Monday:
I woke up at 4:50am. I let Maui out and after took Hank for a walk. I came back and made coffee. When I sat down I realized all of that had taken me 30 minutes! And 5am it is just barely light out. I know that in 2 weeks I will be back to teaching at the college at 8am. I am already stressing about getting everything done. I have a plan that I used in college. I am going to buy a calendar where I can record the plan with time for every day. Everything will get written on the calendar. How long it will take to run, to do weights, to get ready, etc. EVERYTHING! This is a strategy I recommend to my college students when they come to me and tell me they are struggling with keeping up with all they have to do.
The plan was to run 10 easy paced miles with at least 1200 feet of climbing. I really thought I was getting use to the heat, but today I felt terrible. Just 2 miles in to the run I knew I was in trouble. I decided to try one more climb. It was a climb that I bailed on and took the easier route when given the option. At this point I am 3 miles in and feeling like I am going to puke. I really was concerned that I would be puking the whole way home. I headed toward home and kept it really easy. And I kept feeling like I might puke at any moment. I made it to 6 miles, stopped my watch and walked the rest of the way home.
Hank is so excited when I come home from my run because he knows it is his turn. I really did not want to try to run with him. I was pretty sure I couldn't run with him. I rested for a few minutes. I was able to rally and take Hank for his run. He is doing much better at ignoring bunnies and staying to one side of me.
I woke up at 4:50am. I let Maui out and after took Hank for a walk. I came back and made coffee. When I sat down I realized all of that had taken me 30 minutes! And 5am it is just barely light out. I know that in 2 weeks I will be back to teaching at the college at 8am. I am already stressing about getting everything done. I have a plan that I used in college. I am going to buy a calendar where I can record the plan with time for every day. Everything will get written on the calendar. How long it will take to run, to do weights, to get ready, etc. EVERYTHING! This is a strategy I recommend to my college students when they come to me and tell me they are struggling with keeping up with all they have to do.
The plan was to run 10 easy paced miles with at least 1200 feet of climbing. I really thought I was getting use to the heat, but today I felt terrible. Just 2 miles in to the run I knew I was in trouble. I decided to try one more climb. It was a climb that I bailed on and took the easier route when given the option. At this point I am 3 miles in and feeling like I am going to puke. I really was concerned that I would be puking the whole way home. I headed toward home and kept it really easy. And I kept feeling like I might puke at any moment. I made it to 6 miles, stopped my watch and walked the rest of the way home.
Hank is so excited when I come home from my run because he knows it is his turn. I really did not want to try to run with him. I was pretty sure I couldn't run with him. I rested for a few minutes. I was able to rally and take Hank for his run. He is doing much better at ignoring bunnies and staying to one side of me.
Hank is exhausted after running. Which is the point!
Tuesday:
I woke up at 5am and took Hank for his walk. I felt so exhausted. I came back from the walk and went back to bed. I didn't really think I would sleep, but I did. When I finally woke up Norm told me it was 7:30am. Yikes! And as soon as I woke up things just started going wrong. I just couldn't find the motivation to get myself out the door. I did spend the day getting my Intro to Psych class set up and the syllabus done so I can get things to the printer. So it wasn’t a total waste of a day.
I must be worse than I realize because Norm has never brought me flowers the whole time we have been together.
Wednesday:
It’s run with Hayley day. We headed out on the canal for some easy miles. I just chat, chat, chat to keep Hayley from thinking about running. Lucky for her my life is so ridiculous right now that I have a lot to say. My work situation at the elementary school is a little… confusing at the moment.
Six easy miles done with Hayley and it was Hank’s turn to run with me. When I got him back home I decided to take advantage of the cloud cover and lower humidity and head out for some miles. I tried to take it super easy so my stomach wouldn’t get upset, but I still had some stomach issues. This is not a good sign for Jackrabbit Jubilee. I really need my stomach to get use to running in the heat.
Thursday:
When I got up at 4am to deal with dogs I should have just stayed up. I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. Instead I went back to bed and slept until 6:15am. I am torn between enjoying my last few days of sleeping in and wanting to get up early and run before it is so hot out. It wasn’t too bad when I left. The plan was to run a progression run. Everything was going fine until the sun came out. Full on sunshine! I didn’t even bother trying to run fast. I was in the middle of a mile and just eased up on the pace and ran easy the rest of the way home.
I had a meeting at the Cheder. They have hired a principal this year and this was my first time meeting her. She seems very nice, but we have very different educational philosophies so it will be interesting to see how the year goes. Somehow the school calendar never got sent to me and I am meant to be back at work next Wednesday. I thought I had until the 17th before I had to be back at school. I am excited to get back to writing lessons and being in the classroom. I am not looking forward to all the teacher training stuff that comes before. I am all for learning new things, I would just rather read a book or watch videos at home. I do not love sitting through trainings. They are just never fun. And I have trouble focusing.
Friday:
The plan was to go to Prescott so I could run 15 miles and get 3000 feet of climbing done. Norm was going to come with me and bring Hank. I figured he could walk Hank while I run. I don’t even know why I plan anything.
Norm decided to run with me. Odd decision since he hasn’t run in 2 weeks, but okay. We got out of the house later than I wanted. It was going to be hot when we got to Prescott. I had looked on the map and planned to start at the Williamson Valley Trailhead. I thought I would be making my way onto the Circle Trail, but I was wrong. I had a map on my phone, but none of the trail numbers matched the map on my phone. Good grief! Norm and I headed out on trail 308 the Ton Trough Trail. It wasn’t my ideal of pretty, but it was interesting. Lots of big boulders and bushes that were scratching the hell out of my legs. The part I loved was all the water crossings! We did see some huge beautiful butterflies. We also saw a lot of lizards and I hate lizards so I didn’t enjoy them running in front of me like some sort of trail pacer. I revised the plan to 10 miles from 15 to try to make it a bit easier for Norm. When the trail ended and headed up Granite Mountain I decided we should turn back. Norm had brought 2 bottles and was out of water in one bottle. We were at about 4.4 miles on my watch. I think Norm was a little worried about my run being too short, but I was okay with it. It was better than him running out of water. Also, I could see storm clouds rolling in and this was clearly an area that would be a flash flood nightmare. I had no intentions of being stuck or in need of rescue. After a few miles I was no longer seeing Norm behind me. I waited. And waited and waited. I was starting to get nervous, but finally I saw him walking towards me. I told him I would walk with him and we made our way back to the car. It was really hot. We both ran out of water about a half a mile away from the car. While we had fun, this was pretty much a disaster as far as training runs go.
We were practically back in town before I had service again. That was annoying because we were trying to find a place to eat. We stopped at a small Mexican place that was doing big business. Unfortunately, there was nothing for me to eat. Although I have been known to eat dairy, I try to avoid it. I have over done the dairy thing lately so I am on a strict no dairy at all for a month. We left and found another place. The prefect place! It’s my new favorite restaurant. Too bad it’s two hours away! We ate at Maya’s. Totally gluten free and plenty of vegetarian options. They didn't even blink when I asked for no dairy on my meal. Not only was the food delicious, but the staff was the nicest staff ever!
At lunch Norm brought up the running thing. He was feeling bad, like he is ruining my training. I will admit a couple weeks ago on the last run we did together I thought to myself “I have to tell him we can’t train together any more.” But he stopped running with me after that day so I didn't have to say anything. With the illness, Norm is having some trouble running because his balance is off and his just doesn’t feel right most of the time. I told Norm that I was okay with running with him, but we would just have to plan so that I still get my training done. But I also didn't want him to feel like he has to run if he doesn't want to run. His concern was that this was really the only time we spend together. If we stop running together, we don't really see each other much. I was honest with him that for me the concern is that running is really the only thing we have in common (other than lust, but don't worry I won't talk about that.) I think the good thing is that even if he isn't running he is still interested in the running world. We can still talk about it and enjoy talking about it. And I guess we will just have to make sure that we find ways to still spend time together. It’s just important to me that I not feel guilty about being gone to train. The other factor for me is that I use him as my safety. When it’s dark out or I am running places that make me nervous, I like knowing he is around. Even if he isn't right next to me, I like knowing he isn’t too far behind.
I woke up at 5am and took Hank for his walk. I felt so exhausted. I came back from the walk and went back to bed. I didn't really think I would sleep, but I did. When I finally woke up Norm told me it was 7:30am. Yikes! And as soon as I woke up things just started going wrong. I just couldn't find the motivation to get myself out the door. I did spend the day getting my Intro to Psych class set up and the syllabus done so I can get things to the printer. So it wasn’t a total waste of a day.
I must be worse than I realize because Norm has never brought me flowers the whole time we have been together.
Wednesday:
It’s run with Hayley day. We headed out on the canal for some easy miles. I just chat, chat, chat to keep Hayley from thinking about running. Lucky for her my life is so ridiculous right now that I have a lot to say. My work situation at the elementary school is a little… confusing at the moment.
Six easy miles done with Hayley and it was Hank’s turn to run with me. When I got him back home I decided to take advantage of the cloud cover and lower humidity and head out for some miles. I tried to take it super easy so my stomach wouldn’t get upset, but I still had some stomach issues. This is not a good sign for Jackrabbit Jubilee. I really need my stomach to get use to running in the heat.
Thursday:
When I got up at 4am to deal with dogs I should have just stayed up. I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. Instead I went back to bed and slept until 6:15am. I am torn between enjoying my last few days of sleeping in and wanting to get up early and run before it is so hot out. It wasn’t too bad when I left. The plan was to run a progression run. Everything was going fine until the sun came out. Full on sunshine! I didn’t even bother trying to run fast. I was in the middle of a mile and just eased up on the pace and ran easy the rest of the way home.
I had a meeting at the Cheder. They have hired a principal this year and this was my first time meeting her. She seems very nice, but we have very different educational philosophies so it will be interesting to see how the year goes. Somehow the school calendar never got sent to me and I am meant to be back at work next Wednesday. I thought I had until the 17th before I had to be back at school. I am excited to get back to writing lessons and being in the classroom. I am not looking forward to all the teacher training stuff that comes before. I am all for learning new things, I would just rather read a book or watch videos at home. I do not love sitting through trainings. They are just never fun. And I have trouble focusing.
Friday:
The plan was to go to Prescott so I could run 15 miles and get 3000 feet of climbing done. Norm was going to come with me and bring Hank. I figured he could walk Hank while I run. I don’t even know why I plan anything.
Norm decided to run with me. Odd decision since he hasn’t run in 2 weeks, but okay. We got out of the house later than I wanted. It was going to be hot when we got to Prescott. I had looked on the map and planned to start at the Williamson Valley Trailhead. I thought I would be making my way onto the Circle Trail, but I was wrong. I had a map on my phone, but none of the trail numbers matched the map on my phone. Good grief! Norm and I headed out on trail 308 the Ton Trough Trail. It wasn’t my ideal of pretty, but it was interesting. Lots of big boulders and bushes that were scratching the hell out of my legs. The part I loved was all the water crossings! We did see some huge beautiful butterflies. We also saw a lot of lizards and I hate lizards so I didn’t enjoy them running in front of me like some sort of trail pacer. I revised the plan to 10 miles from 15 to try to make it a bit easier for Norm. When the trail ended and headed up Granite Mountain I decided we should turn back. Norm had brought 2 bottles and was out of water in one bottle. We were at about 4.4 miles on my watch. I think Norm was a little worried about my run being too short, but I was okay with it. It was better than him running out of water. Also, I could see storm clouds rolling in and this was clearly an area that would be a flash flood nightmare. I had no intentions of being stuck or in need of rescue. After a few miles I was no longer seeing Norm behind me. I waited. And waited and waited. I was starting to get nervous, but finally I saw him walking towards me. I told him I would walk with him and we made our way back to the car. It was really hot. We both ran out of water about a half a mile away from the car. While we had fun, this was pretty much a disaster as far as training runs go.
We were practically back in town before I had service again. That was annoying because we were trying to find a place to eat. We stopped at a small Mexican place that was doing big business. Unfortunately, there was nothing for me to eat. Although I have been known to eat dairy, I try to avoid it. I have over done the dairy thing lately so I am on a strict no dairy at all for a month. We left and found another place. The prefect place! It’s my new favorite restaurant. Too bad it’s two hours away! We ate at Maya’s. Totally gluten free and plenty of vegetarian options. They didn't even blink when I asked for no dairy on my meal. Not only was the food delicious, but the staff was the nicest staff ever!
At lunch Norm brought up the running thing. He was feeling bad, like he is ruining my training. I will admit a couple weeks ago on the last run we did together I thought to myself “I have to tell him we can’t train together any more.” But he stopped running with me after that day so I didn't have to say anything. With the illness, Norm is having some trouble running because his balance is off and his just doesn’t feel right most of the time. I told Norm that I was okay with running with him, but we would just have to plan so that I still get my training done. But I also didn't want him to feel like he has to run if he doesn't want to run. His concern was that this was really the only time we spend together. If we stop running together, we don't really see each other much. I was honest with him that for me the concern is that running is really the only thing we have in common (other than lust, but don't worry I won't talk about that.) I think the good thing is that even if he isn't running he is still interested in the running world. We can still talk about it and enjoy talking about it. And I guess we will just have to make sure that we find ways to still spend time together. It’s just important to me that I not feel guilty about being gone to train. The other factor for me is that I use him as my safety. When it’s dark out or I am running places that make me nervous, I like knowing he is around. Even if he isn't right next to me, I like knowing he isn’t too far behind.
So many cool water crossings with little waterfalls! I wanted to skip running and just play in the water.
Lots of mushrooms on the trail. It was like fairy land in the middle of desert brush.
This was our turn around point.
You should eat here! It was delish!
Saturday:
I had considered going to Ord to get my climbing in, but in the end decided against it. Tomorrow is my long run and I didn't want to waste my legs today and struggle tomorrow. My climbing has been a little off so I was worried too much climbing today would be an issue.
I decided to just get my 10 miles done on the canal. I tried not to look at my watch and just run relaxed. I was surprised with my pace, especially with the heat. I even ran a progression run without trying. Yeah me. Here’s hoping that tomorrow long run goes just as well.
Sunday:
In general I have just been feeling like I need change. So, instead of running Lake Mary Road like I had planned I decided to try Woody Mountain Road. I had never been there so I had no idea what I was signing up for with this location. Norm had worked at the Aravaipa night race and came home around 2am, maybe 2:30am. Of course the puppy went nuts. I talked to Norm a little and tossed and turn to go back to sleep. I got up around 5:45am and still felt sleepy. I took Hank for his walk and had my coffee. I was still debating whether to head to Flag or not. Yes, it was really hot here, but a two drive there and back by myself didn't sound so fun. And the traffic coming home from Flagstaff was going to suck. It always does.
It was easy to figure out where to go. It also helped that there were a bunch of high school boys warming up in the road. I parked my car and hoped they would stop stretching and start running because I had to pee really bad! They didn't. And their coach came over to talk me. They had driven down from Longmont, CO. I told him I had driven up from Phoenix to escape the heat. “So you're a marathon runner that just drives up to run and after you go home to your kids, 2 dogs and big house.” I didn't correct him by saying that I run ultra races. I mean I do run marathons too. “Pretty much except for the big house part, “ I responded. And wait a second, was he insulting me? It was kind of a weird thing to say. Whatever. He seemed like a nice enough person and people say weird shit to me all the time. He told me they were running 14 miles and they would see me on their return trip. He invited me to come run Boulder to Boulder and with that he was off! I finally was able to go pee and start my own run.
I took one handheld instead of my vest. Which I kinda regretted immediately. I thought about going back for my vest, but I was worried I would juts get in my car and drive home with only a few miles finished. I was pretty sure one bottle would be enough, but it might be close.
This isn’t a flat road, but the climbing is never too bad. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, but it seemed like when there were cars they were driving too fast and close to me. When there weren’t cars, it was an amazing place to run. I ran through Rogers Lake County Natural Area. I would love to come back and run the trails that extend from this area. And of course, what would a run in the woods be without people shooting guns really close to where you are running?
I was about a quarter mile from 7 miles when the boys team passed me and their coach yelled “You are almost to 7 miles Kristina!” Great, except I am running to 10 before I turn around. But the encouragement was nice. At mile 10 I stopped to take in some nutrition. There were some Annie’s Rabbit gummies in my bottle and I ate those. Almost instantly my stomach started hurting. I wonder how long those gummies had been in the bottle? My stomach never got better, but it did get worse. But the miles ticked by quickly and before I knew it I could see my car!
Overall I was happy with the run. I didn't run as fast as I wanted with the stomach ache, but on the up side I got enough climbing done to get my climbing for the week closer to where I wanted it.
I had considered going to Ord to get my climbing in, but in the end decided against it. Tomorrow is my long run and I didn't want to waste my legs today and struggle tomorrow. My climbing has been a little off so I was worried too much climbing today would be an issue.
I decided to just get my 10 miles done on the canal. I tried not to look at my watch and just run relaxed. I was surprised with my pace, especially with the heat. I even ran a progression run without trying. Yeah me. Here’s hoping that tomorrow long run goes just as well.
Sunday:
In general I have just been feeling like I need change. So, instead of running Lake Mary Road like I had planned I decided to try Woody Mountain Road. I had never been there so I had no idea what I was signing up for with this location. Norm had worked at the Aravaipa night race and came home around 2am, maybe 2:30am. Of course the puppy went nuts. I talked to Norm a little and tossed and turn to go back to sleep. I got up around 5:45am and still felt sleepy. I took Hank for his walk and had my coffee. I was still debating whether to head to Flag or not. Yes, it was really hot here, but a two drive there and back by myself didn't sound so fun. And the traffic coming home from Flagstaff was going to suck. It always does.
It was easy to figure out where to go. It also helped that there were a bunch of high school boys warming up in the road. I parked my car and hoped they would stop stretching and start running because I had to pee really bad! They didn't. And their coach came over to talk me. They had driven down from Longmont, CO. I told him I had driven up from Phoenix to escape the heat. “So you're a marathon runner that just drives up to run and after you go home to your kids, 2 dogs and big house.” I didn't correct him by saying that I run ultra races. I mean I do run marathons too. “Pretty much except for the big house part, “ I responded. And wait a second, was he insulting me? It was kind of a weird thing to say. Whatever. He seemed like a nice enough person and people say weird shit to me all the time. He told me they were running 14 miles and they would see me on their return trip. He invited me to come run Boulder to Boulder and with that he was off! I finally was able to go pee and start my own run.
I took one handheld instead of my vest. Which I kinda regretted immediately. I thought about going back for my vest, but I was worried I would juts get in my car and drive home with only a few miles finished. I was pretty sure one bottle would be enough, but it might be close.
This isn’t a flat road, but the climbing is never too bad. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, but it seemed like when there were cars they were driving too fast and close to me. When there weren’t cars, it was an amazing place to run. I ran through Rogers Lake County Natural Area. I would love to come back and run the trails that extend from this area. And of course, what would a run in the woods be without people shooting guns really close to where you are running?
I was about a quarter mile from 7 miles when the boys team passed me and their coach yelled “You are almost to 7 miles Kristina!” Great, except I am running to 10 before I turn around. But the encouragement was nice. At mile 10 I stopped to take in some nutrition. There were some Annie’s Rabbit gummies in my bottle and I ate those. Almost instantly my stomach started hurting. I wonder how long those gummies had been in the bottle? My stomach never got better, but it did get worse. But the miles ticked by quickly and before I knew it I could see my car!
Overall I was happy with the run. I didn't run as fast as I wanted with the stomach ache, but on the up side I got enough climbing done to get my climbing for the week closer to where I wanted it.
