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.🤷♀️
How many times can I say the pendulum is swinging up before it hits me in the face?
2019 Race Schedule (so far):
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
6/2 RnR San Diego (more to come)
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)
See that race schedule up there? Yeah last week included 2 races that weren’t listed- a trail race on Saturday and a local half on Sunday. Neither of those happened.
However, it wasn’t a wasted week entirely. I wasn’t entirely a sloth- I was able to get in a few miles. I continued to take my antibiotics- well mostly- seriously, I need a keeper.
Work has been a little on the crazy side, and it’s making me feel a little off. I really needed to run but I also wanted to make sure I had a couples days of antibiotics in me first. I also had an overdue dermatologist appointment. Once again I day why bother with the gowns? Make paper versions of shorts and bra tops or something. Show up in your bathing suit- either of those would be better than the gowns. And this years biopsy is going to be on my arm. Yay.
Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday I thought about running but knew it was probably stupid. I was still stubbornly holding onto the possibility of running the 10K on Sunday instead of the half.
Thursday- 3.1 miles I headed out for a run attempt after my doctor’s appointment. I set my watch for 1 minute run / 1 minute walk intervals and straight up walked the first 12 minutes. It wasn’t as rough as I had feared but it was not a walk in the park. How did I finish 13 just 10 days ago???? Note I did not say run. 😂
Saturday- 5 miles Seriously is my voice ever going to come back and my ears unplug??? I waited until the warmest part of the afternoon and attempted my “long” run of the week. I kept tot the same intervals as Thursday. My pace wasn’t horrible considering but it was tough. What didn’t help was the heel pain I had on my right foot. I wore a stupid pair of flip flops earlier in the day since I left my main ones at work and they jacked up my foot.
Sunday- 3.25 miles Trails! I missed you! Let’s never be apart for so long again.
My heel was still sore so I headed for 3 Bridges for some nice hiking miles. Except of course, I had to run chaotically downhill for at least part of it. Reckless abandonment-that’s my trail running motto. I did scream like a banshee when a wood mouse decided to try to run under my feet and then race me along the path. I was more concerned with stepping on it than I was scared but I react loudly. Ha! Now picture that and include the fact that my mother was out there with me except about 1/4 mile back. She heard the scream. Sorry mom!
11.4 ish miles for the week. Could be worse. Hopefully this week will continue to improve.
After returning to Oakland, even though I felt like crap, I figured would only need a couple days with no running and I would kick it. Not so much. I barely made it through Monday at work and ended up going home early. Tuesday I actually called in sick and spent all day either in bed or my chair.
Had to get sick to get her to hang out with me😂
Wednesday I should have stayed in bed. I went to work partly because I am stupid and partly because I had an interview in the afternoon. And adding to the chaos of the week, someone backed into my car outside work. I have parked in the almost the same spot for the last 6 years with no issues. Until Wednesday. We couldn’t open the driver’s side door in the beginning. Well crap, how do I get to my interview?? Luckily, my boss was able to force it open. Yay.
Thursday I still felt like crap and had the bonus of a swollen left eye but made it almost through the entire day of work. I had to leave early as the body shop was able to fit me in for an insurance appraisal. Now I wait for the insurance companies.
I managed to make it through a whole day of work, this time with a swollen right eye. Yay, the weekend was here except I was working Saturday. When I originally volunteered to work the shift, I had no idea I was going to wind up with the plague.
By Sunday, I felt a pain in my throat that reminded me of strep throat. I took my lazy butt to Urgent Care. No strep but acute bacterial pharyngitis. Which I think is fancy terms for a bad sore throat. But it got me antibiotics. Now, we wait to see what this bill will run as my fancy insurance has no in-network providers for urgent care.
So yeah, that was a crap week. 0 miles run and let’s be real here, I barely moved more than was required last week. Fingers crossed these antibiotics do their job and I stop feeling like a creature soon-ish. Oh and I missed one of my favorite local races this past Sunday. Verdict is out on whether or not I’ll be able to run the other one coming up this weekend.
Disclaimer: I received an entry to Oakland Running Festival 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!
Race morning dawned all to soon even with the late start. I had not slept well the night before- too much coughing and a noisy neighbor. As I was getting ready I heard something from outside the window. Hi marathon runners!!!
Due to some shuttle confusion, I wanted to be at the supposed spot a little before 8. That way I had plenty of time for plan b if the hotel was right and there were no shuttles this year. I had to go back up to my room twice- forgot my headphones then my sunglasses when I picked up the headphones. I rounded the side of the hotel and hallelujah, there was a shuttle sign. After a very breezy wait, we all loaded on to the shuttles and were on our way.
I arrived way sooner than I usually like but at least I was there. I ran into BibRave Pro Nicole and we chatted for a bit. Yet we forgot to get a picture. I ate half a granola bar and drank water which is weird as I usually race fasted but with a start time of 9:30 I was a little confused. I hit the port a potties then made my way to the start. I lined up around the 2:20 group even though I knew that was highly unlikely. And we were off.
I enjoyed all the street art
Miles 1,2 – 10:30, 11:17 Ok, just a little speedy out of the gate. I knew I wasn’t up to 10’s- I was in denial but I wasn’t that stupid. The course wound down past Lake Merritt and I enjoyed the view to my right. Then we headed in downtown and as much I was enjoying the tall buildings and street art, I realized I had a growing issue.
It’s me!
Miles 3-6- 10:59, 11:30, 10:42, 11:13 My damn feet went numb around 2.5 miles in and no walk breaks or stomping were bringing them back. So much for it being the shoes. I took walk breaks every 1:30 because I was having trouble gaging the stress on my legs. As you can see my pace never really slowed so even with all the walk breaks, I was running too fast but couldn’t feel it. I was still enjoying the city sights and not feeling any pain so I just kept moving.
Miles 7-8 12:02, 12:44 Feeling came back to my feet but I was beginning to feel super tired and my coughing was increasing. Now my walk breaks were even slower. I don’t think I ever had wheels in this race but they were all flying off at this point.
well, I tried to run
Miles 9-13- 12:24, 13:26, 14:02, 13:21, 13:46 My body pretty much told me it was done. I had ignored the cough and sore throat for days and now I was paying the price. I was done. I walked it in from there and only attempted to run when I saw a photographer. Yeah, that didn’t work. The bummer with the walking was that these back miles were not the most scenic and wound through some ummm, really interesting areas. Yeah, let’s go with interesting. Miles 12 to 13 brought us back to lake and I was so glad to see the finish line.
Finish- 2:40:21
I crossed the line and was handed plenty of snacks and water before the medal. Huh? Then as I was getting more and more tired by the minute, I just tried to find the shuttle pick up so I could make it back to hotel. And for the love of Pete- why do people not fill a bus back to front? It would make so much more sense! I made it back to the hotel in time to be violently ill, shower and head home. And mad props to the Oakland Marriott- I checked in an hour early and out 3 hours late- all complimentary due to the race.
I can’t be disappointed by my time as I was the one who buried my head in the sand for 4 days. And considering I walked 6ish miles, it was still faster than Surf City, ha! Also considering how sick I am 4 days later, yeah, it could have been much worse.
Oh, denial is such a fun place to live in. Until reality slaps you in the face.
2019 Race Schedule (so far):
3/24 Oakland Running Festival (Thanks BibRave)
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)
This week was rough, a few more early starts at work, but mostly due to my ability to ignore the signs. It’s a skill. I have many skills but a lot of them seem to only give myself ways to get in my own way, ha! But it was race week- I had to be excited!
Monday- Liift4 I really planned on running, packed all my gear but realized half way to work that I forgot my shoes. Doh. Stupid. Work was a little chaotic so maybe it was a good thing? Who knows, all I know is Liift4 felt harder than usual.
Tuesday-1ish miles A rain storm was predicted to arrive overnight but I figured I could get in Monday’s run. It wasn’t cold but I didn’t account for the very cold, very strong wind. Less than 1/2 a mile in I could feel an asthma attack coming on. I slowed to a crawl and the feelings eased but do not go away. I called it at one lap of the lake and ended with a serious wheeze. It took a few hours for it to really ease.
Wednesday- ???? I woke up with a sore throat but attributed it to the asthma issue. Other than that I can’t remember much of the day.
Thursday- 2ish miles Another sore throat and another early morning meeting. I think this was the second of the week. I headed out for 3-4 miles after work but wasn’t feeling it. I felt off. The denial is strong with this one.
Friday- Nada I worked the late shift which was amazing after the early starts. Again, I was ignoring the sore throat and increasingly consistent coughing.
Saturday- Race Road Trip! I felt a little more rested as I was able to sleep longer than normal before heading up towards Oakland. It took around hours and I only had 1 missed exit, ha, but I made it to the expo area around 2. Instead of going directly there, I decided to drive to the start line and check out the area for the next morning. That didn’t take long and I was dropping my car with the valet at the Marriot all to soon. That hotel is deceptively large and the expo was in the Convention Center. I picked up my bib, wandered around and then wandered around again. Bought a shirt, was able to get my shirt AND medal from the canceled Monterey Bay Half last year and met an Olympian!! Alysia Montano was at one of the booths and I got her autograph! Y’all this required so much stepping out of my shell. Then I couldn’t kill time anymore but the hotel let me check in early and then I just crashed. I ordered food from the hotel and never went anywhere. The coughing was becoming a thing.
Sunday- Oakland Marathon- half Race recap to come.
16 ish miles for the week. And a heaping pile of denial. Stay tuned for the slap in the face.
Slacker Runner 