Monday:
I got a nice 9 mile run in before yoga. The kids got back from Oklahoma at 6am so I chatted with them for a bit which meant losing some time for running. But it was worth it.
In the afternoon we did some shopping for New Years Eve food. We had decided to have appetizers for dinner. It’s one of my favorite meals for a holiday. Norm and I finished watching The Good Place. If you haven't watched it, start now! I was in bed and asleep by 9pm.
I don't know if I believe in resolutions or not. For me, I am not really focused on the New Year. I focus more on making changes during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And I like using the Chasidic New Year as a chance to check in. But this year, I was still busy wallowing in my sadness. I have decided to just get over myself and stop being so sad. We just have to get through the next month and financially things will improve a bit. Things will be really rough this month, but seeing the end in sight is also helpful.
Tuesday:
Since Norm had the day off I chose to spend the morning hanging out with him. I went to yoga at 9:30am. This meant I had to rearrange my running schedule. And this is why I like coaching myself. I sometimes think about having a coach again, but I like being able to make these adjustments to enjoy life and running without getting permission or listen to crap for my choices. We did some grocery shopping. After I was leaving for my run and Norm decided to join me. We did 6 miles and Norm ran really well compared to a week ago. He did the whole six miles without walking and never fell down!
We discussed the option of running Ord on Sunday afternoons. I used to run it every Friday morning starting early to be back for work, but now I have a long drive to work. And I am always a little nervous out there by myself. Also, my car was there every Friday. Could I make myself an easier target? On Sunday there might be more people and Norm could be there even if he was just hiking behind me. I miss running with Norm because it takes time away from being with him, but I also miss having that extra person for security.
Wednesday:
No more sleeping in because it’s back to work. I headed out for speed work. It was so cold that I could feel my muscles just weren’t warming up. It was about 33 degrees Fahrenheit when I left. After my 3 mile warm up I decided to focus on a slower faster pace. Running 6:50/mile pace felt hard because my quads felt like rocks and I could tell my hamstrings just weren’t warming up. I got through 6 miles and decided I didn't want to risk hurting myself.
Thursday:
Today I did something I never do. I wore running tights. My muscles were very happy about this decision! The bad thing about leggings is that you have to pull them all the way down to go pee. I got 10 easy miles on the trail done.
Friday:
I left for my progression run and felt like I had zero energy. Knowing that San Tan Scramble 50K was on the books for Saturday I decided to just go with it and take it easy. In retrospect, I should have realized that I was coming down with something. By the afternoon I had a full blown head cold that medicine was not making a dent in at all.
Saturday:
I went to bed at 8pm on Friday so I would get 8 hours of sleep before getting up to head to San Tan Scramble. Norm was working so I was going to ride with him. It wasn’t difficult to go to sleep so early since I was feeling so miserable. I got up at 4am and felt like crap. I still felt tired, my throat hurt and my nose was still runny. I decided to skip the race and go back to bed. I slept for another 3.5 hours. That means I slept for 11.5 hours. And I still found it difficult to get out of bed at 7:30am.
I got up. Had coffee. Took the dogs out. I decided to try going for a run. Definitely glad that I skipped the race. My lungs were burning and my legs felt like I had no energy. I took it nice and easy, but 11 miles left me exhausted. There is no way I would have made it through a 50K. But now I am going to have a pretty low mileage week.
Sunday:
Went to my favorite yoga class, but used the rest for the day to rest from running and work. It was already going to be a low mileage week so I decided to work on getting my classes at the community college ready. If I could get myself in place where all of that is ready to go, I will be less stressed during the semester. I am rewriting my class so that I am doing as little grading as possible. I finished the week with 56.7 miles.
I got a nice 9 mile run in before yoga. The kids got back from Oklahoma at 6am so I chatted with them for a bit which meant losing some time for running. But it was worth it.
In the afternoon we did some shopping for New Years Eve food. We had decided to have appetizers for dinner. It’s one of my favorite meals for a holiday. Norm and I finished watching The Good Place. If you haven't watched it, start now! I was in bed and asleep by 9pm.
I don't know if I believe in resolutions or not. For me, I am not really focused on the New Year. I focus more on making changes during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. And I like using the Chasidic New Year as a chance to check in. But this year, I was still busy wallowing in my sadness. I have decided to just get over myself and stop being so sad. We just have to get through the next month and financially things will improve a bit. Things will be really rough this month, but seeing the end in sight is also helpful.
Tuesday:
Since Norm had the day off I chose to spend the morning hanging out with him. I went to yoga at 9:30am. This meant I had to rearrange my running schedule. And this is why I like coaching myself. I sometimes think about having a coach again, but I like being able to make these adjustments to enjoy life and running without getting permission or listen to crap for my choices. We did some grocery shopping. After I was leaving for my run and Norm decided to join me. We did 6 miles and Norm ran really well compared to a week ago. He did the whole six miles without walking and never fell down!
We discussed the option of running Ord on Sunday afternoons. I used to run it every Friday morning starting early to be back for work, but now I have a long drive to work. And I am always a little nervous out there by myself. Also, my car was there every Friday. Could I make myself an easier target? On Sunday there might be more people and Norm could be there even if he was just hiking behind me. I miss running with Norm because it takes time away from being with him, but I also miss having that extra person for security.
Wednesday:
No more sleeping in because it’s back to work. I headed out for speed work. It was so cold that I could feel my muscles just weren’t warming up. It was about 33 degrees Fahrenheit when I left. After my 3 mile warm up I decided to focus on a slower faster pace. Running 6:50/mile pace felt hard because my quads felt like rocks and I could tell my hamstrings just weren’t warming up. I got through 6 miles and decided I didn't want to risk hurting myself.
Thursday:
Today I did something I never do. I wore running tights. My muscles were very happy about this decision! The bad thing about leggings is that you have to pull them all the way down to go pee. I got 10 easy miles on the trail done.
Friday:
I left for my progression run and felt like I had zero energy. Knowing that San Tan Scramble 50K was on the books for Saturday I decided to just go with it and take it easy. In retrospect, I should have realized that I was coming down with something. By the afternoon I had a full blown head cold that medicine was not making a dent in at all.
Saturday:
I went to bed at 8pm on Friday so I would get 8 hours of sleep before getting up to head to San Tan Scramble. Norm was working so I was going to ride with him. It wasn’t difficult to go to sleep so early since I was feeling so miserable. I got up at 4am and felt like crap. I still felt tired, my throat hurt and my nose was still runny. I decided to skip the race and go back to bed. I slept for another 3.5 hours. That means I slept for 11.5 hours. And I still found it difficult to get out of bed at 7:30am.
I got up. Had coffee. Took the dogs out. I decided to try going for a run. Definitely glad that I skipped the race. My lungs were burning and my legs felt like I had no energy. I took it nice and easy, but 11 miles left me exhausted. There is no way I would have made it through a 50K. But now I am going to have a pretty low mileage week.
Sunday:
Went to my favorite yoga class, but used the rest for the day to rest from running and work. It was already going to be a low mileage week so I decided to work on getting my classes at the community college ready. If I could get myself in place where all of that is ready to go, I will be less stressed during the semester. I am rewriting my class so that I am doing as little grading as possible. I finished the week with 56.7 miles.
