And a 3 day weekend. Mentally I need it. I really do. Especially as next week brings change.
If you are reading this on Friday, today marks my last day in my current office. When I transferred there last April, I had no idea it would only be for a year. I mean I spent 6 years in the previous location and 5 in the one before that. In fact I found out about the transfer 2 days after my year anniversary in my office. It’s a big change but I’m ready.
Well mostly- why do I have so much stuff??? Seriously, I’ve been packing and organizing all week. The amount of water bottles and containers and things I have in the kitchen alone- did I move in??? Oh, and let’s not forget the NutriBullet.
Also, I gave myself the last month to become a morning runner… Fail. Didn’t make it out once.
I also need to stop online shopping. Some things were purchased as a wardrobe refresh before next week but how do I explain the Lululemon? Other than it was cute? Or the sunglasses? Actually the best purchase wast the Cake Batter Carmex. Best thing ever. It’s the little things.
I keep trying to find something to watch as background noise but I can’t find anything to that is both distracting and mildly entertaining as background noise. Any thoughts?
Ok, think I’ve rambled in enough even if I feel like I’m forgetting something…
After last week, I was feeling much more enthusiastic and ready to run. I was getting back on track, yes.
Monday wasn’t too crazy at work and I was looking forward to my post work run. I started to feel a little weird but chalked to up to eating less than normal that day. Changed and headed to my running spot. 1/4 mile in, I almost passed out. There was a bench a little further and I sat there for 10+ minutes trying to figure it out. I threw in the towel and turned around. Just under 3/4 of a mile and then I went home and napped. At 6 in the afternoon.
Tuesday through Thursday was more of the same. I know that high stress periods can get me rundown which if I ignore turns into full blown sick. Not only do I now have time for that, this is also not the best time to be sick. I napped a lot those evenings after work. Hell, I napped a lot last week.
Fridays have been interesting since the lockdown. Technically our hours are shorter but we also don’t start wrapping up until the last customer is done. Which is fine but it’s hard to get a handle on Fridays.
I had planned on running on Saturday but another nap won out. Oops. I did enjoy lunch in the park though before that.
The plan was to sleep in on Sunday and then go for an afternoon run. The first part of that happened… but then I picked up a book. And decided to read the whole thing. Oops. So, I guess I worked out my brain?
So yeah, that was a lackluster week in so many ways. However, I figure I needed it as a big change is coming soon and I need to be firing on an all cylinders. Combine that with the current states of affairs and I may need to reassess my running goals for this year.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses but the stress level decreased, I slept a little better and things were generally calmer. I am still sitting on some news before sharing it here but I was able to share it with the people who needed to know. Ok, that sounded more ominous than I meant it to.
And last week was full of creature encounters. We had a lizard get in the building at work and it took us 3 days to catch it and release it. A spider was lurking above my bed. A bat or a bird flew into my bedroom window in the middle of the night.
Anyways.
I was feeling spunky on Monday so I headed out for a few miles. I returned to the river path and while I stuck to the paved path, it was glorious. I so missed that route. I was equal parts impressed and embarrassed when an 8 year blew past me. He was on his way down the hill and I was going up. I didn’t feel any better when he blew past me when we were going the opposite directions either. Ha!! I did wonder why he was by himself though. While I loved the air and route of my run, my legs informed me that I should have rested after the previous day’s trail adventures. 3+ish miles.
Tuesday saw me listening to my protesting calves and sore foot and resting.
I was eager to run on Wednesday but my stomach had other plans. My rule of thumb is that if I am still getting sick 30 minutes before closing, running isn’t happening.
So of course, Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far. 95 degrees. I am slow as it is these days, so I was not ashamed of any walking. I ran when I wanted to and walked when I wanted to. I did keep it short though- 2 miles.
Work things were happening on Friday and I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
Saturday and I promised my mother for Mother’s Day we could try the beach for a run as long as it wasn’t crowded. Yay for clouds! She walked and I ran. I knew the humidity was going to do a number on my lungs so I told her I was only going to do 3 miles. Then I figured the pier had to be less than 2 miles from the dog beach where we started and I wanted to get to the pier. I was very wrong. The pier was 5k from the dog beach, ha! So my 3 mile run turned into 6 plus. I also have the habit of never checking the tide so I was racing the high tide. Some places I came to a crawl as I had to go over rocks. My shoes and socks were so drenched that I took them off after 5 miles and did the last bit barefoot.
As I had already cleared more miles this week than so many of the past weeks, I wasn’t stressing a run on Sunday. Instead, I finally cleaned my car. Oh boy, it needed it. And tires but that’s another story.
So just under 12 miles for the week. It’s sad that that is an improvement but it is what it is. Gotta keep moving forward.
However this knowledge doesn’t prevent me from continuing to self sabotage.
We close an hour earlier right now. So even when we are running late it’s not as late as it used to be. Is this helping me run more? It should be but instead I am at my lowest mileage in years. And this was going to be a marathon year. Now, that is highly unlikely for a variety of reasons.
I’m not having a pity party here but keep hoping that the more I acknowledge it, the sooner I might actually start to work on new habits.
However that was not last week. Last week, I only ran twice. And let’s be real, both times had more walking than running. But really any time outside moving is helpful to my mindset but I can’t seem to force myself out there.
I braved the heat for a few miles on Tuesday. I am not ready for the 90+ temps yet so kept it short and sweet with a little over 2 miles. Sluggish ones but they weren’t too bad otherwise.
Then it was a lot of telling myself to run every day after work but not following through.
Saturday rolled around and while I thought about running, I chilled with a book or 2 and took a long nap. More like coma and it included some trippy dreams too. Even running ones- I dreamed the whole bottom of my feet were blisters. It was so real, I even checked my feet when I woke up. Ha!
On Sunday, I ventured a few minutes away from my house- seriously less than 10- and hit up a trail. It has a brutal uphill-in-direct-sun beast so I was hoping it would be empty. It wasn’t but everyone maintained distance well. And I decided to go straight up the hard way. Ok, maybe I was dared, but damn my legs were shaking after that climb. The sunshine and dirt was exactly what I needed.
This is no way looks my route. It also shows my elevation gain as zero. Boo
I forgot my watch so I tried my Coros pod and app and clearly I don’t know how to work it properly.
So a little less than 5 miles for the week.
My goal is try and conquer the whole morning runner thing…. I just don’t know how.
This weeks snack obsession- Cheetos. The crunchy ones.
I have mentioned I am a stress eater, right?
Actually last week was a little better. I think. A little calmer at work, a few less carbs. Anyone else eating an impressive amount of banana bread?? Runner was better and my sleep was…well, can’t win ’em all.
I can’ remember anything particular about Monday so let’s just move on to Tuesday. I headed out for a few miles after work. Still running my neighborhood but I park at another work office not far from my house. Anything to avoid my damn driveway. I kept the run short and sweet- 2 miles– it was almost 80 and everyone and their brother was out. I’ve been running variations of this route for almost 10 years; I think I saw more people on Tuesday than I had in those 10 years combined.
Wednesday was another warm day so I didn’t even try to run. Knew the weather was changing soon.
This is odd
Yep, a 20 degree temp drop on Thursday meant empty roads. I headed out for an easy-ish 5k after work. Easy-ish- I am so out of shape. And even though I am skipping my driveway, I am still running more hills than in the last year or so. This run saw a few hundred elevation gain/loss. Beginning to realize running more places over the past few years actually made me lazier. Oops.
Friday was stress and I just wanted to go home and hide. So I did. I resorted to one of my comfort movies and watched Battleship for the umpteenth time.
Saturday, I ventured out for a few essentials. Then I headed out for a few miles in the early afternoon. 5 miles. Longest run since Napa Valley. Ouch. The middle miles were fairly steady but I was dragging by mile 5. The only upside is that I didn’t allow myself to stop- no breaks. It’s been a while since I did that. Ok, I did stop once for a moment but that was because I had to make a route choice when I was essentially chasing another runner. That kind of doesn’t work right now.
Sunday, I woke with a knot in the hamstring area of my left leg. Odd, never felt anything there before. I was debating if running would help or hurt when my choice was made for me. I ended up being called into work and was there until dinner. I did finally prove that I could make it to my desk phone from the other side of the building before it went to voicemail. The difference between heels and running shoes- ha!
10ish miles and 3 runs for the week. Still small but a marked improvement over previous weeks.
