Tag: Training

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 11

Never mind, can I have week 10 back?

Who knew that it would look good by comparison.  😛

This week was a step back week but I had a specific way it was going to go down.  Run Monday and Wednesday after work, 8 miles on Friday since I had the day off due to a tennis thing and then a local half marathon on Sunday.

I hit a minor stumbling block on Monday but wasn’t worried as I still had the rest of the week to catch up.   The tennis trip was canceled due to rain so I debated canceling my vacation day too but decided to keep it after Wednesday night into Thursday morning turned into pure misery.  My stomach hurt so bad, I just wanted to cry.  Thursday morning saw me sitting on the floor by my closet talking myself into getting dressed and forcing myself to go to work.   Things didn’t get much better from there.

Monday- Rest Planned on running but a sudden trip to another work location at the end of the day put a pin in those plans.   Actually I would be at this location for the next 2 days.

Tuesday- Rest Pouring rain and working in the other location kept me from running.  The drive to work was sketchy enough, I wanted to get home and off the road as soon as possible.

Wednesday- 3.30 miles Once again at the other location which meant the only running option was changing ad heading back to home town.  I hit up the river path and hoped to break in my new Altra’s.   While I had no real break in period for the Torin’s, that is not going to be true for these Intuition’s.   My calves and achilles were super tight so I kept stopping to stretch them out.  Which gave me more time to enjoy the sunset.  😊  I also made my last mile a bit speedier than my past few runs.  I think I’ve made the run/ walk intervals a crutch.  They were only supposed to be for long runs for Big Sur practice but they’ve become more of an every run thing.  Oops.

Thursday- 2.3 miles The start of the pain days.  I headed to the lake path after work hoping that a few miles would help make things better.  I figured the path was a good idea because if things went south, the car was never that far away and there are bathrooms there if needed.  It wasn’t a miserable run but it wasn’t marvelous either.  Nor did it seem to help the pain or make it worse.  Just to be on the safe side, I called it at just shy of 2 laps of the lake.

Which was probably a good idea as that night I was in so much pain, I damn near went to the ER.

Friday- Rest Less pain than the day before.   I had the day off from work due to the now canceled tennis trip but I knew I wasn’t getting in my 8 miles like planned.  In fact, I knew I was barely going to do anything.  I was also beginning to question the likelihood of me running the half marathon on Sunday.   This was further reinforced by another epic bout of pain that evening, this one my mother happened to witness and she was volunteering to drive me to the ER.

Saturday- Rest Less pain but I was still on the fence about the race.  I went to packet pickup and picked up my bib and shirt.  I’d never down graded a race before but I also didn’t think I had a DNF in me if it came to that.  If you’ve been following me for a while, then you may recall that I have a proclivity for running races when I shouldn’t or finishing them when I know I shouldn’t.   My mother was lecturing me and I was texting Kate who was trying to talk me down.  In our Squadrunner channel, James and Dorothea were also trying to talk some sense into me.   I went to bed mostly decided to drop to the 5K but still thinking about the half.  I love this half and it would be half #30.

Sunday- Wine Country Run 5K  Holy crap, I did something smart.  😛  Race recap to come but damn it was cold!

8.71 miles for the week.  Sunday evening was actually the best my stomach has felt in days so fingers crossed that stays.  The coming week has tons of rain and a 19 miler on the schedule.

As for my stomach- my gastroenterologist can’t see me until the middle of May.  So either I get lucky and snag a cancellation or I wait it out.  Otherwise another round like this week may send me to the ER before then.

So, someone tell me something good!

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 10

Oh, week 10, why you gotta play me like that?

If I ever train for another marathon, I swear I may skip week 10.  Just go from week 9 to week 11, you know like they skip floor 13 for some high rises?  Week 10 is cursed to be a hot mess.  During San Francisco training, week 10 was the breaking point with Hanson’s and I spent the last weeks just trying to hang on and get through the race without making my leg worse.

This time- I managed to hurt everything.   Right shin. Left shin.   Pulled a left groin muscle.  Popped/ pulled something on the right side of my back.   Oh and had a panic attack on the side of the road.    As for running?  I pulled off a whopping, crawling 15.75 miles last week.

So let’s whine talk about what I managed to do-

Tuesday- 1.54 miles I headed to lake path after work, looking forward to bringing it back into play.  The path being back means speed work is an option again and I was looking forward to going back to 4 days a week.  However my legs didn’t get the memo.  I knew right away something was wrong but I was hoping it would go away after a lap of the lake.  My left shin hurt but the scary part was my right shin.  I felt like something was loose under the skin- kind of like the muscle was pulling away from the bone.   It wasn’t getting better, getting worse in fact so I called if after a lap.  Grrr.

Saturday- Rain What do runners in denial of injuries do?  Buy new kicks.

Sunday-   12.55 run/ 1.66 walk The plan called for 18 and that’s what I set out to do.  However between all the rain of the week and all the pains I had been feeling, I was tired and not feeling it but I told myself to get over it.  I forgot my pepper spray and had to turn around to get it.   I had to change my route less than 1/4 mile in as there was a funeral at the cemetery and I try to not run past when there are actual services.   I started out slow and it never got any faster.  I was dragging around mile 7 when a passer-by leaned out their car window and yelled “good job” with a thumbs up.  It gave me a second wind for about 5 minutes but also made me wonder if I looked as rough as I felt.

My legs were aching, my feet felt like they were swelling.  It was 70+* and I was hot.   I was so damn thirsty and I had 2 bottles of water in my pack.  I stopped for a bathroom break around mile 10 and doused my hat and Buff in water.  I kept trying to move faster but I just kept moving through quicksand.  I couldn’t catch my breath and it just got worse.  By mile 11 I was sitting on the side of the road having a freaking panic attack, crying.

I somewhat pulled myself together, ha, called my mom and asked her if she wanted to join me for my last miles so I would have some company.  She said no and told me I should quit and she would come get me and give me a ride.  I was stubborn and said no.   I tried to suck it up and run on.  At mile 12.55, I knew I was being stupid.  My pace was in the toilet and my head still wasn’t right.   I stopped my watch and decided to walk a shorter way home.   That was still almost another 3 miles.  I didn’t make it.  I ended up calling for that ride.

I was so damn irritated with myself for not finishing 18 but I also knew that pushing on would have done more harm than good.  As it was, I was limping, dehydrated and exhausted.  I was done.

Now starts week 11… and I am filled with doubt and lingering muscle pain.  Oh boy.

How was your week?  Tell me something good!

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 9

Week 9… how is that possible?

Yikes.

Last week was odd.   I had to cover another location for a few hours on Monday, and my tire pressure light was on.  Not cool when you’re driving all over the county and it’s raining.  Oh and I had all my tires checked, rotated balanced the previous week.  Grrrr.   I was supposed to have 2 vacation days due to a tennis trip but it was canceled due to projected rain so I canceled of those vacation days.   The weather was hard to get a handle on as no app or meteorologist could it get it right.  There were other things that added to a very scattered feeling week.    I still feel like I am forgetting something.

Oh and after getting my air checked on Monday, my tires were fine until Sunday when the damn light came on again.  There’s a stinkin’ nail in my tire.

The Plan-

week 9.PNG

Life-

Monday -Wednesday- No Running There should have been but there wasn’t and right now I can’t remember if any of the reasons were actually really good reasons for not running.  I know one day work ran really late but as for the others?

Thursday– The vacation day I gave back. Boo.

Friday- 6 miles  The vacation day I kept as a kind of mental health day.  I slept in and headed out for a run in the afternoon.   It looked clear on the weather app but it lied.  It rained off and on the whole run.   I wanted 7-8 miles but I was so damn cold I couldn’t. 6 rainy miles were good for me.

Saturday- 6 AM miles, 11 PM miles-17 miles total  Hit the snooze button a few too many times and I knew I was splitting my run but it wasn’t supposed to be like this.  It was supposed to be 13 AM and 4 PM.  However, again the weather app lied.

I headed out in the AM planning for 13 but my legs were feeling a little sluggish and my stomach was a little off in a weird way.    At mile 4, I rerouted and reversed my middle loop so I would hit the park with the bathrooms around mile 6 instead of mile 10.  All hell broke loose just after mile 5.  It started with a few drops of rain followed by a few more then the skies opened and just dumped buckets of rain and hail.   Girls running a track race down the street past me started screaming, I tried to run for cover as hail was bouncing off cars.   My shoes were drenched with moments as well as both pairs of socks.    I had a choice to make- try to push on or bail.  It was the shoes that decided it for me.  I don’t want a blister with only 8 weeks of training left.  I also knew I’d passed the high school a mile back and my mother had a tennis practice that she was probably canceling too.  I had a small window to hitch a ride.   I called her as I ran for cover under some solar panels dodging giant puddles.

After lunch and a short nap, I headed out to finish my run.  Oh good lord, my legs were not on board.  This was struggle bus from start to finish.  The sun was out but half the miles were in a flippin’ wind tunnel and the other half had zero air movement.  It was a slog.  Nothing hurt, my legs just didn’t want to work and my little break had let me figure out what was wrong with my stomach, a surprise visit of the hormone variety, so my stomach was still not right and I was feeling more fatigue than usual so I just let it ride.   I basically crawled 11 miles.  Ok, it wasn’t that bad it just felt like it.   But I finished it.

Sunday – 3.5 mile trails  Took my shakeout run to the rails.  Went for elevation gain over pace.   Which was my original thought process back when I created my training plan but considering this is week 9 and it’s the first time I got my butt up a mountain- oops.  Every time I’m out on the trails, I remember how much I love getting my shoes dirty.

26.59 miles for the week.   So now if I could just figure out how to get the beginning of the weeks on track. 😛

How was your week?

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 8

Or the one where I almost got mowed down by a car.

Even before that though, this week wasn’t going so well.   Between the less than helpful test results, a busy week at work, a sudden cold weather snap and a bout with the stomach flu, I watched a lot of Netflix.

Monday- Rest  I planned on running, I mean a day off from work meant a perfect day for running right?  Yet somehow, between cleaning my car, inside and out- it was so dirty, getting my tires rotated and balanced and then my doctor’s appointment to get my test results, I just never made the time.  Plus it was super windy and cold.

Tuesday- Rest I never take my running gear on the Tuesdays after 3 day weekends knowing that work is likely to be crazy busy.  Plus I knew we were down 2 people so I was calling it being prepared.  It actually wasn’t anywhere near what I thought so I probably could have brought my gear.

Wednesday- Rest  I felt off, kind of moody, odd.  I brought my gym bag into the building to change but just wasn’t feeling it.  I couldn’t figure out why.

Thursday- Sick Ok, maybe that was it.  I didn’t even make it through the full day at work.  I was spending more time running to the bathroom than I was working.  Sorry, TMI.  So instead of running I spent most of the day resting in my chair and binging Netflix.  Hello, 100.

Friday- Rest I made it to work but was still feeling off, at this point was just hoping I would get in my weekend runs like planned.

Saturday- 7 miles I started the morning by filling in as a coach for the JV boys tennis team for an away match.  Yeah, that was interesting.  I had 4 boys show up, the opposing team had 19.   The opposing team was locked out f their own courts so they were literally climbing fences to get us tennis balls.  😛

I headed out for my run late in the afternoon.  After having so many unplanned days off in a row, I admit I was a little concerned how things would go.  However it was a pretty good run.  I was feeling decent so I decided to throw in some hills.  Apparently not enough because at the end of 7 miles I had only hit 600 ft in elevation gain.

Sunday- 15 miles Longest run since last marathon training cycle.   My side was hurting in the morning so I slept a little longer and headed out for my run in the afternoon.   I had a route planned and I was planning on taking it slow and easy considering it had been a rough week.  The first 1/3 felt pretty good but I told myself not to celebrate yet as I still had a long way to go.  The second third was also the warmest section and I slowed a bit as well as had a stand-off with an off leash dog.  I am not sure who was more alarmed by who.

Things went south around mile 10.  I was crossing the street to get to the park with the bathrooms.  I checked all 3 ways (T intersection) for oncoming traffic, I had reflective gear and I was paying attention.  I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!  Yet 2/3 of the way across the street, this blue car came flying out of nowhere speeding towards me, blew through the stop sign, the cross walk and squealed it’s tires out into oncoming traffic.  WTF?! I was seriously close enough to the car to touch it.

Here’s where I reacted wrong.  After avoiding getting mowed down by the crazy, oblivious driver I looked around wondering if anyone else had seen that while cursing and yelling out loud.  Before remembering I was still in the cross walk and therefore still in street.  Move, stupid!

I had 5 more intersections and stop lights to get through on the busy side of town before I was back in the neighborhoods and side streets I run all the time.   Once I was in calmer streets it was like all the adrenaline left my body and everything cramped and my brain caught up to me about the near miss.   The last mile or so home were kind of rough but I could tell it was more emotional than mileage driven if that makes sense.

22 miles for the week.  The weekend rescued the week but things were a little rough this week.  That said, I am ok with the mileage that I did pull off.

How was your week?

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 7

Oh boy was I in a funk last week. I was cranky and moody and just kind of blah.

I kind of crawled into a hole and became an antisocial whiner.  Which is probably better than inflicting my crankiness on all of you but either way it wasn’t a great week.  The odd thing was that I didn’t have a solid reason for the crankiness, I just was in a funk and had to ride it out.    I was hoping I could run out some of that moodiness but that didn’t exactly happen during the week either.  Dude, someone give me a pizza.

I had an ultrasound and chest x-ray on Wednesday to see if that can help figure what is going on with the weird side pain I’ve been having.  Now to wait for the results.

Monday- Rest  I wanted to run but I also thought it might be best to my legs a rest after the weekend of running.    The only thing that’s keeping me from freaking out about my lower mileage this training cycle is that I am stacking my longest runs on Saturdays and Sundays, which outside of my Hanson’s attempt last marathon training cycle is not something I do.   I also haven’t been doing my PT exercises as they aggravate the side/flank pain so I figured rest would be best.

Tuesday- Rest  Should have run but the sudden drop in temp and the 20+ mph winds turned me into a big baby.    Where the hell did that come from?  The funk was also beginning to settle in.

Wednesday- 2 miles  This was supposed to be 4.  I mentally needed 4 because I was just super cranky for no reason at all.  I changed and headed out after work and immediately felt like a vice was wrapped around my left leg right above the knee.  Grrrr.  By a mile in, it hadn’t loosened up at all and actually felt tighter so I turned around and headed back for the car.   That was not the head clearing run I was hoping for and now I had another reason to be moody.

Thursday- Rest The day before had kind of scared me.  Should I run or shouldn’t I?

Friday- Rest Overslept, was running late but made it to work on time.  My side/flank was hurting more than it had all week so that wasn’t cool.

Saturday- 6.2 miles I headed out late in the afternoon for 6-7 miles hoping that my leg and my side would cooperate.  Surprisingly they both did.  My leg felt tight in the beginning but loosened up fairly quickly.    The temp was pretty perfect and I was feeling pretty good and I ended up negative splitting the run.  If I hadn’t waited so long I may have tried to turn this into my long run but I ran into dusk and I had no lights and very little reflective gear with me.

I could tell that my hips and back really needed help though so I decided to try my PT exercises that night.

Sunday-13.1 miles  Maybe it was the PT, maybe it was something else, but my side hurt the most it has in weeks.  I pushed my run back into the afternoon.  My plan called for 15 but I knew I was going to be slow and I was doubting I would even clear 6.  I started out and kept to my run/walk intervals figuring that was the best idea for this run.   Mentally, I wanted to quit at mile 2 but there was no physical reason to so I just kept trucking on.   I had to make a bathroom stop around mile 8, seriously, an aside to my city- what the hell?!?!!   I would imagine prisons have better bathrooms!  There is one park that has open bathrooms and they are creepy and disgusting, I even used the ones at the front of the park instead of the back this time and they are still gross.  But hey at least the stalls had doors this time!

Once leaving the bathrooms, I decided it was time for music and turned on my headphones.  However even with the added motivation, I knew I wasn’t going to hit 15.  Between the slower pace, the bathroom break, the stop lights and the pause to take off my outer layer then stash it, almost getting hit by a car not looking when they turned right, I’d been out there almost 3 hours!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much non-moving time on my Garmin before.  😛   I called it at 13.1.  Far better than I thought I was going to get.

21.36 miles for the week.  Pretty similar to last week and at least my long run went up.   I really need to work on building back up the weekly miles again.

How was your week?