Sleep has not been my friend these past few days. After Wednesday’s rest day, I had planned to do 4 miles in between work and class on Thursday. I was still exhausted when I woke that morning. We have also had 2 people out sick during the week and numerous sick customers. Not cool. Half way through the day I had a sore throat and a headache. No!
I didn’t feel sick but I didn’t feel well either. I thought long and hard on whether I should run or not. I am so afraid of getting sick right now. I have just over 7 days until City to the Sea. I ran my second half marathon 2 weeks after having the stomach flu. That was hell. I cried at mile 10. I don’t mean little sniffles; I mean balled my eyes out. I was so done. 😦 I am not doing that again, so I chose to rest and not run. My running bag and shoes were on the floor of my passenger seat. I felt like they were judging me on my drive to school. 😦
Friday was more of the same, with an added bonus of waking up at 4AM with a gnarly Charlie horse. Ouch! On top of that work was crazy busy. I spent the day popping Vitamin C and trying to firmly believe in mind over matter. All this led to another rest day. But I had done 3 off in a row before, I would be ok right?
Apparently I can’t count. Checked my nike app this morning and it showed zero miles for October. That hurt. Then I noticed the date, October 5. Wait, what? But I had only had 3 rest days. Then it dawned on me that volleyball on Tuesday may have not been a rest day but it didn’t add any miles either. I hadn’t run in 4 days. Well crap.
What the hell happened?
My head still ached but I had to get in a few miles. After getting my errands done, laundry done, car cleaned and helping my parents schlep some concrete, I was going to rest for a bit and then head to the gym for some very easy treadmill miles. Yeah, that rest turned into me falling asleep on the floor. Oops. When I woke up I had lost my enthusiasm for the gym. But I changed my clothes, put on my running shoes and headed out the door.
I didn’t go to the gym but instead just ran / walked around my neighborhood. Downside to that is there are a lot of hills. Those were some hard four miles. I was tired and sluggish and just wanted to be done.
Walking counts as moving forward right?
But they were run. I actually felt ok after the run. My headache had briefly gone away. It eventually came back but here’s hoping some sleep and a nice relaxing Sunday helps it go away. Maybe with some more easy miles thrown in.
Monday’s run was short. And Slow and short. I had originally hoped to run an easy 3 around the lake. I knew that I would be tired after Sunday’s race craziness so I was aiming low. You know that feeling your legs get when you first start running after a long run? That stiff, heavy feeling? Not painful but enough to make your stride feel off. Yep, it went like that. I made it for 2 laps before calling it. 2.3 is better than none, even if I was crawling. This run was just supposed to get me moving again. I ran the 2 loops, stretched out and headed home. I was tired and my comfy chair was calling.
I missed volleyball practice last week and I thought it was determined that we were taking a season off. I was ok with that because things are busy right now and an extra night sounded like a good idea. Friday rolled around and suddenly we were in league again. Uh, what, why? I didn’t want to be the kill joy so I sucked it up and last night we had our first games.
There are only 4 teams this season and I figured the games would be fun and relaxed. Yeah, not so much. Last night felt more like a grudge match. I am the type of player who goes after the ball no matter what. Not the best mentality two weeks before a half marathon. I bounced off the floor a few times, collided with a few other players, and even slid under the net once. M and I always go for the same ball and usually collide, we’re both ball hogs. 🙂 At one point, I landed hard on my knee, so much for knee pads. 😦 It was rough but it was fun!
To top it off, my former volleyball shoes were trashed and not wearable. I hadn’t had the chance to buy new ones so I wore an old pair of tennis shoes from years ago. Not a good idea. I was sliding across the floor so much I felt like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. I may as well been wearing socks. On the upside, I may have figured out a super lazy Halloween costume.
We didn’t win, but played hard. Way harder than I had planned. I was so tired this morning and my whole body felt bruised. Ugh. Then, work came around and 2 people are out sick. I sanitized everything as best as I could, but who knows. I cannot get sick right now!!! Work was so crazy, I was glad I had planned on today being a Slacker day.
After finally getting home, and calling in the big guns (aka my dad), I finally got the damn headboard I bought 3 weeks ago on the bed. I may be in my 30’s but my dad will always be a rockstar. It took 3 weeks, numerous trips to Lowes and multiple bed stores followed by some very colorful cursing tonight but here it is!!
Took long enough!
Now, on a confusing note. Everyone’s been posting about domain names, I purchased my domain name back before I started the blog but never linked the two together. Now that I want to, I can’t quite figure it out. So, help, please! Is it better to stay on WordPress and just link it (map) it back to the domain or is better to do everything through the hosting service that controls your domain name? Any thoughts?
Hope everyone is having a good week so far!! Now, I need sleep.
Race day!!!! However, I was so comfy this morning; I had a very hard time getting out of bed. I pushed it as far as possible before getting up and ready to go. I ended up choosing to go with my new capris and a green running tank. I have a problem eating food before a race but I got one Belvita cracker down, grabbed my Gatorade and candy corns and was out the door.
As I wandered down to the starting line, it was so cold. My arms and toes were so cold but I had nowhere to stow a jacket, so I made sure to stand on the sunny side of street. Waiting to line for the starting gun, I always have a sudden moment of panic. A dizzying array of thoughts that all lead back to “oh my god, why am I doing this, I’m gonna fall on my face”. There was a little delay with the starting gun, had to wait for the police escort to get back! Another thing I like about this race- a motorcycle cop leads the way for both the 10K and the 5K. He arrived and we were off!
I normally start out too fast and slow from there. This time I wanted to maintain pace as best as I could. I had a goal in mind but wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, but I was going to try. So I focused on my breathing, picked someone in front of me to pace-stalk and kept going.
Mile 2 I was feeling good, hit the turn-around at 2.2 miles and headed back to complete the first loop. Here I discovered a new running fear. I have always been afraid of being the last to finish a race and yes I know that last is better than never started. However at 2.5 miles, the leaders with the lovely pace officer were heading towards their mile 5. Umm, what? Was I going to get lapped before I had even completed the first lap? Yikes!
Sprinting to the finish!!! 10K
It didn’t happen, whew. I rounded the corner to finish lap 1 and the Grizzly Academy in uniform was standing in a line over half the block, cheering runners on. Good pick me up! Now, here’s a question, does a 5k PR count if it’s during a 10k? When I ran passed the clock, it said 27:44… hell yeah! But now I had to maintain it, and I really wanted to take a walking break. No! This was partially practice for my upcoming half, so I pushed on. By mile 4.5, the person I was pace-stalking graduated from a 1 block lead to a 2 block lead. I was actually maintaining pace, so they must have been one of those people talented enough to pull negative splits. Finally mile 6 and the finish line was just around the corner. Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running and done! 55:57. Only by 3 seconds but still 55 minutes!!!! Part of me wanted to do a little jig but I was tired! And I had another race in 15 minutes.
Steady!
Met up with my mom (photographer) and C and her husband at the finish line. I was running the 5K with them. Took some photos and had a quick shirt/ bib/ chip change. I also refueled with some Gatorade and a few candy corns. Yummy, carbs and sugar. Ok, time to line up again. I told C and her husband that I would probably tire quickly and drop back. The gun rang out and we were off!
Wardrobe change!
I was able to stay strong with them for the first 1.5 miles. Plus it was kind of nice having someone to talk to while running. The halfway point was a little rough, but I hung in there and we kept running. Around 2.2 again, I really wanted to walk but forced myself to pick it up a bit. Yeah that lasted for like a block. Just before the 3 mile mark, C’s husband starts telling us to pick it up; we could do it, just run! Seriously dude? But we did, rounded that last corner and finished at 30:22. C and I managed to finish at the exact same time, he finished a few seconds ahead. I’ll take it!!! Way better than I was aiming for. I told him thanks because without his prodding, I so would have walked at least part of that.
We didn’t plan to match,we’re just good like that, hehe
Then I realized, I had just run a 10K and a 5k without any walking! Where did that come from! We took some more pictures and waited for everyone we knew to cross the finish line. I also ran over to the race truck to check the official finishing times, have to see it to believe it you know.
Then C and I lined back up. We were running the half mile with a co-workers son. Yep, another race. I think I lost my mind. He was so cute and so excited, though, I was hoping he would go slow. Starting gun sounds and he was off like a bullet. Woah, C and I had to bolt to catch him. He held strong till about the 3rd block, and then he needed a walk. Oh, thank you. So we walked half a block and then ran the other half. Rounded the corner and he slowed. It was piggy back time! C carried him for a block, then he ran/ walked another 2. 2 blocks from the end, we rounded a corner at the park and there was a park bench. Perfect time to take a seat! We got him moving with another piggyback ride before he ran the final block and collected his super cool dog tag. All in all a success! And fun, too.
I was so done then, but M showed with Baby G. I stuck around a little longer.
Cutest running partner ever!
Eventually it occurred to me that I really needed food and a chair, so I headed out. I met my mom for lunch and re- fueled with some amazing pizza! Later in the afternoon, I indulged in some racing of another kind. We went to the movies and saw Rush. It was seriously good. Very loud and very intense, but very good. Don’t hold the popcorn in your lap; you may tip it when you cringe! Not my usual cup of tea but I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
Amazing goodness
Tomorrow should be an easy 3, but we will see how it goes.
Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! Any one run a race or see any good movies?
Monday morning rolled around, and I greeted the day with a sore throat. Umm no, I do not have time for that. I have a race in 5 days!
By mid-afternoon Monday, I was feeling better, having a case of the Mondays but better. Leaving work I headed to the lake to get in a few laps. I was aiming for 3.5 miles. I also had another odder goal in mind.
The lake path, dry now 😦 Where’s the rain?!
I set out to run uncomfortable. Races rarely ever go exactly according to plan, so why not run with random issues on purpose? So I had packed my shortest shorts and a t-shirt to run in. Shorts that ride up drive me bonkers, I spend more time fixing them then running. I also dislike running in sleeves as they irritate my arms. Apparently I have sensitive arms because running used to make them bleed. So now I am very particular about the tank tops I wear. Plus after 13 miles, what started out comfortable can often turn ugly.
I have to admit that the t-shirt served a secondary purpose as well. I was already wearing tiny shorts, a looser shirt made me feel less exposed. Oh, the things we tell ourselves.
Anyways, I set out in uncomfortable clothes with no water for 3.5 miles. My goal was to maintain pace even while dealing with wardrobe mishaps and a warmer day than planned. Was it comfortable? No. There is a very valid reason I don’t run in those shorts. I felt the urge to yank them down every 3 feet. As an added distraction, it turned out that the material was a little slippery and my belt slid around more than usual. The t-shirt actually didn’t suck. All in all though, mission accomplished. Granted, the 10K on Sunday is 2x as long and a lot go wrong in 13 miles. But I feel slightly more prepared for it.
Awkward but done!!
Tuesday was supposed to be the start of a new volleyball season. I packed my clothes the night before and dug out the Nerd socks. Woke up this morning with the same sore throat, WTF? The pain eased up and went away by midday. However, then my lunch decided not to like me. With a race in 5 days, I chose to bypass volleyball practice. 😦
Tomorrow brings work and work school and then back to work for the monthly meeting. The only miles I will be putting in will be driving. However, maybe that is a good thing with mysterious sore throat. So, as of now, I have not planned my next run. Again, 😦
Coming up, though, my favorite race!!!!! The HOB Fun Run. This will be the 7th year that I have participated in this race in some form or another. The first 3 years I volunteered at a water table, wondering why anyone in their right mind would be running down the street on a cold Sunday morning. After 3 years watching, I ran it the 4th year; it was my very first race. I was wearing the shoes my friend C had helped me get for my birthday that year. She was training for the Nike Women’s marathon that year, so she did not run it. I had other friends run it and they all finished ahead of me, but I finished! Last year during the 5K was the first time I broke 30 minutes. This will be my 4th time running it and my first time running the 10K. I am so excited!!!!! This will also be my second year working the packet pick up the day before.
So rest is on the menu to prepare for an awesome weekend ahead! So I am typing this from my very comfy chair!!
Happy almost Wednesday!!!! Almost halfway to Friday 🙂 Hope everyone is having a good week so far!
Today is shaping up to be a busy one. It started with a dentist appointment this morning. I am not a fan of dentists; I think I would rather go barefoot across some Legos, first. I went to the appointment with no pain, and now my jaw hurts. 😦 And that chair just aggravated my neck.
Still left for the day, I have work, then a chamber mixer, and finally followed by school. If I am lucky I will be home by 10:30. So no run planned for today. Tomorrow’s not looking so good either as it is always a long day at work. Plus, I work this Saturday for a partial day. Well, crap.
So last night, I gave into my mother (aka new gym junkie) and we went back to the gym. I was still feeling discouraged so I had a goal of 4 miles, however long it took me. After a quick warm up, I upped the pace of the treadmill and started running. I figured since it was the treadmill, I would try a quicker pace just to see if I could hold it for any decent amount of time. After all it’s easy to slow down on a treadmill. I finished 4.11 miles in 40 minutes which is closer to where I need to be come race day but it was a very erratic 4 miles. It also included 3 walking breaks. After that 4, I walked another 1 waiting for Mom to finish her workout. I didn’t feel like using any of the other equipment. We then went for frozen yogurt, orange-vanilla, so yummy! 🙂
So while it was better than it has been, I don’t think I can maintain it. Plus it was on a treadmill not a road, so that makes it harder to duplicate. Now, my upcoming 10K is flat, but my half marathon is not. I would like to get in some miles at the track this weekend before next weeks race.
In other news, I updated my phone to iOs 7, very odd. Not sure about it yet.
Slacker Runner 