the new PureFlow’s. From there I ended up running a nice (for these days) progressive 4 miles- 13:22, 11:04, 10:37, 9:06. I say these days because that same day Timehop also reminded me that 3 years previously I set my unofficial 5K PB of 26:35. Which is a far cry from the 11:00 ave pace of this run.

Tuesday- Rest/ Detox Yoga– I got so damn tired on the drive home from work that I stopped at Target and wandered around it a bit in order to wake up. My stomach had been horrible since Sunday so once home I tried some yoga to help ease some of the pressure.

Wednesday- Rest- Stretching/Foam Rolling– My stomach was still being a total butt face and work went a little late so I just decided a low key night was in order.

Thursday- 3.5 miles- Creeper alert! I headed to the lake path after work and was hoping for 5 miles. There were more people out taking advantage of the extra daylight. My legs were a little sore. I’d worn flats a couple days this week plus breaking in the PureFlow’s with 4mm drop made for some sore calves. Not enough to deter my run though. What did was the creeper in the gold Thunderbird who slowed while driving past me then parked blocking my path. Cars park on the path all the time so I wasn’t totally weird-ed out yet, only halfway there. When I ran around the car, which reeked of pot and engine grease, as I cleared it- it revved the engine. It then peeled out, spinning dirt everywhere, slowed while passing me again before squealing it’s tires again as it turned up a street. All right, peace out, I’m done. It might have had nothing to do with me but I wasn’t taking that chance. I managed to find a group of Eagle scouts out for a stroll and put myself in front of them. I tried to stay near their group while I got back to my car but I also didn’t want to turn into the creeper.

Friday- Rest- I worked open to close and towards the end of the day I was getting slap happy. I was having troubles putting words together properly. Which should have been a sign. Some people get cranky when they are getting sick, I get slap happy. Yet it still didn’t dawn on me until that night when my throat really started hurting, my nose stopped working and pressure built between my ears. Oh crap.

Saturday/ Sunday- Sick My alarm went off for my long run on Saturday morning but I could barely move. Seriously, my face hurt where the ends of my hair touched it. My whole body ached there was no way I was running 10-11 miles. I shut it off and thought maybe I could run in the afternoon, ha! I barely moved all day. I may have watched more than a few episodes of The Iron Fist on Netflix. Sunday rolled around and while I hurt a little less I was nowhere near running shape. Boo.

So yeah, 7.75 miles for the week. I am trying not to freak out while I type that. I have Livermore Half in just 7 days and I really wanted another double digit run before race day. Plus that weekly mileage looks sad. This was not the week I had been planning. I’d actually planned on moving back to running 4x a week but instead I ran just twice. Grrr.

And now I still can’t breathe and my eyes are crossing as I finish this recap. So with that I will sign off.

Tell me about your week?

Do anything fun this weekend?

I had planned to get my long run in on Saturday morning before heading out to do a little shopping for the day. My alarm went of at 6:35, my head hurt and it was still dark. My phone said that sunrise was at 7:07 so I rolled over hoping the headache would go away. A second alarm went off at 7:08 and my head was just pounding. Bloody hormones and that’s all I’m going say about that; so I chose to sleep more.

I made myself face the day a little before 9. I got ready and headed out for some retail therapy. The plan was for window shopping, I didn’t really need anything. It’s just fun to hit SLO and enjoy the weather and the shopping and the food. The weather was great and the food was yummy as usual. Shopping was actually very budget friendly. 🙂 I couldn’t even find anything to buy at Dick’s, it was sad!!! I did buy Kimi a new blanket, and what does she do? She sleeps in the bag instead!

Shopping ran later than planned, so I didn’t get out the door running until 4:30 so the long run was not an option. Want to know a good way to run a Tempo run? Try to beat the setting sun. Great motivation. My legs felt a little tired but it was a good run. Thanks to my persistent cough, I still had to take a few walk breaks. However, it actually turned into a progression run instead of a tempo. For once each mile was faster than the one before it. Sweet! I made it back to my driveway just as the sun was dropping behind the hill. It may not have been what was planned but a solid 4 miles to end the day.

This morning I was planning on running yesterday’s 10 miler. I had mapped out a route last night- from my driveway with lots of loops, finishing by running crosstown to the high school. I was aiming to only have to do 1.5-2 miles on the track. After that the plan was to meet up with my mom who was working on the tennis courts and she would give me a ride back. Since I have been rather tired this week, still kicking that stupid sickness from last week, I figured I would aim for an 11:00 minute pace. Get the distance in but take it easy.

I had a slightly later start than planned and then when I was trying to get out the door, I found out that my mom was heading to the courts sooner than planned. Wait, she’s my ride home!!! The first three miles of my run I was recalculating in my head. Do I keep my route the same and just hope it takes her that long or do I throw in more loops and head back home. That was when I noticed my time, mile 3 had me under 31 minutes. Well, that was faster than I was aiming for. So plan B, could I maintain that pace for all 10 miles? I am faster in races but never before held that in a long training run. It would only save me 10 minutes but that just might be enough.

Why do I live is such a hilly neighborhood? Why did I plan my route by running one of the hills 3 times? Granted it wasn’t the worst but still, I must be crazy. I slowed down in mile 6 because while trying to get my long sleeved top layer off, I skillfully tangled myself in it. 🙂 Just call me Graceful. After finishing all 3 loops, it was down to the bridge and across town. I hate running across the bridge, it’s a little too on display for me. Luckily its not huge. After the bridge, there’s a few shopping centers and traffic lights before the last small hill and then the high school. With the traffic lights, I was able to test out the auto pause feature on the Garmin. Pretty cool but I felt like it was a little slow on the restart. I made it to the track at 8.5 miles and finished out the 1.5. And I was done, whew! And thankfully, my mother had waited for me.

I have no idea what happened in mile 4, barely even remember it

After lunch and grocery shopping, I joined my mother in walking the puppy. It was supposed to be short, like a mile, so I was rocking my new Wave Rider’s and skinny jeans. Bad idea. It turned into 2.5 miles and the puppy decided that she wanted to move fast today; she was dragging us. Seriously, where was this dog last week? I do not recommend jogging in skinny jeans without a proper sports bra, just don’t do it. The shoes felt great though. 🙂 The evening was finished off by the whole family going to The Olive Garden for dinner, yummy.

Training wise, I didn’t do too bad this week. 29 miles out of a scheduled 34. 5 days running. I still can’t do 6. And some of the planned runs I am unable to fit in my schedule, so I am adapting it a bit. Next week only has 5 scheduled days with my long run on Saturday, That will have to be a 2-a-day, as my first race of 2014 is that morning!! It’s a 5K that I am looking forward to.

Plus I hope to have some exciting news to share soon!!! I am waiting on one last email to confirm, I always like to be doubly sure before sharing something important. I am so excited!!!

How was everyone’s weekend?

What’s the most awkward clothing you’ve ever run in?