Tag: tired

Kick It Out

Monday came and went and I was in the oddest mood all day. I was tired, like stupid tired but for some reason I wanted to run. Which is odd in itself because Mondays are my rest days and I always look forward to just going straight home after the chaos that is Monday. Thing is, Monday’s have only been a rest day since fall and darkness sent me into the gym in the evenings. I refused to go to the gym on Mondays because of the crowds so I picked a Tuesday- Thursday schedule. Last summer was more of a run when I felt like it kind of schedule.

I kept it super easy on Sunday with a puppy jog, on more populated roads, so I optimistically packed my gear on Monday morning. I still wasn’t convinced but figured if I stuck to the usual plan at least I didn’t have to pack for Tuesday. 🙂 Slacker at my finest, right? After work, I was still dead on my feet but wanted to run. So I changed into my gear and then just couldn’t decide.

I was like Goldilocks, I didn’t want to run at work because it was too windy and kind of chilly. I drove towards run town but wasn’t feeling it either. It was still windy and I wasn’t liking the temp my car was showing. Which was sad because it was in the 60’s. Plus I figured one lap of the lake and I would end up bailing the first time I passed my car. So I headed home for the river path, opposite end of town from lion sightings. Third time’s the charm?I set out with the low goal of 20 minutes. If I still wasn’t feeling it, I would call it and just go home. As I walked my warmup, I noticed something. The way the sun was going down behind me and where the pouch on my belt was, I had the perfect silhouette on the ground. I first selfishly noted that my shadow looked thin, thank you tricks of the shadows. Then I noticed my hips, well first the previously mentioned pouch and how it was moving. My hips were all over the place. Do they always do that? I am trying to run for crying out loud not strut the catwalk!

I started to run and just felt off for the next half mile or so. Nothing ached or hurt, it just felt awkward. Maybe it was because I was thinking about it more? It seemed like my left leg wasn’t fully engaged in the party. So I decided to focus on my form for the rest of the out and back. I ignored my pace and my watch buzzing at my usual walk intervals (I’m still using walk breaks on most of training runs) and just paid attention to my legs. I tried to focus on bringing my left leg around but telling myself that didn’t work. Next I told myself to bring my knee up a bit higher on each step. No luck. I was running tall but it wasn’t helping. The word “kick” lodged in my mind around mile 2 and for the next 2 miles, I repeated that to myself every few feet. I focused on how I kicked back each time my left leg moved- not sure if that makes any sense. I felt straighter and any ankle twinginess I had went away. I felt pretty good at the end of the 4 miles but man my brain was tired. Trying to think about my form and run at the same time was hard! But I felt better than I had prior to my run. :0 I checked out my Garmin data later and noticed a few things. Over the last 2 miles, my average cadence picked up and my stride length increased. The cadence made sense but I felt like I was taking shorter strides. Huh? And my run inadvertently turned into a mini progression- 12:52, 10:04, 9:25, 8:30. Double huh.

Now to see what happens next run.

Ever felt like your stride was just funky? What did you do?

Ever been completely exhausted but felt the urge to run?

Lions and Miles

I am not ready for the weekend to be over. Not at all, I mean who ever is but this last week was just soooooo long.

I normally take the work day after a half marathon off but for some reason didn’t do that this time. Silly slacker. Monday I was definitely feeling those hills. I would stand until my hamstrings protested then I would sit. Getting up and down off my chair was a little challenging. 🙂 Tuesday I was a little achy but I was ready to run. However, I read the signs that I should have another rest day. There was an incident nearby to work- thanks St. Patricks day- so after waiting for a bit I really just didn’t like the idea of changing and leaving the building by myself so we all left together. So rest day #2.

We had been gearing up for a big inspection at work and had thought it was Wednesday. Turns out there was a typo and it was actually Thursday. I felt all out of sorts for the rest of the day. We had prepared and readied ourselves but then nope, wait one more day, ugh. I was looking forward to running so I headed to the lake path after work to get in some miles.

Got to test out the camera on my new phone though!!

Ouch, ow, I was sore. Stinkin’ hills. I was feeling tight and a little stiff so I called it after 3.5 miles. I was hoping for a better showing on Thursday. However, that was the actual inspection and even though we had prepared the best we could, I felt like I ran around like a loon for most of the day. By the end of the day I just felt nauseous and my head hurt. I passed on running and just headed home. Even my training plan recommended taking an extra rest day this week. So I did. For some reason I felt like running long on Saturday instead of Sunday this week. The plan called for 12-14 miles but let’s be honest, that wasn’t happening. Partly because I was tired and partly because I just didn’t want to. I thought that would be too much after last weeks race. I’m trying to walk a line between my slacker ways and modifying the plan. Normally the week after a race, the highest I would go would be 6 but I really wanted to hit 10 for some reason. I really want to get used to running a minimum of 10 miles for my long run.

I headed out in the early afternoon prepared to take it super easy. The week had kicked my butt and it was in the high 70’s. The hill repeats in the middle hurt but they will help in the long run right? I really need to find a long run with fewer hill repeats. Plus the home owners probably think I am crazy. I was doing good up to 8. I should have called it at 8 miles but stubbornly pushed on to 10. Miles 9 and 10 were so slow, they probably could have been walked. Actually they mostly were. 🙂

My normal run route from home is mostly on back roads or in older neighborhoods. No sidewalks, lots of trees and green spaces and space between houses. Narrow, windy roads and a couple of areas that look more like woods than town. I usually see few cars, Saturday’s 10 miles had maybe 8 except for the 2 blocks I was on a main street. Sometimes I hear things in the bushes while running. Usually I see a deer or 2 (or herd) so I brush it off. Like on Saturday, I heard something moving but didn’t see anything so I brushed it off and kept running. This hit my Facebook later that night.

Ummm, crap?! Think I’ll be running somewhere a little more mainstream for a while!! Yes, I know they are around here but this was just a little too real for me. I shared it again to my wall, and got comments reminding me that even dogs like to bite me. Seriously a former co-workers’ husband calls me ass-bite. So, yeah the gym is actually looking pretty good right now. 🙂

How was your weekend?

What kind of critters do you run into?

How long do you rest after a race?

Why Worry

Warning- this was a little disjointed before last weekends’ race now it may seem even more so.

I’ve been a little all over the place lately. I don’t think I’m in a funk at the moment but I feel it getting closer. Maybe that’s why I fixated on this damn song so quickly. It’s not like it’s awesome but it’s been bouncing around my brain and finding ways into this blog and my Instagram over the last month. I need to figure this out so I can branch out the music options a bit, hehe.I’ve been so tired lately and things just ache. My head, my legs, my ankle, etc. My stomach responded to the new medication for a bit but then decided that was just a trick. Even I am sick of talking about my damn stomach. But on that note, I see my gastro again next week so maybe we will try something new, fingers crossed. Oh, I dream big, don’t I? 🙂

As for my aches and pains in my legs, I know it’s not overuse. Despite my goal of 1000 miles this year, my mileage has remained average and steady. Like I wrote in my February recap, I am not going to break myself to hit some arbitrary mileage number. It wasn’t until writing that statement that a light bulb lit up in my head. Even then, it took a while to turn on. Kind of like the way the original compact fluorescent bulbs used to warm up slowly? That was me. But once the idea was there I couldn’t shake it. I fought with myself on every run because while part of me realized it was something I needed, it also made me feel like a quitter. That or I was admitting defeat. A part of me still feels that a little bit.

Where I am going with this? Re-assessing goals. I set a goal to break 2:00 in the half this year and I am not changing that goal. It will happen this year but it is no longer my goal for SLO. While I am loving my training plan for the sense of direction that it gives me, I am not 100%. SLO is 37 days away now and I still haven’t figured things out stomach wise. I almost skipped Wine Country because I was afraid it might interfere with the goal to break 2:00. I finally decided that was not a good enough reason to pass on one of my favorite races. Turns out, running it was the better choice.

I’m also changing my plans for SLO because I want to have fun that weekend. I want to enjoy the expo and not worry about how much walking I am doing. I want to enjoy the ambassador meet and greet and meet all the new ambassadors. We are tentatively planning to all do dinner that night and I would like to not worry about how what I eat will affect a huge goal the next morning. I want to enjoy the amazing scenery and crowds that are a part of this race. Don’t get me wrong, I am running that half to the best of my ability and I will have no complaints if I PR. But whether or not I do will not color my view of that weekend or my performance in a negative way. I had enough of that in 2014.

I love running and want to continue to improve but I am not going to lose the fun that I find in it as well. So, yes, a part of me feels like a quitter taking a step back. I also think this made more sense before I pulled off a 2:06 at Wine Country. However I made the decision to push my goal back before registering for Wine Country. So maybe the reason I ran it well was because I wasn’t stressed. Maybe I put forward my best time since October 2013 because I finally remembered that one of my strengths running wise is in not stressing. Well and being healthy, but I think I’ll actually break 2 before they figure out what’s going on with my stomach. Ha! I am sticking to my training plan because I want to improve as a runner long-term not just for a short-term goal. This way I won’t want to cry when I am nowhere near the prescribed pace for 400 repeats. Give me some time and I will nail those paces. Before last week I was nervous about the hills at SLO- now- bring em’ on.

So, tell me your thoughts?

Good choice- bad choice?

Is this quitting or being smart?

Do you have another song co I can get this one out of my head?!

And How Now?

For some reason I did not want to do any of my workouts last week. For some reason I was just feeling super lazy and super whiny. It was actually something that my boss said each day that got me to change and get in both workouts during the week. Which was a great thing because both runs were pretty damn good.

Saturday dawned and I was feeling the same lack of motivation. I so wanted to bail on everything. We had a prediction of rain for Sunday so I knew I should move my long run up a day. I’m all for a short run in the rain but nothing past 6 miles. My second half marathon was run in the rain and between that and a myriad of other issues it was a miserable race and I burst into tears at mile 11. So yeah, no long rainy runs for me. Bad memories.I finally headed out late afternoon but I had no expectations. I was going to run whatever I felt like doing whether that was 3 miles or the 12 on the schedule. I wanted to keep the pace super easy and just go with the flow. After a couple of miles I figured I would just do my easy 4.5 mile route and chance the rain the next day. But then I turned up the hill again instead of down. And then again and then up another hill. Followed by down and around and back up that first hill, then a few loops. Then up the hill again, then some loops of the school. Dizzy yet? I was tired and achy but felt pretty good otherwise so I just kept running. I actually felt like my form was pretty damn good. Usually by that point, I feel like I am starting slouch and need to remind myself to straighten up and pick up my feet. On Saturday, I felt like there was none of that. There were a few times I looked at my watch and saw my lap pace was in the mid 9 range. Woah Nelly, slow down! Each time I saw that I would take a walking break. Part of me was super stoked each time I saw that but I knew I should back it off. I felt pretty good but still had achy spots in my legs, particularly my left. After numerous loops, I finally called it when I hit 10 miles at the bottom of my driveway. Once again, I hadn’t felt like running but pulled off a pretty good run. Guess that was the theme of the week.

Other than the few times I saw that I was running too fast, I hadn’t paid much attention to my pace. I just kept what I felt was a comfortable pace and walked anytime I felt I needed to. So I was surprised to see that the 10 miles were completed in 1:47:53. Only 8 seconds slower than the previous week? And how now? Especially when the elevation is taken into consideration. The previous week’s run had an overall elevation gain of 85 ft over 10 miles. This week was 780 ft. Say what? It was in the high 50’s as opposed to 80’s so that could have been a factor. But otherwise I went out with the full intention of crawling a slow, shorter run. But I guess part of me just felt like running. Long run done! 🙂

That just left a 45-55 minute easy run for Sunday. But yeah, more about that next time.

How about it? Legs and head ever disagreed?

Do you like to run long in the rain?

Do you like pina coladas? Sorry couldn’t help it, that last question sounded like a personal ad.

Hope you’re having a great week!

Sunday Summit- A Little Lost

Finally.

After 11 days off (stupid flu!!!) I finally got out there and did something! I also made it to work on Thursday and Friday. Wowza, Thursday was rough, I was exhausted. No lie, I got through the day with a lot of Diet Coke. But anyways, on to Sunday.

With the 25k 7 days away, eek, Sunday was my last day to get in a trail run/hike. Plus I needed to test run my race day gear. Because of the narrowness on the trails and the chance for ticks, I am wearing clothing that is a little more form-fitting than usual. I also had a new hydration vest I needed to test. The first one didn’t work out so well. It didn’t fit right with water in the bladder and just didn’t feel like it was made well. I replaced it with a new one a few weeks back but hadn’t been able to test it yet. This one doesn’t have a bladder but has 2 water bottles in the front. I stashed snacks in the back pocket and filled the bottles. Success! Well, except I haven’t figured out how to easily access my phone. But I’ll work on that. 🙂

With me being sick and my mom being slightly hurt, we have readjusted our general time goal for the 25K. Sunday, the plan was to head out to the race course and hike part of the last out and back. According to the course map, that section is 8.4 miles. We had troubles finding the right trail head but we were near another one that my mom had hiked before and really wanted to again. The sign said it was 3 miles and it looked to be all fire road. Fine by me, 6 easy miles was probably all I was up for anyways.

It was freakishly warm! High 70’s and I was burning up! Being a fire road, the trail was easy but I was still coughing a bit. The trail ends near a worn down, beat up, old barn. It was equal parts creepy and cool. So of course we had to take a few pictures right? When we headed back, we passed a tiny, almost hidden single track trail head. My mother insisted she had hiked it before so we should do it too. Holy mother of incline. We gained 700 ft over the next 1/2 mile. Once we finally made it to the top, we found a picnic table. We took a break and ate a few snacks. And enjoyed the view. 🙂 We headed back down another way, hoping it was shorter way back. Ha!

Since we weren’t positive what mountain we were on, I pulled up a park map on my phone. It didn’t really help. Or maybe I just don’t know how to read it. Eventually we found our way down to a trail intersection. According to the map, the right trail led to a dead-end and the left trail was the backside of Hazard peak. We went left which meant we then had another climb in front of us. My mom’s knee was just starting to hurt and we coming up on 6 miles and we weren’t even at the top of the mountain. Our pace had slowed but we mad it to the top once again and enjoyed more views. There were some mountain bikers at the top discussing trails and I overheard one say that the trail we had not chosen led to another fire road. Really?! That would have been so much easier! Where were they when we could have used directions? Then it was time to head back towards the parking lot, down the front side of Hazard Peak. So at least we were able to check out the race course from that direction. Down hill it’s not too bad, but I am wondering what the uphill will feel like after 8 miles. Guess I’ll find out next weekend! We finally made it back to the parking lot- 9.65 miles later. We survived, haha! Even with getting a little turned around, going farther than planned,and getting a little sunburned, it was a good hike. I don’t think I would have hiked that far without getting turned around but some coughing attacks aside, it was great to get outside and do something again. Plus it was a good practice run for next weekend. It gave us a general idea of what kind of time to expect. Sunday’s hike was just that a hike and we covered 9.65 miles with 1400 ft gained and maintained a 17:00 pace. Next week the race will add some speed on the downhills but a little slowness when we climb Valencia Peak, but that’s only 1.5 towards the beginning, so fingers crossed? Sunday’s route took us from fire road to single track, packed dirt to loose shale and then loose sand. The surroundings changed from scrub brush to trees then to a Eucalyptus grove. The sun was shining and sometimes we could hear the ocean. I’d call it a pretty good day!