Tag: wind

Week 19- Taper?

Upcoming Races:

Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13
Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1-June 4

Yeah, that’s it- lets call it taper.

This week was good, short and odd but good. I’m still sleeping poorly and stinkin’ tired, but that happens sometimes, right? One thing that didn’t help was I somehow screwed up my GERD medication. With the ownership change and insurance change at work, I tried to make sure I had all my medications stocked in case there were delays or issues yet somehow I forgot the most important one. Then when I went to refill it, I had no refills and the doctor response was delayed. Holy mother of heartburn people, my chest was on fire for 5 days straight. That sure helped the lack of sleeping, ha! Healthy eating went out the window quickly too, vegetables and fruits just made it worse.

I also got locked out of my blog on phone so I am behind on replying to comments. I’m catching up, promise!

Anyhow, with the race being on a Saturday which is odd for me, I had a plan for the week. Whether or not it worked remained to be seen.

Monday- 3.75 miles Wardrobe hell. In an effort to get over my issues and deal with the heat better, I ordered some new shorts. I love my Fancy Stride (Oiselle) shorts but let’s be real, I’m feeling a little too fluffy to wear them comfortably right now so I figured I would go or something with a little more give. Ha! I ordered the Roga from Oiselle because I have never heard a bad thing about them. Oh my freakin’ A! I spent the next 4 miles picking them out of my crotch with every 3rd step. I finally gave up on running and walked it back in when I realized I was running so damn oddly my knees were starting to hurt. Back to the drawing board.

Tuesday- Rest Instead of running in some crazy wind I decided to do battle with my hair. The brown is really hanging on! My roots are freaky light and the bottom is dark so I’ve been trying to lighten the bottom. I’m not winning. 😛

Wednesday- 1.15 miles The lack of sleep over the past 2 weeks was kicking in and I was super tired. It was about 20 degrees colder after work than I had planned for and my family started texted about all meeting up for dinner. It didn’t take much convincing to have me only run 1 lap of the lake path. That said, the short period of time I was running was pretty good. Then at dinner, my dad expressed his displeasure with choice of hotel locations for this race trip- Lompoc- my mother agreed. So at the last minute, I was changing hotels and cities for Friday night. 😛 Side note- everyone at work was happy I moved hotels too.

Thursday- Rest I wanted 2 rest days before the race. Plus a Saturday race meant that the road trip started on Friday so I had a few last minute things to get ready. Thankfully, my medication was finally ready so I was able to get that after work. Plus I had to finish packing.

Friday- Road trip!! I took the day off work and my mother and I headed down to Santa Barbara to do a little shopping before packet pickup. Per usual, I was able to have my carb loading pizza for lunch. This is becoming a staple. We shopped a bit before heading back North to Solvang for packet pickup. Ever been to Solvang? It’s so cute and Danish but the tourists are crazy! People were literally standing in the middle of the street to take pictures and glaring at cars trying to drive by. One woman kept waving me on at a stop sign and getting mad that I was messing with her picture but she was trying to wave me through 20 pedestrians, ummm no! I had been feeling oddly nauseous at varying points throughout the day so after bib pickup it was off to the hotel to get some rest.

Saturday- Race day! And what a great surprise to wake and discover that the lovely time of the month had come calling… again. Wait, didn’t I race like this 2 weeks ago?!?! Grrrr, so this was going to be fun. Recap to come. 😛

Sunday- Rest It felt weird having raced a half marathon on Saturday. I felt like there was something I was forgetting to do. Part of me wanted to run but I didn’t budget time wisely. I slept in later in an effort to try and catch up on all my missed sleep. Then there were all the usual weekend errands I didn’t do Saturday to get done before an early Mother’s Day dinner with the family. Since my quads were feeling the hills from Saturday, I decided the rest wouldn’t hurt.

18.1 miles for the week. Not too bad considering the measly 1ish mile run on Wednesday. Especially when you compare it to last week. 😛

How was your week?

Ever change hotels last minute?

How was your Mother’s Day?

Week 8 Recap- Sleepy Time

Training for:

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

This was a blink and you missed it week but it wasn’t without its own headaches. That said it wasn’t a bad week it was just odd. Well unless you count me finding out that someone has already filed a tax return using my social. 😒

Monday- Nada– I had big plans to run but it was cold and windy and I just couldn’t make myself get out the door. I usually love having Mondays off so I can get in a good run but the cold front rolling in just made me a big baby. My toes have been so damn cold!

Tuesday- Rest- The work day was straight chaos. With the power issues last Friday and this being the first day back after a 3 day weekend, things were nuts. I wore a pair of old faithful boots but by the end of the day my feet hurt so bad that I wanted to cry. My shoes turned on me!

Wednesday- 2.7 miles- I headed out for my usual post work route run. Except I hadn’t taken into account the cold and the wind. I wasn’t dressed right with just capris and a long sleeve. The winds were in excess of 20 mph and they almost took my Buff off my head twice. My wool Buff that I recently accidentally dried. I hit the spot where I take the sunset pics and decided it was too cold and turned around to head for the car.

Funny moment on the way back- if I am coming up on an intersection the same time as a vehicle or two and don’t want to play the “no you go, no you go” game, I stop before and stretch or fake tie my shoe. This time one of those cars was a cop car and I guess they thought I looked shady. I got the stink eye for a moment when I straightened back up. 😛 Nothing to see here, move along. Even though when I damn near had an asthma attack 2 blocks later on a street corner I was wishing they could come back.

Thursday- 5 miles. Blood work test fail #1. Doctor said that I did not need to fast for a glucose test. He even wrote it on the work order. I took time off work in the afternoon and headed back to home town for the testing. He was wrong, the lab refused to do the testing. Grrr. Now what? I went running! I dressed a little smarter this time but could have used another layer. I’ve determined that as long as we have rain in the forecast, speed is not likely because my lungs just can’t handle the moisture in the air. No sooner do I accept that than Strava informs me that I broke my previous record for 400m and wasn’t even trying…

Friday- Rest Glucose test fail #2. And then success. I tried to get the process started in work town before work but was unable to, the line was insane. Luckily my boss is awesome so once everyone got to work I went back to the lab and got the process started. And then went back and forth for the next 3+ hours. I didn’t finish the glucose testing until 1:30. By then I was hangry and already bruising. My lunch was around 2 and I went through a drive thru intending to treat myself to some french fries but I ended up being lured by a picture of giant burger so I ordered that and some fries. Instead of feeling stuffed after eating it, I still felt oddly empty. It was very odd. I was so hungry all day.

Saturday- Rest. I crashed hard the night before around 9:30 which is odd for me. Normally I am up late reading and catching up on tv on Friday nights. I slept for 12 hours! It wasn’t un-interrupted but that’s a little ridiculous! Even when I did get up and get going I had zero energy. After doing a few errands I ended up taking a long nap. I had planned on running both Saturday and Sunday but decided that my body was trying to tell me something.

Sunday- Rest Yeah, this was just a total lack of motivation on my part. I kept telling myself to change and get out the door for 10 miles but I couldn’t actually do it. It was cold and my toes were frozen in my slippers in my house and no matter how much I berated myself I couldn’t make myself run. I just kept pushing it back later and later. #longrunfail

7.7 miles for the week. I’m not going to say ouch because missing my long run was entirely up to me. Was a case of the blah’s worthy of missing a long run? Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell. I do know I am over the cold weather. Timehop keeps showing me pics from last year and I was running in shorts and a tank. I miss those days. This weird cold front and crazy wind, rain just needs to take a break. I’m not saying it’s entirely responsible for my lagging motivation but it’s part of it.

How was your week?

Do you have warm weather? Wanna share?

Rambling On 4

Happy Friday!

This is not the post I had planned or started earlier this week…oops. I have a post half done about fuel but that can go up next week. I feel like I blinked and suddenly it was Friday. I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Fridays but where did the week go? On Thursday I thought it was Tuesday. How does that work?

We had 2 days of sun!!!! Insane wind came along with that but who cares the sun came out!!! I wanted to be like a cat and just find a warm (indoor) spot to lay in the sun.

My pace has been frustrating me lately. Ok for 3 years. I used to be so much faster. I just can’t seem to break the wall I’ve built in my head. Or my lungs. And then on random Thursday runs, things like this happen-

What the hell. I didn’t feel like I was running that hard.

Speaking of random Thursday runs, I wasn’t supposed to run, I was supposed to have lab work done. Except part of that of lab work was a glucose test. And it turns out it was the glucose test you need to fast for…despite my doctor and the nurses at his office telling me that I didn’t. They also wrote that on the lab slip. Aargh!!!!! I took time off work for this!

I had another sunset run this week though, so shiny. 😉

Was your week speedy?

What are you doing this weekend?

Share something random!

Week 3 Recap- All Wet

For a person who chose the word Challenge as a guiding principle for the year, January is doing a great job of laughing at me. I’m chalking it up to job stress and hoping that learning way or the other in the next week or so will help some of the stress go away. Maybe, hopefully…oh who knows.

In other news, it is still dumping buckets here in CA. Which would be awesome if I could stay at home under a blanket with my cats all day. But I can’t so yeah. I miss my night runs, who knew I would ever say that?? My boss and I were supposed to attend a Chamber function after work on Friday night but the storms and wind were so bad that we both agreed it was smarted to just go home. Somehow there was a break in the weather that lasted right until I got off the freeway in home town- best idea ever!

I had troubles keeping my blood sugar regulated this week as well. If you’ve been following this blog since the beginning (if you have, thank you!) you know I had this problem a few years ago. It’s been a long time since I bottomed out like that so that was fun. It happened Thursday and Friday…what gives?! Last week ended up being more Slacker-ish then I would have liked.

Monday- Rest– Haha, I wasn’t this sore after my marathon. This is what happens when you run 13.1 miles under trained. 😛

Tuesday- 4.5 miles I had a vacation day from work so I was able to enjoy a longer run in the middle of the afternoon. I really do love those. My shins were a little sore but I ran it off within a mile or two. I enjoyed being back on the river path for the first time in months. Come on spring and time change, where are you??

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- Rest. Yeah, that wasn’t planned but that’s what happened. I actually did some pushups and a plank all of those days but I am not sure those count. I packed my bag and while it actually left my car but I never changed into my running gear. Grrr.

Saturday- 7.65 miles Reality moment run. We had a break from the rain but it was still cold so I thought an afternoon long run sounded good. I planned 8 miles where I left my house, ran across town, ending at the high school and hitching a ride with my mother at the end of tennis practice. I don’t know where I went wrong. I swear I left my house with plenty of time. I felt like I was running a steady pace, the bridge mile faster like always. I was stopped at traffic lights but it didn’t seem like an inordinate amount of time. I did get distracted on the river trail. Water!!!! In all the time I’ve been running that path, there has never been water in the river let alone moving water; I had to stop and admire it for a moment. Or 2. Climbing the last big hill I got a text message from my mom asking where I was. Then I saw the time. What the hell?!! Not only was I not going to get in a leisurely 8 miles, I was still well over a 1.5 miles from the school and would have to haul ass just to get there and still be late. So I tried. I did…but there was no haul in my legs. I literally felt like I was running with a stick up my butt. TMI? I don’t know if it was because I was cold and my legs felt frozen, maybe I was tired, whatever, I could not move faster. With 1/2 miles to go I get another text. “Where are you”. Again my response is trying. Her answer is “meet us in front”. Oh great, so now I get to share my red face, huffing, out of breath, out of shape self who didn’t hit 8 miles with her AND whichever tennis players needed a ride home. Oh boy. 😞 They caught me at the streetlight. Yeah, reality check moment.

Sunday- Rest I woke to the power being out. Yay. I was hesitant to run because I wasn’t sure my water heater was 100% gas and the idea of cold run followed by a cold shower followed by a cold house… yeah, umm no. So I ran some errands then took a nap. I kept pushing my run back hoping the power would come back on. Then PG&E called and said that it wouldn’t be back on until Monday. What?!? So then it was hitting the store to find flashlights and ice for the freezer while wishing that I hadn’t gone food shopping on Saturday. Not that I buy much but still. All this to get close to my house to find the traffic lights back on…ummmm? So, power was back! I guess it could have been worse- my neighbors rented a hotel room and had just left to check in when the power came back.

Miles 12.1 Ouch, that’s sad. That’s like one good long run. That said, I am on track with the mileage target I set for January so I feel decent with starting training for Livermore and Santa Barbara Wine Country on the 30th. Also hopefully by then the rain will calm down and I may have an answer on the job front, fingers crossed. If low numbers get me through January while I face all its other Challenges, so be it.

How was your week?

Anyone else totally unprepared for power outages?

Mid Week Musings 7

Thursday can be mid-week right?

I thought about posting my food post but nah, I’m not in the mood to be cranky. So let’s clear the tracks (brain fog) instead.

Remember when I said I liked to browse websites and put things in my shopping cart but never buy? Yeah, marathon training has made it even worse. I want all the shiny new things! It’s like I’m starting over! I feel like a stalker considering how often I’ve been on the same websites. How long can you stare at a water bottle?

Handheld Hydration Pack, Black, Running Water Bottle

Wind sucks. Go away El Nino, you’re drunk. Getting used to running in humidity is one thing. Cold wind turns me into a baby though. Monday and Tuesday were crazy windy and cold. Branches and trees came down, boats were evacuated off the water. Yeah, I didn’t run. #sorrynotsorry

I ate 2 big cookies today. Low carb fail. It was in the name of research though. Ok, one was. We’ve been testing different bakeries for cookie Friday’s and how else do you know if they are good? I’m going with dang good since I ate a second one.

Where is time going? It’s almost April for crying out loud. How is the year a quarter over?

I have a long run of epic proportions that I am trying not to freak out about this weekend. And I am trying shorts on a short again tomorrow. Aaaack! Not sure which is more stressful.

I have a 5K in a week. I kind of feel like I forgot how to race. It’s been so long. Especially for a 5K. Yikes!

I ran intervals tonight. Again, it’s been so long!!!!