It’s the last Friday of the year. Hell, it’s the last Friday of the decade!!
Well, depends on who you ask. Anyways, my point is, how????? I am both in denial about it being the end of 2019 but ready for 2020. Makes no sense.
I think I may have reached my quota of Christmas movies this year. I think I watched a record too many. Even though I did squeeze in my last favorite one on Christmas Eve.
It poured here on Christmas Day… yay!!! I gave up long ago on a white Christmas so now I just hope for cloudy and cold. Not Sunny.
I tell myself every year that my December miles will improve. Then I barely run 20 miles. I don’t know if it’s the cold or the dark or the fact that I’m usually sick but my mileage in December is just sad. It’s not like I have a race anytime soon…. oh, yeah, 2 weeks.
Oh and have you seen the Flannel collection from Brooks??? Needs. Ok, want. Serious want.
I mean they would look great with my new pizza socks, right?
Another reason I was so paranoid about running last weekend is because I had big plans for the week ahead.
I was going to Disneyland!
It’s kind of becoming and annual tradition for my mother and I. Unfortunately, part of that tradition includes me being sick… every single time. So when I felt a sore throat coming on, I hibernated in hopes of kicking it to the curb. Not so much but I was able to get through 2 days of Disneyland and California adventure and 2 mall stops. Whew.
Disneyland was awesome, we hit all of our favorite rides. Made it into Star Wars land which looked amazing but the ride was kind of a snooze. I had higher hopes.
California Adventure was awesome- it was the first time I had been there. Riding the River Ride at 9:30 in the morning might not have been a good idea but oh well. I managed to ride the Incredicoaster without running away screaming. However, I literally screamed my way through the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Like the entire time. A nice woman next to me warned me that I needed to stow my purse much better before we started and then laughed while I screamed. Holy crap, that thing needs a better warning.
If characters are your thing, this trip was so much better than the last too. Last year, we saw no characters but this year- Chip and Dale, Stormtroopers, Rey, Woody, Jessie, Groot, Captain America, Lightnig McQueen and Mater. I feel like I am forgetting someone too. Oh- Chewie!
Then I made it home in time on Thursday for a later showing of Star Wars with my brother- another kind of tradition.
Friday rolled around and I told myself to go run but this introvert was tired. I kind of just hibernated again and recharged.
I did make it out for some miles on Saturday and crossed 5K off my list. I overdressed since I still wasn’t feeling great and alterated between being to warm and freezing. Probably not a good sign,
Sunday brought the pouring rain and an intensified cough. So instead of risking making things worse and running in the rain, I kept my workout indoors. I did 10 miles on the stationary bike and a few minutes with the kettlebell. It is sad how 6 minutes with a kettlebell exhausted me.
Is it sadder that I want to count all the days of walking around Disneyland as training for Napa? Oh, and I still need to tell you about Napa. Oops.
Ok, somewhere along the lines I messed up the weeks. Oops. Not gonna worry about it now.🤪
I started last week with some lingering pain in my right foot from the trail race. Also some super tight calves but those didn’t worry me. The foot pain on the other hand…
I ended up resting Monday through Wednesday. I couldn’t even make it through a day of work without switching to my stretchiest work appropriate flats.
Thursday dawned and I went for a few test miles in the evening. As night runs go, it was fairly speedy. There was a fair amount of walking interspersed- the trees on half the path decided to dump ALL their leaves and after almost eating it twice, I walked every time there was a pile on the sidewalk.😂
Friday dawned with a super sore throat. Of course, I just get back running AND am about to go on my first full week vacation in over a year and I wake up sick.
The weekend saw me hiding from a cold snap and hibernating. People, I was sick for the better part of 3 months starting in December of 18’ and I’m not going back!!!
So, a whopping 3 miles for the week. I suck at running in December.🤷♀️
While my fueling game is stronger than it ever was (Thanks Gatorade Endurance), my actual endurance is up for debate.
I had big plans for getting back on track post October chaos, but I swear the universe laughed and said hold my beer. November was more of the same plus some extra crazy which saw me changing my running MO. Actually still a work in progress, my week day running has been completely derailed. The farthest I’ve run in 2 months is 10k. And it wasn’t a walk in the park.
We finally said goodbye to lingering summer warmth and rain came for the first time since April. And hasn’t stopped. Don’t get me wrong, we need the rain as we are in a constant state of drought, but too much too fast brings along a new set of chaos.
Saturday is currently showing an 80% chance of rain.
25K is 15ish miles. 2ish giant climbs. The first one the hardest and the shale rock is tough on a good day… what will it be when wet?
That’s more than double the longest I’ve run in months. In less than optimal circumstances.
There is a 13K I could drop to but my pride stings at that. I set a half cocked goal for a 50K this year and if I dropped I wouldn’t even be completing half of that goal. But would pushing myself to finish the 25K just hurt my odds of training for a 50K in the first half of 2020? And training healthy at that??? The greatest fuel (did I mention I love it?) in the world won’t help me if I hurt myself.
So, decision time. Smart or stupid? How may Blackberry gels should I pack?
For more on Gatorade Endurance go HERE and learn on to Fuel Your Journey.
I still haven’t figured out the weekly running thing. I didn’t realize how much one change in another area of life was going to affect my weekday running.
I did get on the bike on Tuesday but I only managed 4.2ish miles before I was running to the bathroom. I blamed it on my GI condition being an asshat but turns out it could have been food poisoning. I pick up lunch for my coworkers once a month and Tuesday we chose Panda. And on that Tuesday, half of us got sick. We’re on Panda strike now.
Oh and for extra fun, my dog treed a possum on Wednesday evening. In the cold and pouring rain. Picture me in my pajamas in the rain trying to catch a crazed dog and attempt to keep the possum up the tree. Sorry neighbors.
Thursday brought Thanksgiving and rain. No complaints by me, I gave up on snowy holidays long ago and just ask for clouds and rain now. Success! Except I was volunteering at a new local Turkey Trot and it was so cold! However that did not effect the turnout- it was a smash! It was also a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter so double win! Oh and the cutest Turkey Trot-er ever!
Then it was family time. With both parents having fun hospital trips in the last couple months, no one was feeling the effort of cooking a turkey dinner. And let’s be real, any attempts on my part would have ended up with my mother cooking it. So we flopped with the usual Christmas dinner and had Beef Stroganoff. Which meant I needed the stretchy pants. I don’t like turkey so I usually eat very little with traditional Thanksgiving fare.
Saturday brought some damn cold rain. I layered up to run outside but changed my mind when I took the dog out on a leash to go to the bathroom. I de-layered and headed to the gym instead. That one I pay for monthly but never use. It wasn’t horrible and I finished 4ish slow miles. Anyone else run 1-2 minutes slower on the treadmill?
Sunday was still raining but about 10-15 degrees warmer. I was probably overdressed for my 5 mile run but whatever. Parts of this run felt pretty good and part was a struggle thanks to the moisture in the air. Oh well.
9ish miles for the week. Not marvelous but better than last week!
Slacker Runner 