Tag: tired

Mid Week Musings 8

Frak, it’s Friday. How did that happen? Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to it but wow that was fast.

My calf is screaming these past few days. Grrr. Monday night saw some drama and I ended up waiting in the ER with my mom and brother for 6+ hours. He’s ok now. My legs did not appreciate running then immediately sitting in a horrible, cramped chair for hours. We also got new chairs at work and I haven’t adjusted yet. I now realize just how crappy my original chair was. And I cleaned my car last week (finally) but I’ve had some trouble getting my seat back into the right spot. In heels I’m fine driving but am way too far away in flats and it’s aggravating it. I’ve moved it but still. I am rolling and stretching but I have adjusted my running plans this weekend. Double grrr.

I am obsessed with my new hat- seriously the best-

Work is having an employee appreciation day today- they’re buying lunch. I love my coworkers- they picked the BBQ place. Tri tip for the win! Bonus- they now sell cornbread too. You can bet I am trying that. Carbs be damned. Especially since it’s cookie Friday. 😝

Something about summer time makes me turn a little country. I don’t what it is. Country used to drive me nuts. Well, truthfully some of it still does. The point to this is I turned early this year. My first new download was in April. What is happening?

This week’s tempo kicked my ass. I hit my paces but it was seriously hard. I wanted to quit the entire time. Surprisingly it wasn’t my calf that was the problem. I was just tired. I swear I need a just a week to sleep. Can I be a Harry Potter nerd for a moment? A time turner would really come in handy right now.

How many colors/ patterns can I wear at one time?

I have a new Fitbit Charge HR. Let’s just say some of the numbers are freaking me out. I’ve been a little numbers obsessed the past few days. I’ve been wearing the Fitbit and my Up band. Holy discrepancies Batman. I think I will post more on that next week.

Ok, think that’s enough randomness for one post. I should go foam roll again.

How was your week? Tell me something good.

What are you doing this weekend?

2016 SLO Half Marathon Recap

Sometimes it’s just not your day. And that’s not always a bad thing.

Race day came early but I felt like I had slept ok. Much better than last year at least, my Up band tells me I got around 5 hours of sleep. Could have been worse. I had no idea what I was going to wear until I put it on. It was not one of the outfits I had tried on the day before. 😝

My mom was my driver once again (thanks mom!) so we headed out around 5:45. She was able to drop me off at the same place as previous years, so I only had a short walk to the start line. I ran into Heather along the way. Perfect timing! We headed straight to the porta potties. Lines for days! Seriously, for the second year in a row I started way behind all the pacers. The race started right on time at 6:45. I had no clue what I was going to run- I would have thrown a party for a sub 2:10 but also been happy with a 2:10-2:15. While April was a very strong training month, I was tired. Perhaps more than I thought.

Miles 1-3: 10:08, 10:07, 10:49

Not too bad. Miles 1 and 2 were about what I was expecting Mile 1 is downhill and 2 is uphill so keeping at that pace was where I wanted to be. Heather and I were running together and it was cool getting to race together. Mile 3 is where one of the longest climbs starts. Last year I motored up it with no problems. This year, it was kicking my ass. It should not have felt that hard.

Miles 4-6: 11:06, 9:47, 10:48

And my first walking break. I was already tired, I couldn’t seem to get into gear. Strange thing- my toes went numb on both feet around mile 4. Umm, what? It leveled off a bit and we picked up the pace. I don’t remember that mile feeling any different but it clocked in at the fastest. We made it past where I fell last year and kept running. Mile 6 was where we started uphill again. This is not a course for the faint of heart.

Miles 7-9: 11:44, 10:47, 10:29

Hello, walking again. This time longer. I am so thankful for Heather sticking with me, I was realizing that this was not going to be my best showing. We passed through the Cliff shot zone and I grabbed a citrus shot in hopes that it would help. The turn around comes a little past the 7 mile mark, then we get some downhill to enjoy. There was more walking in those miles as well. Heather knows everyone, so we made some friends along the course. 😊

Miles 10-12: 11:19, 10:45, 11:19

With only 4 miles to go and it being mostly flat to downhill, I was optimistic that I could pick up the pace. I say I because I was the one slowing us down. I was dragging, couldn’t find another gear to get into and had to use my inhaler a few times. It had turned out to be a very warm morning and was a little more humid than I would have liked but those things shouldn’t have effected me that much. Mile 12 has a bridge that we have to switchback up then down and it kicks my butt every year. This mile also had the last aid station. It was manned by volunteers from one my work locations- and my boss’s boss- so I tried to at least smile at them when we past. It may have looked more like a grimace. 😝

Mile 13: 10:43 -13.1 (8:31 pace to finish)-

Seriously, I was in a dark tunnel of misery here. Not really sure why. My calves were achy but nothing major, I was just beat and really needed to see that finish line. Once again, Heather was awesome- I probably would have walked so much more without her keeping me going. There is a tiny climb right at mile 13 that feels like a mountain and then it is all downhill to the finish. That road seemed so long!!! I spotted my mother along the side and tried to smile but again I think it was more of a grimace. I dodged some people and crossed the finish line.

Finish- 2:21:55

We got our medals and headed for the water. The expo area was kind of a hot mess when it came to recovery. Water was the only thing that was easy to locate. It took some effort to find the food and then more to find my mom. Once I did, we took some pics before heading out. I may have stuck around a little longer but that gel hadn’t settled well with my stomach so I was ready to get going.

Not the race I was hoping for but you can’t always get what you want. However, the day was still good. I got to run a course I love- hills and all- and it has pretty great spectators. I got to run with a great friend and there is nothing bad about that. 🙂

Training Week 18 Recap/ April Wrap up

Upcoming Race– SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Keep calm and don’t freak out about the weird leg pain 😝😓

By Monday morning, my left leg was feeling better so I was hopeful that was the end of my weird leg pain. I was optimistic about returning to running as usual. However if you read my Prepping for SLO post, you know I was suffering what must have been the taper crazies. Except as I write this, I realize that I didn’t taper. My mileage stayed the same. Oops.

Monday- 4 miles I headed out after work for what I hoped would a nice, easy run testing my new shoes for the first time, Skechers GoRun Ride. I kept it pretty easy and my legs felt ok. My shins were a little achy but overall it was a good run. The shoes felt pretty good but I wasn’t going to push it. 4 mile test run and then I put the shoes away for the rest of the week.

Tuesday- 5 miles More easy paced miles. I had only planned on running 3-4 miles but I felt pretty good so I kept going. I ran a slightly different route than usual and it ended with a pretty sweet downhill. I’ve noticed that it takes me a good 2-3 miles to warm up now so most of my runs feel better at the end. I actually negative split this run. I also got to run past the creepiest ice cream truck ever. First of all, I didn’t even know they still existed. Also you could see where they had painted over the old logo on the truck. Apparently, in its former life it was an electrician’s truck. Ummm, no thank you.

Wednesday- Rest Pizza night and it was pretty yummy.

Thursday- 3 miles My leg felt fine all week and that lasted until around 4 PM Thursday. I was standing at my boss’s desk talking to her and I felt the same muscle/ tendon/whatever shift again. Seriously?! Cue a dull ache and some limping. Grrr.

I caved and headed to the lake. With my leg being off, I figured flat and easy access to my car would be a good thing. I ran headphone free and with my pepper spray and paid extra attention. Which was also a good thing as there were some new additions to the path-

Friday- Rest Stupid leg. I wore heals today as my legs usually feel better in them than flats. I also sat a lot.

Saturday- SLO Expo day!! I wasn’t running but I knew the expo would be a bit of walking, so I made sure to wear actual running shoes instead of flip flops. My leg/hip felt a little better but again I was planning on moving as little as possible. The expo was laid out different than previous years and seemed smaller. But let’s talk about the really important part. SLO Ambassador meetup!!

It was great getting to catch up with everyone I met last year as well as meeting the new ambassadors. Our jackets are super nice if a little big. 😏 I’ve been feeling super fluffy lately and not liking pictures of myself but I had to share this one. Check out that photobomb!

Sunday -SLO Marathon 13.1 I didn’t fall!!! Other than that, the details will be in the recap on Wednesday. 🙂

Overall, it was a varied week. Running was ok but my weird leg thing kept lingering. Thursday ached the most and Friday was uncomfortable. Apparently I forgot how to do math since 25 miles is on the higher end for me. Oops. Speaking of mileage, let’s talk about April–

Hot damn, I think that’s my second highest mileage month ever. Maybe third. Wait, no, I just checked- this April was my highest mileage month ever. I really thought I had had a higher one. Guess there all no limits to the denial I was living in. Higher mileage aside, April was a stressful, emotional month. All of that meant poor sleep; combine that with all the running and I am so tired. I relied on a little too much coffee and soda to keep me going. Going into May, my mileage should keep increasing but I am hoping for some better sleep and less reliance on caffeine, fingers crossed.

Bring it May.

How was your week?

Anyone race this weekend?

Prepping for SLO

I’ve never been one to believe in the “taper crazies”. Hell, I love taper. An excuse to run less and eat more? Sign me up! 😝 Yes, I know that’s not how it works but let a Slacker lie to herself ok?

I wasn’t really planning on tapering for SLO. I did one speed workout this training cycle. One. Once I realized how few long runs I had actually done over the years, my focus turned to getting in the distance and time on my feet. While I have done much better since that little epiphany, it still could have been better.

My plan for SLO was to treat it more like an epic long run. Enjoy the race, enjoy my pace, take in the view, smile at the awesome crowds and maybe, just maybe take a decent race picture for once. And now?

I had my weird hip/ IT thing on Friday’s long run. That led to limping on Saturday and resting all weekend. This week’s runs have been so-so. Tuesday’s was actually pretty good. But outside of that- my shins ache at random moments. My calves feel tight. Today it hurt my big toe to drive, seriously?! There’s a tickle in my throat that feels like it wants to turn into something more. Bring on the Airborne!! I haven’t slept well in about a month.

Grrr. I love this race, I do not want to stress about it. As of right now, I honestly have no idea what my finishing time might be. I feel unprepared for the hills. My fault, I should have sought out more hills. The hill I use for hill repeats has been a construction zone for the last few months. No excuses. I should have found another one. After last year I feel like I have unfinished business with this race.

Maybe that is influencing how I am feeling this week? I have no idea. So now, I need to calm down. I need to make sure I am sleeping better (or trying to), I need to ensure I m still keeping my carb count low to moderate and I need to not stress. I have been looking forward to this weekend for months. There are so many people that I am looking forward to seeing again. I enjoy looking around the expo, and really this is my favorite finish line.

Actually, I think venting about it for a few hundred words helped. Bring it on SLO, let’s do this. Now if only I could figure out what I am wearing. 😝

Do you believe in taper crazies?

Any tips?

Week 16 Training Recap

Upcoming race– SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Keep on with the 4x a week.

16 weeks into the year already? How did that happen? I am not prepared for it to be halfway through April. I feel like the past few weeks are nothing but a blur. There has been running, eating, some mindless tv watching and some staring into space. I haven’t been sleeping well, I think the bags under my eyes are permanent features now. Enough whining, let’s get to the running!

Monday- Rest Ha! 2 days post Firehouse and I was walking a little crooked. I thought I was hiding it well but the first thing an employee said to me was “are you limping?’. Just call me gimpy. Getting up onto my chair and then down was definitely amusing. But in shiny news- Meet Mel!

The week before was actually my 9 year anniversary at work and they (my boss) got me a new fish!

Tuesday- 3 miles After work I headed to the lake path to take things nice and easy. The first mile was rough but miles 2 and 3 felt pretty decent. I kept it short on purpose and I wish that was all I had to say about Tuesday but it’s not. Next post will cover the excitement though.

Wednesday- 4.59ish miles I was running with NikeC and somehow I accidentally paused my Garmin .25 miles in. I didn’t figure it out until we hit the turn around point 2ish miles later. Waah!!! No! I may not be focusing on my pace these days (yet) but I am paying close attention to my mileage totals as I am trying to do this whole marathon training thing smartly. Luckily, she has the Runkeeper app on her phone. Other than the technical issue, it was a good run. My calves were a little achy but I expected that going in. I am really starting to like running with friends.

Thursday/ Friday- Rest Both of these days are a huge blur truthfully. I worked and ate cookies. More on that below.

Saturday- 13 miles- 11:16 pace Going into this weekend, I knew I was overly tired, stressed and emotional. I had originally planned for a 14 mile long run and a 6 mile easy run. By Friday evening, I had decided that anything I did was more than fine even if I chose to do nothing at all. That said, I headed out to attempt a long run early Saturday morning. 8:30 is early to me.

I was a little stiff the first few miles but soon loosened up. Per usual, crossing the bridge was my fastest mile-9:48. Slightly slower though as I had to detour through the Albertson’s parking lot due to road construction. Miles 6, 8 and 11 were real struggles. My pace dropped into the high 11 minute range. I wasn’t 100% present. By mile 8, I had also confirmed that my Nike’s are not long run shoes. 11 miles in and I was adjusting my stride because it felt like my entire right arch was turning into one huge blister. Part of me wanted to stop and check but I was also afraid to. My stomach cramped really badly in mile 12 and I walked most of it. I recovered for mile 13 but I was thankful I had called for a pick up. 13 was way farther than I thought I was going to get in. And my arch? Completely fine. I don’t get it, I felt like my skin was on fire.

Sunday- 4.2 miles This was intended to be a run/walk with my mom. It was a very warm day and we headed out in the afternoon so I knew it was going to be slower. And it really was- in fact I only ran about 1/4 of a mile. My left knee felt off and my left groin? area felt tight. I decided walking was just fine. I was outside, my legs were moving and I could use it to help me get used to the warmer weather.

All in all, not a bad running week. I actually got in more miles than I thought I would. I am going to call that a win for the week.

Life- Sometimes real life rears its head. I admit that I don’t deal well when that happens. My family has been dealing with some bad news, but part of that was waiting for the inevitable, final bad news. The last few weeks have all blurred, I got all clenched up every time I saw my cell phone ring. That call came Friday. I’m still not processing well. I don’t know when I will.

That’s not really how I wanted to end this post but I seem to have written my way into a corner. At least for now.

How was your week?

Anyone race this weekend?

Tell me something shiny!!