Tag: road trip

Recover

The race might have been my slowest ever but I was still a little achy post race.

Actually I had some very angry toes to deal with and they had been angry since I laced up my Wave Rider’s on race morning. It’s odd because toe pain is never an issue I had with them before. I had not worn flip flops one time since we left town. I have been having PF issues, particularly with my left heel so I wore running shoes the entire trip leading up to the race. Primarily my old Ghosts and a little bit of time in my newest trail shoes. The Ghosts are not really old, less than 100ish miles on them but no longer work for me running so I retired them into travel shoes- maybe beach shoes- so I don’t know where the pinched toes came from. I finished the race with one bloody toe and one black toenail. Boo.

The real pain came from the 17+ hour drive on Monday. For some reason we decided to go from northern Washington to middle of California in one day. Dumb. Between short tempers and crappy food and a fiery pain in my right leg- one I remember from when I commuted- I don’t know how we did it.

I think that left me the most sore and tired for the next few days. So Tuesday through Friday were pretty lazy vacation days. There may have been a nap or two.

I did get out for some miles over the weekend. Some trail miles with the pops on Saturday. Where I hiked up and ran down like a lunatic. It’s been so long since I did that. I forgot how much I missed it.

Sunday, I headed out for a short run/walk. Figured I would do whatever felt good. Last week was kind of lazy but I needed a chill week. Work is about to get crazy and I am starting a new training plan for another half, so a laid back week was good.

Actually, I wish it could have been a little longer.

Week 41/ Rock N Roll San Jose Recap

Because let’s be real, that’s the only thing that kind of happened last week.

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Rock n Roll San Jose as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I packed up on Friday and was ready to road trip on Saturday morning. Let’s do this!

I forgot how easy the drive is up to San Jose. Soon enough, I was parking at the convention center for the expo.

The expo is more a mid size expo for Rock n Roll expos but with plenty of good things. I spent money! But first, the important stuff. I checked in and picked up my bib. Then I looked for the solutions table- oh right behind me! I walked over and asked what I needed to do to drop to the 10k. They wrote my bib number down and that was it! Easy peasy.

Expo haul

Then I was off to wander around the expo. I love the first big section is the Brooks / Rock n Roll section. I always drool over all the things but never buy. Except this day. I fell for a hat and a magnet. So cute! Then I wandered and checked out the rest. I kept my wallet in my purse this time.

I was aiming to get a good race pic here

Then it was off to the hotel and dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. Yum, but maybe a little too much. I laid out my #flatrunner to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I was looking forward to running the 10K and knew that dropping down was the right choice after the past few weeks. My only goal for the race was to have fun and try to get an actual good race picture. I knew where one photographer was going to be so I figured I would try for a good one. We were being warned that it was going to be a warm morning but I was prepared.

Off to bed early, where I suddenly realized I had no safety pins for my bib! Oops! Then I tried to sleep. Key word- tried. I was just dozing off around 3 when it all changed.

The phone screamed into the night just after 3 in the morning. My dad was in the hospital and I was on the way back home in less than 30 minutes.

And that was how I DNS’ed Rock N Roll San Jose.

At the time I was writing this , I had more of hospitals than I would like but my dad is recovering. And that is what is important.

Sometimes life happens. There will be more races.

Week 36- Chaperone

To all those with kids or those who teach teenagers, I don’t know how you do it.

I felt broken after 2 days, ha!

However prior to that, I had a decent week. Well, except for the sudden bout of insomnia. How did I used to survive on so little sleep???

Also tried to change up my typical pic🤣

Monday- 3ish miles
I had not slept at all the night before. I had hoped to get my long run of the week out of the way but had zero energy. I ended up heading out for a few miles in the heat of the afternoon and it was rough. Partly due to the heat and partly due to the 2 days of no sleep.

Tuesday- MM100
Another night of no sleep. Yay. I headed home and just did a low key home workout.

Wednesday- 5 miles
Still no sleep. I thought about not running but I decided to just head out and see what happened. I wasn’t expecting much, especially when I realized I had no idea where my headphones or new sunglasses were. I just wanted to turn my brain off and tire myself out. Mission slightly accomplished.

Thursday- 4.5 miles
After a slightly better night of sleep, I briefly considered trying for my long run of 7-8 miles after work since the weekend was going to be busy. My body quickly let me know that was not happening. So instead I settled for 4.5 miles with a little push in the middle.

Don’t all high schools have massive diving platforms😮

Friday/ Saturday- California Classic Tennis Tournament
And the chaos started. Once again, I was chaperoning and driving for my mother’s tennis team. We left town around 5:30 on Friday morning and didn’t return until late Saturday. 3 matches on Friday and 2 on Saturday. I was fried and exhausted. I wasn’t even playing! At least the Expedition I was driving was better than last years Tahoe.

Sunday- Rest
I had planned for an afternoon run but everything caught up to me and I napped for 2 hours. Ha! I did feel mostly human after that though.

12.5 miles for the week. Considering I was running on fumes all week, I have no complaints.

How was your week?

Rambling On – 59

Happy Friday!!

I love Fridays but this one is a doozy. As this goes live, I will be driving hours away with a car full of teenage girls. Send help. And caffeine. Please.

I’ve dealing with a bout of insomnia this week. It’s been a bit rough. It used to be the norm for me actually but the past few years have been better. And my migraine meds put me right to sleep at night now. Just not this week. I can’t brain anymore.

According to the news, this has been the coolest summer in years. Yeah, what? I know I am gettign older but I’m sorry 106 is not handable anymore. And yes, I realize this is coming from the person who said 3 miles in 100* last week wasn’t bad. Where is fall?

Then again, I want the fall temps and not the early darkness. So picky!

I need something new to watch. I finished Teen Wolf and now I feel lost. I’ve too many Hallmark movies and Ridiculousness lately. Any suggestions?

I may have taken advantage of some of the Labor Day deals on running gear. Or maybe they took advantage of me? But new gear is fun, right?

What are you up to this weekend?

Week 22- That Stings

20.6 miles for the week. If you looks strictly at the number of miles run vs the plan- I nailed it . The details reveal a much different story.

Last week so up and down. Actually more down. I dealt with a possible leg issue, my sleep doesn’t seem to be getting any better, splinters in butt and then an ant attack. Oh and asthma issues. I’ve joke I should be called Calamity Runner instead of Slacker and last week it really fit.

Planned vs Actual

Monday- 1.5 miles / 1.5 miles
Easy running on Monday. It felt odd doing so few miles on a day off work but I was keen on sticking to the plan. The odd part was the twinge in my left ankle that started about 40 minutes after my run.

Artsy or moody?🤔

Tuesday- 1 up/down, 3.5 mile tempo/ 3.5 blow up
I headed back to the lake path figuring the flat, friendly, sandy trail would help me focus on my pace. Big dreams. I couldn’t have been more wrong. My left foot and ankle were pissed. I couldn’t get my breathing under control and I was nowhere near hitting my paces.

I had 2 failed tempo miles before I called it and walked it in. Then to add insult to injury I sat on a wooden bench to at least enjoy the sunshine and wound up with splinters in my butt. 😂

Wednesday- 1.5 miles/ 2.2 miles
I kept it super easy and honestly probably walked half of it. My ankle was angry but not as pissed as the day before. I was still very nervous about any running especially since I had a race only a few days away.

Thursday- 4 miles/ Zero
I decided rest was best and resigned myself to the red dot in Final Surge. I was supposed to go to a networking event after work but this was when the ant attack happened. I went to get gas as my car was on empty. As I was filling the tank, I decided to wash my windshield. Partway through I felt stings on my right foot. Look down to my right foot, ankle and shoe are covered in ants. I scream and kick the shoe across the gas station lot, I throw the squeegee too. Then I am hopping around on one foot trying to brush the ants off while the stinging turns to pain and of course my dress decides now is time to do a Marilyn Monroe impression. I flash all the workers in the auto bay. I finally got them all off, jumped in the car and drove straight home. I jumped directly into the shower but my foot was bright red with bites and swelled. Yay. I’ll spare you the pic I took- my toes are ugly. 😒

Friday- 1.5 miles/ more rest
Rest, rinse, repeat. Except today I felt like things were crawling on me. 🐜

Like my makeshift arm warmers?

Saturday-7 miles/ Road trip!
I knew my long run would be Rock N Roll San Diego this week which meant long run on Sunday and not Saturday. It was also a very long drive down. But I made it to the expo around 3:30. Picked up my stuff, did a little shopping- I forgot my water flask and Gatorade Endurance at home. Doh! I tried to turn in early to get as much sleep as I could. Haha!

Sunday- Rock n Roll San Diego
Race recap up soon.

How was your week?