Tag: traffic

Run!, Training

Week 30- Goodbye July

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races-

  • Salinas Valley Half Marathon

This was a calmer week at work thankfully.   I’m still feeling a little ragged around the edges but I think we’re pulling it together.   Have I mentioned my coworkers are rock stars?

The hours were a little more normal and I was able to get in a few more miles than week 29. Not a lot but a few.  😛


Monday- 2.5 miles.   I packed all my running gear planning to run in work town after work but then work kicked my ass.  I was so tired I decided to just go home.  Something on the drive home made me change my mind and I changed super fast at home and ran out the door.   I was able to get in a short 2.5 miles in my birthday shoes.  😀

Tuesday- Rest.  I made my first #bibchat in weeks! Sweet!


Wednesday- Fair!! I took all my running gear to work but realized I had left my pack and inhaler in my garage after Monday’s run.  Womp womp. So sudden change of plans- my mother and I hit up the fair after work.  Funnel cake for the win.😀

Thursday- migraine from hell.  By the end of work, I could barely see straight.   I thought about running to see if it helped but I was also concerned it would make it worse.  Combine that with the insane traffic I was fearing I would face going home and I just decided to head home.  Why insane traffic?  Garth Brooks.   He performed at our little fair- 2 concerts in a row- and getting home was a little tricky.

Friday- Rest The headache was still lingering plus with working open to close, I was just exhausted.  I haven’t been sleeping well this month.


Saturday- 10 miles Despite how tired I was, I forced myself out of bed on Saturday morning to get in my long run.  Well, I did hit snooze when the alarm went off at 7.   I knew I wasn’t going to be setting any speed records so a little bit warmer wouldn’t be horrible.    It actually ended up being my slowest 10 miler ever, there was a lot of walking the last 3.5 miles.  Ok, mostly walking.  But this run was just meant to be time on my feet and not to worry about pace.  I think I accomplished that.  😛  Then I spent the rest of the day trying to relax.  I randomly went and saw Spiderman in the evening…not bad.

Sunday- Rest.  So not the plan.  I planned on sleeping in, running some errands, doing some chores and then braving the heat for a few miles.   Everything was going according to plan right up to the laundry.   I went to grab the first load out of the dryer and noticed a funny smell.    It smelled like burnt plastic.   And everything I had just washed and dried stunk of it.   Did I mention the washer was full of freshly washed sheets?    So then I spent the afternoon trying to line dry everything without a line.  Lay it on something, point a fan at it, come back in 20 minutes and rotate.  Everything that had been washed had to be rewashed.   Yay.   That was fun.  It felt like a workout but it wasn’t running.   3 loads of laundry dried by 2 fans.

12.5 miles for the week.   Like I said, not a huge improvement over last week but a step in the right direction.

How was your weekend?

Had any appliance issues lately?

Last movie you saw?

 

Run!, Slacker, Training

Week 6- Ouch- Fail

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Training for:

  • Livermore 13.1 -March 26
  • Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13

Did anyone else have an odd week last week?   Did it seem freaky long and just off for no real reason?    Everyone at work seemed to feel it too.  I know there was a full moon on Friday but still the whole week was just odd.

Monday- Rest-  Last week saw a wealth of knowledge drop on us at work- all merger related.  It started today with a meeting with the new CEO.     It was a good meeting but I was kind of fried by the end of the day, I can’t remember what I did when I got home.  😞


Tuesday- Gym Fail- Work was a little busy but overall the rain and the highway closure is keeping us a little slower.  I changed after work and planned on heading home for some #bibchat and hitting the gym for intervals.  What the hell? Traffic was ridiculous.  It was raining but nothing like it has been lately but I didn’t get back to home town until almost 7.    So much for #bibchat.  Ok, gym time.  Every single treadmill was taken.  What?!  I admit I gave up.  I bailed.  I headed home and ordered a pizza.


Wednesday- 4 miles– After the previous day’s snafu, I decided to do another baby tempo at work.  Except when I set out I realized I has somehow lost my inhaler the night before.  For crying out loud.  Ok, so no speed work.  The marine layer was heavy so running without my inhaler was probably asking for trouble but I really needed to run.   I kept it nice and easy but even with the slower pace, my breathing still sounded like I was sprinting, ha.    The marine layer holds light pretty well so I pushed further into the state park and was able to make it to the Natural History Museum before I had to turn back.  I love running though the eucalyptus grove.

Thursday- Ouch–  I woke up to some not so good pain in my left leg.  And not the typical shin variety pain.  I took my running clothes to work but when it didn’t get better throughout the day I conceded defeat and decided to make it a rest day.

Friday- More ouch– My leg still hurt.  It was isolated to the inside of my left ankle and I was starting to freak out a little.   I also figured I knew what did it.   While I loved running the trails through the eucalyptus grove on Wednesday, I shouldn’t have done it in my Nike’s.   While I love my Nike’s for speed work, they are not big on traction, they have very smooth bottoms and the trails were pretty slick and muddy from all the rain.  But I was having fun in the moment.


Saturday- More of the same–    Good thing I decided it was too muddy to that run that 10k!  I opted for active rest and wandered around SLO doing some shopping and consoling myself with some amazing pizza.  I may have spent too much money at Lululemon. 😛  The clearance rack was just too tempting.


Sunday- 9 miles  I had rested for 3 days, what was my ankle going to do???   I knew I was going to be slow and that was fine.   I was stiff for the first few miles which is typical but I made sure to focus on my ankle and walk anytime I felt more than a twinge.   Overall I felt ok.  I picked up the pace a bit across the bridge per usual and indulged with a little river watching when I made it down to the river bed.   Everything was going ok until a little past mile 6.  Then things went south real fast.  I was hustling to cross an intersection before a car and I suddenly felt ill.   I had to pause for a breather rather than be sick and even when I got going I had to walk a lot.   I felt very crappy for the last 3 miles, it was all I could to finish.   If I could have bailed sooner I would have but it’s not like I was getting to the car any other way.   My lungs were abnormally pissed too.  They were angrier then they had been on Wednesday but I had found my inhaler so what gives?    I wasn’t quite right the rest of the evening either which is why this post is a day late.

13 miles for the week.   Once again, I missed workouts.  Grrr.     Between merger stuff, crazy rain, and my weird dizzy, nausea spells, I feel like I’ve turned into a giant flake.  My lab work should be done next week but knowing my luck it won’t show anything.   I’m not even sure what I should keep my fingers crossed for?    This year is Challenging in me in different ways than I planned.  I broke down crying in a meeting with my boss last week.  Get it together!

Anyways, moving on to a shiny new week.  One good thing— my road is open again!!!!!  30 less miles a day!!!  It’s the little things right?

How was your week?

Ever bailed on a workout when you were in workout clothes already?

Tell me something shiny!

 

Run!, Slacker

Week 11 Recap- Wait, what?

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

This was the kind of week that ran over me with a truck, backed up for more, then sped off into the night.   Workout wise, the week actually started off pretty good, it was work life that was kicking me around.   The I got sick and spent a lot of time sleeping.   How come that is never as exciting as it sounds?

Monday- 4.3 miles

I was debating where to run when traffic made the choice for me.     A fire started on the Cuesta grade Sunday and by Monday it had grown exponentially.    It was heavily stressed that people find alternate routes home which sent them my way.    I couldn’t even get on to the off ramp to change highways so I just took the back roads home.   This was repeated for most of the week. 

 I was feeling nostalgic apparently and headed to my former work location and ran from there.   Which is really just my home route backwards but it feels different for some reason.    😀   My calves were super tight for the first few miles of the run.   I ended up stopping every so often to try and stretch them out.   I hit a hill at the halfway point and alternated walking forwards and backwards up it.   I wonder what the home owners thought when they looked out the window.   😋  Things finally felt like they popped into place a mile later.   By then I was almost done.   Soreness aside, my splits were good for an easy run and I felt good after the run too.

Tuesday- Rest

I didn’t get home until 8ish.  I looked at the bike but nah.

Wednesday- 6 miles -intervals

I haven’t done speed work in a few weeks and I was feeling nervous.  Since I couldn’t get to the lake path due to traffic, I headed to the gym.   I figured the treadmill would help me maintain pace better anyways.   Turns out I haven’t been to the gym in 182 days.   😁!!!!!  They have a new system that tells you things like that now.    Ouch.

The plan called for a warm up followed by 10 min @ HMP, 1 min recovery x3 then cool down.   I knew I didn’t have that in me so I went back to a speed workout I skipped 2 weeks ago.   Similar except only 8 min HMP x3.    But yeah, that’s not what happened.  What I did pull off was 6 min @ 9:13 pace, 2 min recovery x4 with warm up and cool down. Time wise, I hit the 24 minutes but my pace should have been 9:08.  Still for my first attempt in 2+ weeks, I am calling it a win.   It was also my longest run in my Pure Flow’s so far.   Other than the general first mile achiness, they felt great.   I always feel like it takes longer for me to find my stride on a treadmill.  Anyone else have that issue?

Thursday- 7 miles stationary bike

I was feeling pretty good after Wednesday’s speed work but planned for a rest day.  I was hoping I could maybe get my long run in on Friday so I wanted to stay off my feet.    I started off the day feeling pretty good but things went south early in the morning.  I started to feel light headed and nauseous and just exhausted.    It only got worse as the day went on.  I was supposed to attend a business mixer but just wasn’t feeling up to mingling.     I was hoping I could sweat it out on the bike.  I also figured if it made me worse, it was easy to quit since I owned the bike.  😃  I didn’t feel worse so that’s a plus right?

Friday- Rest

Or not.  I still felt crappy on Friday.   A coworker was feeling poorly too so we thought we were fighting a bug of some sort.  I was drinking Airborne and Vitamin C but no luck.   I didn’t even make it through the day at work.    It takes a lot for me to leave but I just couldn’t do it.    I went home and crashed, taking a 4 hour nap.  Is it still a nap if it’s dark when you wake up? 

Some nurse- asleep on the job
 Saturday- Rest

I had some errands to do in SLO and those hurt.   I was so tired and just beat.  Running was not happening.   The furniture did finally get rearranged.   Now, there should be no way I can run into the bike in the dark.     I’m sure I’ll find a way though.   😃

  Sunday- 5.5 miles Stationary bike

Grrr.  I had a company picnic for most of the day so I needed to run in the morning.    Yeah, no.   The alarm went off, I checked the temp and saw 90% humidity.  My lungs were having none of that.  When did I become such a baby?   I headed south for the company picnic.    Hours of sun and sand later, and I was again exhausted.  I didn’t even do anything!     Watching the executives hula hoop was amusing though.      It was around 100 when I got home and there was still Sunday dinner.   Plus my gym closes early on the weekend so I figured a little time on the bike was better than nothing at all.

Overall, the week started pretty good and hit some speed bumps at the end.   That said, it could have been worse, I still got in 4 workouts.  Much better than it would have been without the bike.   It seems like lately I have only been able to accomplish a long run or a speed workout during the week.  One but not both, I really need to work on that.

Paleo- B-

I actually did really well until I got sick.   I admit that something I always crave when sick is french fries.    It’s my comfort food, something about the grease and salt make me feel better.   Burger King happened on Thursday and In N Out on Friday.    I do have to say that they didn’t taste as good as I remember.   But that should help fight future cravings right?    I got things back under control by Sunday.    Tri tip and salad at the BBQ, I passed on the bread.  I also really like subbing broccoli in for pasta when Sunday dinner involves pasta.    Plus it’s super easy to steam and clean up so no extra work on my mom’s part since she’s in charge of Sunday dinner.  😉

This week has more testing for my current GI issues but it doesn’t seem very invasive so I am hoping to hit all my workouts.  Fingers crossed!    Plus I am attending an injury prevention seminar so that should be interesting.   Now if people could just stop yelling at me, that would be awesome.

How was your week? 

Does your company do annual BBQ’s or parties?  Year’s ago we did formal ones, I kind of miss them.

Anyone else have some weird summer sickness?

Eat!, Run!, Slacker, Uncategorized

Keep Left

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

My week of self imposed torture is almost done!   I’ve missed running and reading all your posts.   I did manage to read some posts, I tried to hit “like” on what I did read, but  my comments were kind of sparse.  Sorry 😦  Since this week has been so off and all over the place, this post is going to be a little different-

Things I’ve Learned this week-

*Procrastinating is not as cool as you think and working under pressure does not make things more exciting.  And, yes I knew that before but have been forcibly reminded.

*I found something slower than a treadmill mile- and a typo

Ugh
Ugh

*Compression socks are awesome for your circulation on a long drive.  However, if you are wearing said socks under skinny jeans and are stuck in traffic in a poorly ventilated car- watch out!  I was so flippin’ hot and I couldn’t loosen my pant leg enough to get the socks off.   But Pro Compression did retweet me!

*When your GPS app is telling you to keep left, you should keep left!  Instead of making it have to recalculate and circle around.  If the app could talk, I think it would have had some choice things to say.

*No matter how clean the rooms are or how friendly the staff is, care facilities are depressing.  Just straight up sad and I don’t do well with that.  😦

*Why yes, I do eat my feelings.  And it’s usually pizza.

Ok, kind of blurry, sorry.
Ok, kind of blurry, sorry.

*Running into a headwind doesn’t always suck.  For example, when its 90º+ outside.   I still walked a lot but thank you wind.   Was it too hot to run?  Possibly but after 3 days off, I really wanted to run.  Saturday’s original goal was 6 but that wasn’t happening.  3.5 instead. IMG_4560

*Visor’s really do make a difference.   Took a run break from the research today and realized I forgot my visor 1/2 mile in.  I thought I would be ok as it was 10º cooler than yesterday.  So not true.   I was hot and sweaty and sweat was dripping in my eyes.  I don’t think that has ever happened before.   I did an uncomfortable 4 and called it.

Why do my grimaces look smiles?
Why do my grimaces look smiles?

*Finding said visor and dunking it water before taking the puppy out for a puppy jog-awesome!  I was so much cooler.  The puppy also had a really good walk/jog.  She loves to roll in grass.   I think this needs to be our weekend tradition. IMG_4595

I have 2 deadlines, one Monday and one Wednesday, and then freedom!  Haha.   I am sure something else will come up 🙂

 

How was your weekend?

Anyone race?

Am I the only procrastinator?