Tag: slacker

Training Week 11 Recap

Upcoming Races– SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Breathing😛

Yeah so this was a lackluster week.   Lot’s of sleeping and eating and watching whatever was on my DVR.    Why does that always sound awesome until it’s actually happening?   Boo.  But here we go.

Monday- Rest  Called in sick

Tuesday- Rest  Made it to work, man that was exhausting.  I did participate in another Twitter chat though.

Wednesday- Rest The day the room spun. Work was tiring again.  But yay for cheat pizza night!!

Thursday- Rest  Sensing a pattern here?  This cold thing was really starting to piss me off.  Did it not know I had new shoes to test out?!

Friday- Rest  At least Friday’s are typical rest days.  And it poured all day!  I hydroplaned 3x on the way to work.   Now I know where random flooding spots are on the highway. 

not too sick to shop though
 

Saturday-Rest You could have guessed, right?    I slept some more and then went to dinner with the family.   I tried cauliflower for the first time, it’s kind of tasteless?  The tri-tip was amazing though.

 
Sunday- 4.5 miles  I ran!!!!!  Skipping my race meant that I could sleep a little more and not have to stress about waking up on time with the time change.   I won’t lie, that was nice.   I headed out late morning during a break in the rain to get in a few miles.   Even though it was wet and I knew I was going to be finishing on dirt path, I wore my new shoes.  What’s a little dirt?  I started out slow and then just tried to keep it steady.  I didn’t care about my pace, I just wanted to run.  It was pretty good!  I had to walk a few times but I expected that.  I was bundled up pretty well so I was overheating for a few miles but when the wind picked up and it started raining I was glad I had picked a thicker jacket.   4.5 miles put me back at my car and only 1/4 mile had been in the rain.    It was so good to just get out there.

So yeah, a 4 mile week.  Woo hoo!!!   But if I had to get sick, I guess I am thankful it was now.  Not right before SLO or summer long runs.  Granted there’s no guarantee I won’t get sick again just hoping based on previous years.   With Daylight Savings going into effect, I am looking forward to getting in longer runs after work now.  I love Daylight Savings.   I am hopeful to get in some solid miles this week.

Low carb–  Yeah, why can’t I be one of those people who doesn’t want to eat when they get sick?  I only seem to want the horrible things.    Seriously, on Monday I dragged my scary self to McDonald’s because all I could think about was fries and a Diet Coke.   My lunches were all on point but I indulged with a few too many cookies this week.   And jellybeans.   Grrr.    This is a new week right?

Oh and this officially happened this week-  

I may have lost my damn mind.  More on that insanity next post.

How was your weekend?

Anyone race?

Do you like Daylight Savings?

 

Smart Sucks Sometimes

And the streak comes to an end.    Waah. 😭😭

I called in sick on Monday.  I don’t really remember doing it.   When I woke at 1- 1 PM!- I panicked.  I was late!    Oh, wait, my phone shows that I both texted and called my boss.  Oh ok, then.  But really?!  I called in sick?!   To emphasize how rare that is- my boss told me she was proud of me for calling in sick.  Proud.  And I’m sad I’m no longer in the 200’s for accrued sick time.

Wednesday, I woke to find the room spinning.  Boo.  I still sound like an angry Minnie Mouse.  I’ve made it to work since Tuesday but it’s been rough.   Talking tires me out.  And when I momentarily forget and try to sing along with my iPod while driving, it comes out more of a wheezy screech.

Combine all of that with a projected storm on race morning and even I can see the writing on the wall.  I will not be running Wine Country this weekend.  My streak stops at 5 years.  My wine glass collection stalls at 4.   This year’s medal will probably be awesome.   I briefly considered trying to run the 5K instead but I’m not up for that kind of pain right now.😁

 

2015- closest to my PR in years
 
I have run this race post flu before.  In the rain.  It was my second half marathon.  It was miserable, it made me want to quit running.  I burst into tears around mile 10 and scared the crap out of a volunteer.     But watching them pick up the mile markers while you are still on the course is pretty demoralizing.  It still stands as my slowest half ever.    It was also my first experience with an out and back.  So not a fan.   Thankfully, they changed the course the following year.   Granted the new course included a beast of a hill at mile 12 but that’s ok.  I mean beast- it climbs around 130 feet in less than 2/10 of a mile.  The race itself has around 1000ft gain in elevation throughout.    Ok, I’m making myself sad now.

So, here I am being smart.  Smart sucks.  This cold sucks.  Boo.

Do you run the same race every year?  Longest streak?

Should I be stupid?

How has your week gone?

 

 

Friday Shiny

Happy Friday!!!!!

So I kind of liked last week’s Guilty post.  Then I was thinking about my “motto” for 2015 and 2016- Find your shiny.  So while this week bordered on crazy and I could complain about any number of numerous items, how about I flip the coin and find the shiny.

  
Sunsets-

I never really saw these before I started running.  Or before I started commuting but that’s beside the point.   I’ve been running in work town lately and have had the opportunity to see some pretty spectacular sunsets.    Like come to a halt and stare sunsets.  I wish the camera on my phone did them justice.  In person, they are just awesome.  I usually stare a little too long and end up finishing my run in the dark but it’s worth it.

 

The Oatmeal via iFunny
 
Dragons-

So, last post I shared my serious lack of long runs over the years.  I’m still kind of shocked by how well I lied to myself for so many years.    Anyways.  Looking for the shiny- This year I’ve run 3 10 milers, an 11 and a 12.  That’s actually pretty awesome!  Which leads me to dragons.    This image popped up in my feed the other day and the first thing that popped into my mind was long runs.   #runnerbrain  If running is a fairy tale then long runs are my dragons.  Time to get slaying.   Ok, maybe that was cheesy. 😃  

  

You guys!!!-

Seriously.   Thank you for all the positive thoughts on my last post.  And Twitter.   The online running community is huge but small at the same time.  It kind of rocks.  You all rock. 

See what I did there?😛
 

That’s all for now, but maybe I will do this again sometime.

 

What was your shiny this week?

Any fun plans this weekend?

Who’s running?!

The Jury’s Still Out

Before I get to the boring medical stuff, how’s this for a roadblock-

   
   
That thing is huge!   And was standing 2 weeks ago.   Wonder when that came down.

Why do I hope for answers from a doctors appointment when those have been so rare in the past?  Particularly from this doctor.  The only time I have ever seen him show any kind of emotion or urgency was when I was attacked by a dog a few years ago.   Anyways, after a scheduling headache last week, I was able to see my doctor on Monday.    He ordered a chest x-ray and some blood work and gave me a snazzy new inhaler to try.   Instead of a rescue inhaler, it’s a daily use inhaler.   Boo, I’m so over medications.  My medicine drawer is looking a little crowded.   But, I would like to run without gasping for air.  Also, a rush at work shouldn’t leave me feeling winded.    So hopefully these tests will shine at least a little light on what’s been going on.

  
That being said, I had a pretty good run on Tuesday.   I took the Nike Free RN’s for another little test spin.   I set out to run super slow.  I was hoping I could maintain a slow, easy pace without any walk breaks.  I was running from work so I was a little concerned about the humidity but I was hoping a nice and sloooow pace would keep my breathing under control.     This route is not conducive to a slow start though-

  
I kept my pace calm and just kept trucking.  I was feeling ok and enjoying the sunset on the ocean.   I was also debating if I wanted to run 3 or 4 miles.  I had gotten out of work a little later so the sun was setting quickly.   I had remembered my flashlight though and I had my blinky lights on my belt.    I love the turn around point for the 4 mile route but thought 3 might be the better idea as the return to my car is always slower.   I was feeling sluggish but ok and was going to push for 4 when the roadblock pictured up top put a stop to that.    Boo.  I never quite realized how damn big the trees in the eucalyptus grove were before.  I’m glad I wasn’t running when it came down!

I made it back to my car just before total darkness fell.  One bonus about starting so slow?  I negative split this route for the first time ever!  #findtheshiny right?

How has your week been going?

Ever run into a roadblock like that?

 

 

 

 

Mid Week Musings 7

Maybe I should rename these mid week rambles?  At least this one is actually going up mid-week and not on Thursday or Friday.   🙂

How is January almost over?  Seriously I need more time!

Everyone’s posting their race schedules for the year and I’m over here like I should have bought a Powerball ticket.   😅  My race account is looking pretty sad.   While I am wishing for the impossible- how about more vacation time too?

I’ve been given the opportunity to come back as a SLO Marathon ambassador for 2016!  Woo hoo!!!  More on that soon!

I’m not a football fan but Denver making it to the Super Bowl is making me nostalgic.   Growing up we had one of those huge satellite dishes.  You know the ones that had to move in order to watch a different station?   Anyways, for whatever reasons we only got Denver stations.   The Broncos and the Rockies were the sports teams popular in our house.  Combine that with the Broncos being my grandfather’s favorite football team and I am feeling the urge to rock some blue and orange at Surf City.  #nostalgicfan

Last Wednesday’s weird, sick feeling makes more sense now.   My last visit with my gastro resulted in a new medication to try.   New to me and him- he had never prescribed it before.  I was the guinea pig.  Oh boy.  Other than any possible warnings about driving or sleepiness, I try to avoid reading the potential side effects of a new medication.   I like to avoid any chance to think myself into a side effect and just give it a week or 2.   But I have been having some issues and felt kind of off so I read all the documentation yesterday.   I could check off more than a few boxes on the list.  The most interesting one though?  “Feeling drunk”  What?!    Once I made sure I read that right, some things from the last 2 weeks made a little more sense.  Yeah- bye bye pills.

Last week I shared that my local pizza place knows me by name.  Friday night I picked up a pizza on the way home and they told me I am their #1 customer.  Ummmm, yay?  I only ate pizza once last week by the way.

Another episode of Z Nation got me through a treadmill run tonight.  A very slow treadmill run but it’s the miles that count right?   I’ve found the only way I can run on the treadmill without any weird aches is to either run very slow or very fast.  Tonight was a slow one.  I felt kind of awkward watching a zombie show while running though.

Lastly, I’m sure most of you have heard about the dog that bandit-ed a half marathon but my mother made sure to share it to my Facebook feed today.   With a comment that the dog is faster than me.  Which is true.  I still love the story though.   ☺

Hit me with your random!

Are you watching the Super Bowl?

Anyone else remember those satellite dishes?