Tag: rest

Run!, Slacker, Training

Week 23- Vacation!

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Awww, the awesomeness of a stay-cation.  I planned this week to do nothing really.  I knew there were things I should do- like clean my car, overhaul my closet, switch out the winter running stuff for the summer, go to the dry cleaners, make an eye appointment- yadda yadda but I overall I wanted a really chill week.

After 3 half’s in 5 weeks and knowing that July will be a little crazy I figured a down week would be a good thing.    My boss is taking the majority of July off and we will be going through a system conversion.    My next scheduled race isn’t until Las Vegas- I know I will add more before then but right now I figured a chill week would be good.

I slept in.  I finished Eli Stone.  I caught up on some blog stuff.  I finally watched Beauty and the Beast– meh.  I went and saw Wonder Woman– great.  I did move some of the winter and summer stuff.   I had a doctor’s appointment.  I wasn’t completely useless.  πŸ˜›

Monday- Rest  My legs hurt in the fun way that flat course make them ache.  I actually wanted to get in a short recovery run but I spent the majority of the day messing with my new phone- I had some technological issues.    My phone dying in the starting corral before the race was the final incentive to go upgrade my phone.  I’ve only been meaning to for the last 8 months.  πŸ˜›   I moved up to the iPhone+  and I am loving it.


Tuesday- 3.1 miles Wow, this was slow.   Yeah it was 90 degrees but still.  Let’s just call it a recovery run.  My legs weren’t sore, I just couldn’t get them into gear.  Oh well.  And I discovered that my new phone does not fit in my running belt.  Oops.


Wednesday- 3.3 miles You have to run on Global Running Day, right?!   I headed out mid afternoon again but it was a good 15* cooler.  This was a better run than the day before but I may have worn the wrong shoes.  Lately whenever I wear the Brooks, I tend to feel a little broken after my runs.   My legs were pretty achy the rest of the day.

Thursday- 7.6 miles bike  My legs were still feeling pretty achy from the day before so I just decided to spend some time on the bike.   I felt like I was working up a decent sweat but according to my watch I could never get my heart rate out of the easy stage.   I can’t figure out if my heart rate monitor is working- on runs my heart rate is really high but I could not get it higher on the bike.     It was probably higher when my mother and I were sprinting to the movie theater that evening since we parked so far away.


Friday- 4 miles  Nice, easy-ish run over on the river path.   My legs were were feeling mostly better but still not quite right.  Hmm.   I am also over the crazy wind lately.  I know I’ll regret saying that when it’s 110 outside though.

Saturday- Rest  Everything I planned to do went out the window because well, ummm, I made a little purchase-


And it took up most of my day.  πŸ˜›. Seriously- emptying my trunk was ridiculous- am I packing for a Ultra I forgot?

And there’s 2 bags on the ground 😳

Sunday- Rest  I planned to run but when it came right down to it, I just didn’t.    It was my last day before going back to work and I just felt like being lazy.    So I let it happen.

10.4 miles running
7.6 mile bike

It was a half lazy week and half quasi productive week.   Not bad for a vacation/ recovery week.   Really, who can complain about a week where you get a new phone and a new car?  And now it’s back to real life.  Working and running and NO more spending money!πŸ˜›

How was your week?

 

 

 

Run!, Training

Week 15- Ouch

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races:

  • Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13
  • Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1-June 4

Ouch, ouch, ouch.  It hurts.  Cue panic.   I have a half in 2 weeks and Wine Country in 26 days.  Why?!?!

This week was tiring.  There wasn’t any real reason I can pinpoint it was just tiring.   I actually bought a few beers to help me relax a bit the last time I was at the store but to show how rarely I drink- when I went to have one I realized I didn’t have a bottle opener.   Well crap.  Who knew those multi purpose race medals would actually come in handy? πŸ˜›

After a good week of running last week I was looking forward to more of the same this week.   Ha!

Monday- Rest  I had planned on running after work but things ran a little later than I thought.  This is when the tiredness started.  I was also supposed to help my parents with their taxes so I decided there just wasn’t enough time.  I hate taxes.

Tuesday- Rest Hmmm, apparently this is the black hole day of the week.


Wednesday- 3.5 miles Where it all went to hell.  Ok, maybe that was a tad dramatic.   I headed to home town for what I thought was going to be a nice, easy 4-5 miler.  20 feet in I had a feeling it was going south.  My left knee hurt- like a sharp stabbing pain right under the knee cap.  Do I stop or is it going to work itself out if I run on? I ran on, slowly.   By mile 2ish, my knee was under control but now my left shin was throbbing.   My shin is always a hot point but never usually this bad.  What the hell! I had turned around before that point and was gimping my way back to my car.  Walking made my knee hurt but running aggravated my shin.  Both sucked.   Later that night I had shooting pains in my right leg… compensation maybe?

Thursday- Rest  My knee hurt at odd points throughout the day, I did the smart thing for once and just went home.   This was beginning to get irksome.

Friday- Rest  My knee felt 85% better but my shin was still twinge-y.  For only having hobbled my way through 3.5 miles during the week, I was stupid tired.  I took a nap on my lunch.


Saturday- 4 miles  I helped my mother move a bunch of rocks in the morning which may or may not have been the best idea.    I joked that I was just working on my squats and hip openers.    I headed out for a test run in the afternoon to see how things went.  One thing I changed was my shoes- Wednesday’s run was in the Sayonara’s and this was in the PureFlow’s.  I tried to keep things easy and walked anytime I felt any sort of twinge from my left leg.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad run at all.  If anything, my legs really wanted to run but I wouldn’t let them.


Sunday- 10 miles 2 less then my original planned long run but maybe more than I should have done.   A cool front and an incoming storm meant I could run in the afternoon again.  I helped my mother with more buckets of rocks and then got the run in before Easter dinner.   Can I count all the rock lifting as cross training this week?  I wasn’t sure how many miles I was going to get in but I figured I would give it a shot.     I ran the same route as last week and coming up on mile 4 I knew I had a choice- turn left and turn it into and 8 mile run with more hills or go straight across the bridge for a slighter flatter 10 miles.  I was feeling ok so I headed across the bridge.  Per usual, I picked up the pace running across the bridge and slowed it down after that.   The river path is super over grown right now so lately  I slow down, pause my music and keep an eye out for rattlesnakes.  πŸ˜•    Coming back across the bridge my leg was starting to talk, not pain but not happy.  Ok, 8 miles would have been a better idea.    I slowed down and just kept moving forward.  I think I can, I think I can.  10 miles done.  Where’s my foam roller?

17.5 miles for the week.   Less then I wanted but more than I thought I would get considering how I felt on Wednesday.   I will be spending lots of time with my foam roller and stretching throughout the week to come.  Maybe this will be the kick in the pants to use the roller more consistently?   As for the pains, I think the knee may be a problem with my shoes.  If so, this is the quickest I’ve ever killed a pair of shoes- the Sayonara’s only have 174 miles on them.  I think I might know what triggered the shin so I am testing a theory this week.

Oh did I mention I tried to knock myself out on a tree branch?  πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Last week had some shiny moments-  I made it to the movies to see Fate of the Furious.  Yeah it had it’s over the top moments but it was still awesome.

How was your week?

Happy Marathon Monday!!!!

Run!, Slacker

Week 47 Un-training Recap

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Training for-

…..Nope, still nothing!

Another week of taking it easy.  I don’t think I realized how run down I was feeling until I stopped moving.  Granted, part of that could also be due to me deciding to cut back on caffeine, sugar and calories.  All at the same time.  Oh and throw in some new migraine medication we’re trying and it just seemed like a good idea to take things easy.  But I wasn’t totally lazy.

Monday- 2 miles  A short but sweet night run.  Baby steps while I work my way into this night running thing.   Baby steps.  πŸ˜›πŸ˜›


Tuesday- 15 minutes yoga  I’m so awkward and inflexible!   Then the video I was using crashed partway through so I had to start another one.  Grr.

Wednesday- 4.47 miles  It’s been so long since I ran a short run from my house I forgot what distance my routes were!    I had an odd doctor’s appointment with a radiologist and a speech therapist of all things so I was able to get the whole run in before dark.   Which was sweet but damn it was cold!  We went from 80 to 50 with 20 mph wind overnight.  I was wearing so many layers.   And I wanted more.


Thursday- Rest  Migraine from hell.   This was the worst headache in weeks so I figured I would try the second new medication.   Holy crap people, I couldn’t add 2 +2.   The pill took about an 1.5 hours to ease the pain but for about 4 hours I was mired in a serious fog, I could barely function.  It was ridiculous.

Friday- Rest  That migraine usually lingers 2 days but I wasn’t taking another pill.   So instead I got a big Diet Coke and a big coffee on my way into work, lesser of 2 evils right?

Saturday- Rest  I worked in the morning and planned on running in the afternoon.    Work ran super late and I was just exhausted.   I watched a couple of cheesy Christmas movies instead.

Sunday- Rest  It rained all day.  I still have unhealed marks on my chest from the chafe of the Harvest Marathon.  After 2 races in the rain, I think I am little leery of running in the rain right now.  It may be a while before it happens again.  I realize that makes me a big baby but that’s ok.   I did a bit of shopping though and picked up a reflective vest for more running in the dark.

It passed the flash test!

6 miles is way better than last week so I’m calling it a win.  I’m realizing that I need a little more time off than I thought.   That being said, I will not be turkey trotting this week.  Boo.  But the only trot available to me is a 10K and I don’t think I have a 10K in me right now.   Plus, this will also be the first time in 4 years that I am working the week of Thanksgiving so that’s going to be odd.

How was your week?

Are you running a turkey trot?

What are your plans this week?

chill out, Run!, Slacker

Week 46 Un-Training Recap

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Training for:

<insert sound of crickets>

Nothing!   I have no scheduled races for the remainder of 2016 right now.  That is so weird!   After the last month of feeling stressed and sick, slightly injured and seriously bitchy, I knew what I was going to do post Golden Gate Half.

I was taking the week off.  I  didn’t even do that post marathon.  Mostly because I had crazy high hopes that marathon training would bring me speedy fall half marathons…which didn’t happen.    Actually I don’t think I’ve taken a solid week off all year long.  Which is odd for this Slacker.

I had plans, I really did.  I was going to get on the bike to keep the legs loose and blood moving.  I was going to try more of my yoga app.   I was thinking about busting out the kettle bell, maybe attempting a plank or 2.    What happened?

Nothing.   Not a damn thing.

Well, I gained 5 pounds but let’s not go there.

see those sad steps?!!πŸ˜‚

I slept… a lot.  Turns out I really wasn’t feeling well.   The week kind of passed in a foggy haze.   I took Monday off as a vacation day to recover from the race and had Friday off due to the holiday.  You’d think all that extra rest would have helped me feel better but no such luck.

Granted part of that fog may be due to drastically cutting back on my caffeine and sugar intake last week.    I also finally had an appointment with a neurologist last week so maybe my daily headaches will be coming to an end?  Fingers crossed?!?!?   The appointment made me laugh though- at one point I had to do the “one foot in front of the other walk” down the hallway and I fell into into the wall.  Ha!

A week off is enough though.  I’m feeling equal parts twitchy and nervous.  That first run back is always so hard.  Combine that with the fact that I know it will be on a treadmill and boo.     I also have that same old shoe conundrum again.  My Hoka’s are ok but not great.  They aggravate a weird soft spot in the bottom of my left foot.   Also, by the end of the Harvest Half, I felt like my toes were bruised and bloody.  They weren’t but they sure felt like it.   I admit that I no longer look forward to shoe shopping.  Now it just stresses me out.  Grrr.

Ever take a week off? Or more?

What did you do?

How was your week?

 

 

 

Run!, Training

Week 44 Training Recap

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Training for-

  • Paso Harvest Marathon 13.1
  • Golden Gate Half

So I started titling my weekly recaps like this back in January but took a little break during marathon training.  The weekly numbers are starting to drag on me.  I need figure out another way to do this.  Good thing it’s almost 2017!   Ouch, did I just say that?

This week saw me back on the dreadmill and it almost broke me.   I don’t know if I can do that 2 nights a week until spring.   I may have to get over my mountain lion fear.  Well, and the fear of what’s hiding in the dark when you run at night.    To that end, I bought a new pair of reflective leggings this week and I am hunting down all my blinking lights.   I think I have them stashed in odd places.  My flashlight also needs new batteries.  Who said running was a cheap sport? πŸ˜›


Monday-2.3 miles  The plan called for an easy 30 minute recovery run.  Oh man, my calves were stiff.   I walked more than I would have liked which meant I barely hit 3 miles in 30 minutes.  Ouch.   At least I was able to enjoy the view.


Tuesday- Rest I spent some time with my foam roller but probably not enough.   I can’t remember if I did anything else. πŸ˜›


Wednesday- 4 miles  Son of a treadmill.  The plan was for a 7 mile run- some warm up and cool down with mile repeats at half marathon pace.  Ha!   I hate treadmills but I was trying to be optimistic.   I couldn’t even pull off one mile at pace.  My calves were tight and would not loosen up. I paused the treadmill so many times to try and stretch them out.   At one point, I stretched so long the damn treadmill reset itself.  I finally decided that I was doing more harm than good and called it.  I was still pissed though so I cranked the incline to 7 and power walked it out.  Things finally loosened up.   So what, all my treadmill dates this winter will power walking at an incline?

Thursday- Rest  I was still feeling sore from the day before so not much happened.  I planned on jumping on the bike for a few miles but I didn’t.  Oops.

Friday- Rest


Saturday- Rest  Oops.   I was supposed to do a 20-30 minute shakeout run.  This also would have worked great with the Alzheimer’s Walk that I was supposed to participate in and yet neither happened.  I took my car in for some tire work and planned on doing the shakeout run then except they moved at lightning pace and I did not have time.    After a few errands, I headed to pick up my packet for the Harvest Half.   I was nervous.  This is the first time in 4 years that I haven’t volunteered to work it and it was the first time in 6 years that I was running it again.   I ran the 5k years ago.   This was also my first race with BibRave so I a little anxious.

They moved the expo into town this year and livened it up with a few vendor booths, some live music and a dinner in the park.   I have to give them points for effort.  There were only 2 vendors- Costco and a local gym.   The tri tip smelled amazing though.  I headed home to eat dinner and try to get a decent night’s sleep.

Sunday- Harvest Half  To be continued…but ouch.

How was your week?

Any tips on making the treadmill less miserable?