Monday:
I had 15 miles on the schedule but I left with the attitude of we will see what gets done. I ended up with 11 miles. I felt pretty good, but the real test will be how exhausted I am later in the day. This sickness is kicking my butt.
In the afternoon I was having trouble telling if I was just feeling unmotivated or I was feeling tired. I drug myself to yoga, but definitely took it easier than normal.
Side note, I always wonder if I am planking correctly? And I hate all this bow pose shit because I never feel it in my abs, just my legs. I either have seriously weak abs (a good possibility) or I am not doing it correctly.
I had asked my friend Nick to pace me at Black Canyon. We ended up running a lot of miles together last year and I instantly liked him. He had told me he would let me know because he was worried about his fitness. After a long run over the weekend he decided that he was not in good enough shape to commit to pacing me. So now I am trying to figure out who is next on the list. Nick is on notice to get his ass back in shape for future pacing responsibilities.
Tuesday:
I slept in later than I should. Normally this is my speed work day, but my chest is a bit tight and there is a lot of gunk just sitting there. I woke feeling like I just needed to cough a lot of stuff up, but nothing was happening. I left the house and decided that although my legs felt good, my chest was definitely not going to let me do any fast running so I headed onto the trails and will move speed work to later in the week. Again, 15 miles was on the schedule and I planned to get it all done, but after stopping at 6.5 miles I had a terrible coughing fit. I had cough drops with me but was a bit nervous about trying to suck on a cough drop and run. I really don't want to die choking on a cough drop on the trails. I also realized that my watch was about to die and my pack is rubbing my chest raw (this usually takes a lot more than 6 miles). At this point I figured the universe is trying to tell me something and I head home. And note to self: start checking when you put your watch on the charger that it is indeed charging.
This did give me the opportunity to get a 40 minute session of weights ad cardio done. I will be sorry tomorrow.
I also find out that number 2 on my list of pacers isn’t available. I am really trying to not fall into panic mood right now. I lost days to training due to being sick and I am still not training at 100 percent. I have no pacer and I am not sure who I should ask. Norm and I have a discussion about whether I should just run it alone without a pacer. I don't know. Maybe? I know what I need in a pacer and if I can’t find that then maybe I am better off just going at it alone. But I also think it would be really valuable to have someone there for those last 30 something miles to remind me what is at stake and to help me push through the tough miles. It’s a lot easier to feel sorry for yourself when you are running alone.
Yoga in the afternoon. Brandi is back at yoga with me. Yay! Let’s face it all work outs are more fun with a friend. Unfortunately she has to meet me there because I don’t think I have time to make it home, change and back to yoga. I am a little sad to miss out on all our girl chat time in the car.
Wednesday:
Today is an easy day. I am feeling so tired today. I am assuming it is the sickness that is still at work. I embrace the easy day and run 11 slow miles on the canal. I spend much of the time thinking over racing Mad City 100K. It’s been on my list for a number of years now, Maybe this is the year to head out there? I am headed back home and see that 7th Street is shut down and traffic is being rerouted. I later find out there was an officer involved shooting here. Yikes!
It’s a quick turn around to shower, eat and get out the door to work. I am feeling like I need a nap. I am not tutoring this afternoon so I was looking forward to going to yoga, but I end up with a terrible headache in the afternoon. The kind that doesn't go away with medication. I know this headache. This is the your period is coming headache. So I skip yoga and plan to go to bed as soon as possible.
Since I am not feeling good, seeing a box from Drymax socks is super fun! It’s such a big box! I can’t believe all the socks. The teenagers are pawing through my socks and I tell them I am going to have my name embroidered on all of them so that they can’t steal my socks. I usually just buy the same style sock all the time so I am super excited to try all the different socks. I previously had a favorite brand of socks but when I was training for the Sky Running Series in 2017 my toes where constantly busting out the front of my sock. Mark Cosmas told me to try Drymax and I have never looked back. They are my favorite socks. I never get blisters and it took 2 years for the socks to start to fall apart. I was told by the people at Drymax the socks should last for more than 2 years. That is amazing! So if you are looking for a better sock, try Drymax. I can't say thank you enough to the nice people at Drymax!
I had 15 miles on the schedule but I left with the attitude of we will see what gets done. I ended up with 11 miles. I felt pretty good, but the real test will be how exhausted I am later in the day. This sickness is kicking my butt.
In the afternoon I was having trouble telling if I was just feeling unmotivated or I was feeling tired. I drug myself to yoga, but definitely took it easier than normal.
Side note, I always wonder if I am planking correctly? And I hate all this bow pose shit because I never feel it in my abs, just my legs. I either have seriously weak abs (a good possibility) or I am not doing it correctly.
I had asked my friend Nick to pace me at Black Canyon. We ended up running a lot of miles together last year and I instantly liked him. He had told me he would let me know because he was worried about his fitness. After a long run over the weekend he decided that he was not in good enough shape to commit to pacing me. So now I am trying to figure out who is next on the list. Nick is on notice to get his ass back in shape for future pacing responsibilities.
Tuesday:
I slept in later than I should. Normally this is my speed work day, but my chest is a bit tight and there is a lot of gunk just sitting there. I woke feeling like I just needed to cough a lot of stuff up, but nothing was happening. I left the house and decided that although my legs felt good, my chest was definitely not going to let me do any fast running so I headed onto the trails and will move speed work to later in the week. Again, 15 miles was on the schedule and I planned to get it all done, but after stopping at 6.5 miles I had a terrible coughing fit. I had cough drops with me but was a bit nervous about trying to suck on a cough drop and run. I really don't want to die choking on a cough drop on the trails. I also realized that my watch was about to die and my pack is rubbing my chest raw (this usually takes a lot more than 6 miles). At this point I figured the universe is trying to tell me something and I head home. And note to self: start checking when you put your watch on the charger that it is indeed charging.
This did give me the opportunity to get a 40 minute session of weights ad cardio done. I will be sorry tomorrow.
I also find out that number 2 on my list of pacers isn’t available. I am really trying to not fall into panic mood right now. I lost days to training due to being sick and I am still not training at 100 percent. I have no pacer and I am not sure who I should ask. Norm and I have a discussion about whether I should just run it alone without a pacer. I don't know. Maybe? I know what I need in a pacer and if I can’t find that then maybe I am better off just going at it alone. But I also think it would be really valuable to have someone there for those last 30 something miles to remind me what is at stake and to help me push through the tough miles. It’s a lot easier to feel sorry for yourself when you are running alone.
Yoga in the afternoon. Brandi is back at yoga with me. Yay! Let’s face it all work outs are more fun with a friend. Unfortunately she has to meet me there because I don’t think I have time to make it home, change and back to yoga. I am a little sad to miss out on all our girl chat time in the car.
Wednesday:
Today is an easy day. I am feeling so tired today. I am assuming it is the sickness that is still at work. I embrace the easy day and run 11 slow miles on the canal. I spend much of the time thinking over racing Mad City 100K. It’s been on my list for a number of years now, Maybe this is the year to head out there? I am headed back home and see that 7th Street is shut down and traffic is being rerouted. I later find out there was an officer involved shooting here. Yikes!
It’s a quick turn around to shower, eat and get out the door to work. I am feeling like I need a nap. I am not tutoring this afternoon so I was looking forward to going to yoga, but I end up with a terrible headache in the afternoon. The kind that doesn't go away with medication. I know this headache. This is the your period is coming headache. So I skip yoga and plan to go to bed as soon as possible.
Since I am not feeling good, seeing a box from Drymax socks is super fun! It’s such a big box! I can’t believe all the socks. The teenagers are pawing through my socks and I tell them I am going to have my name embroidered on all of them so that they can’t steal my socks. I usually just buy the same style sock all the time so I am super excited to try all the different socks. I previously had a favorite brand of socks but when I was training for the Sky Running Series in 2017 my toes where constantly busting out the front of my sock. Mark Cosmas told me to try Drymax and I have never looked back. They are my favorite socks. I never get blisters and it took 2 years for the socks to start to fall apart. I was told by the people at Drymax the socks should last for more than 2 years. That is amazing! So if you are looking for a better sock, try Drymax. I can't say thank you enough to the nice people at Drymax!
Socks!
Thursday:
I am still not feeling 100 percent but I was able to get 15 miles done without too much trouble. I pretty much ran circles in my backyard so I would never be too far from home in case things went bad. The miles went by quickly. It felt easy to get 15 miles done. I really want to run Elephant Mountain 50K, but I know it’s a bad decision.
Friday:
I decided to try some speed work today. I figured if my chest said no thank you I would just quit and take it easy. I decided to run half mile fast half mile easy, which is my go to “easy” speed work because that half mile rest is nice and long. I did a 4 mile warm up and found myself struggling to run a 6:40 pace. I assumed it was because my chest was full of gunk. The wind might have been the issue. Once I turned and was no longer running into the wind I was able to run 6:00 to 6:15 pace and it didn't feel difficult. This made me really happy!
In the afternoon I was regretting the speed work. My chest hurt just sitting and doing nothing. This is concerning.
Brandi and I made a mad rush to yoga. We have decided we don't care if it means rushing and maybe being a bit late, we would rather ride together and have the time together. I kept it very easy in class.
Saturday:
Brandi really wanted to go to yoga today so this made it easier to talk myself out of running Elephant Mountain. It’s good that I am not running. Even thought it would be a training run, if I had a bad day it would make going into Black Canyon mentally tough. Even knowing I have been really sick, I would start to doubt myself.
It was a perfect day for running! It made it easier to run all the miles because it was so amazing. It was cloudy and the temps stayed at about 58 degrees for my whole run. I did my favorite hilly road mixed with trail route. Ran on some seldom used trails that don't get much use. I use the love the purple flowers that are all over the trail, but I have recently learned that they cause a reaction like poison ivy in some people. I did a lot of very careful stepping to avoid them. I have never been stressed about these flowers and now I am having anxiety. Ignorance truly is bliss!
I ran into Albert Shank and we ran together for a few minutes, but he was headed off to run more hills and I was headed the opposite way back home.
I got home and had an hour to get ready to leave for yoga. I don't usually go to yoga on Saturday, but Brandi is just starting back and wanted to go. We tried a new yoga instructor. She was a nice person, but I am not sure it’s the class for me.
The rest of the day was spent running errands, doing dishes, and answering emails. The good news is I didn't feel tired. I ran 19 miles, went to yoga and never felt like I needed a nap. This is good!
My plan was to try a new pair of Drymax socks every day, but I found a new favorite and keep going back to those. The lite trail running sock actually has amazing padding on the bottom of the foot. They are called the Lite Trail Tollefson. I do not like a lot of cushion in my shoe. And I run in road shoe, even on the trail. These socks give me extra padding needed to make those rocky trails feel better while I still feel like I am running in a flat shoe.
I am still not feeling 100 percent but I was able to get 15 miles done without too much trouble. I pretty much ran circles in my backyard so I would never be too far from home in case things went bad. The miles went by quickly. It felt easy to get 15 miles done. I really want to run Elephant Mountain 50K, but I know it’s a bad decision.
Friday:
I decided to try some speed work today. I figured if my chest said no thank you I would just quit and take it easy. I decided to run half mile fast half mile easy, which is my go to “easy” speed work because that half mile rest is nice and long. I did a 4 mile warm up and found myself struggling to run a 6:40 pace. I assumed it was because my chest was full of gunk. The wind might have been the issue. Once I turned and was no longer running into the wind I was able to run 6:00 to 6:15 pace and it didn't feel difficult. This made me really happy!
In the afternoon I was regretting the speed work. My chest hurt just sitting and doing nothing. This is concerning.
Brandi and I made a mad rush to yoga. We have decided we don't care if it means rushing and maybe being a bit late, we would rather ride together and have the time together. I kept it very easy in class.
Saturday:
Brandi really wanted to go to yoga today so this made it easier to talk myself out of running Elephant Mountain. It’s good that I am not running. Even thought it would be a training run, if I had a bad day it would make going into Black Canyon mentally tough. Even knowing I have been really sick, I would start to doubt myself.
It was a perfect day for running! It made it easier to run all the miles because it was so amazing. It was cloudy and the temps stayed at about 58 degrees for my whole run. I did my favorite hilly road mixed with trail route. Ran on some seldom used trails that don't get much use. I use the love the purple flowers that are all over the trail, but I have recently learned that they cause a reaction like poison ivy in some people. I did a lot of very careful stepping to avoid them. I have never been stressed about these flowers and now I am having anxiety. Ignorance truly is bliss!
I ran into Albert Shank and we ran together for a few minutes, but he was headed off to run more hills and I was headed the opposite way back home.
I got home and had an hour to get ready to leave for yoga. I don't usually go to yoga on Saturday, but Brandi is just starting back and wanted to go. We tried a new yoga instructor. She was a nice person, but I am not sure it’s the class for me.
The rest of the day was spent running errands, doing dishes, and answering emails. The good news is I didn't feel tired. I ran 19 miles, went to yoga and never felt like I needed a nap. This is good!
My plan was to try a new pair of Drymax socks every day, but I found a new favorite and keep going back to those. The lite trail running sock actually has amazing padding on the bottom of the foot. They are called the Lite Trail Tollefson. I do not like a lot of cushion in my shoe. And I run in road shoe, even on the trail. These socks give me extra padding needed to make those rocky trails feel better while I still feel like I am running in a flat shoe.
I love these socks for the trail!
Sunday:
Brandi and I went to yoga in the morning. Holy crap that class was hard! I am not sure why harmony was tying to kill us today. We have decided that the better her mood, the harder the class.
I decided against running because the last two days my Achilles in my right leg was a little off. No pain, but I could feel it. On Thursday I thought maybe it was just from the speed work, but half way through my run yesterday I started to feel it again. I drove me a bit nuts to not run, but I wanted to rest it in an effort to try to keep it from becoming something.
There Is a dog at the Sedona Humane Society that I can't stop thinking about. I originally saw him on a post from the Maricopa Humane Society. A Great Dane/Cattle Dog mix, he is so cute! He is 8 years old and I am a sucker for an older dog. But I didn't really think much about it after showing my family his picture and talking about how cute he is. A few weeks later I see him pop up on my instagram feed at the Humane Society in Sedona. That is where I got Pasta about a year ago. We always joke that the best dogs come from Sedona because Pasta is such a good dog. I can't stop thinking about this dog and spent most of my run yesterday thinking about him. I came home and told the kids that I couldn't stop thinking about the dog but I just didn't have the extra money for adoption fees right now. We pull up his picture and see that his adoption fee has been sponsored. It’s a sign! I decided I am going to Sedona on Sunday to get this dog. I tossed and turned all night on Saturday because I wanted to make the right decision. How do you know if you are a dog hoarder? Norm would never tell me no, but I don't think he is exactly on board. The younger kids who have to help take of dogs during the day are definitely not fans of this plan. And to be honest, I am not sure Pasta wants a friend. I tell myself she does, but I think she likes being my only dog. Yes, we have lots of dogs but she is my dedicated dog. Everyone has dogs that belong to them but we help each other caring for all of them.
To keep myself from feeling sad about the dog and feeling anxious about not running, I clean house. It desperately needed it and I felt better after getting it done. So I ended the week with 80 miles. Not where I wanted to be, but not too bad considering how sick I have been.
Brandi and I went to yoga in the morning. Holy crap that class was hard! I am not sure why harmony was tying to kill us today. We have decided that the better her mood, the harder the class.
I decided against running because the last two days my Achilles in my right leg was a little off. No pain, but I could feel it. On Thursday I thought maybe it was just from the speed work, but half way through my run yesterday I started to feel it again. I drove me a bit nuts to not run, but I wanted to rest it in an effort to try to keep it from becoming something.
There Is a dog at the Sedona Humane Society that I can't stop thinking about. I originally saw him on a post from the Maricopa Humane Society. A Great Dane/Cattle Dog mix, he is so cute! He is 8 years old and I am a sucker for an older dog. But I didn't really think much about it after showing my family his picture and talking about how cute he is. A few weeks later I see him pop up on my instagram feed at the Humane Society in Sedona. That is where I got Pasta about a year ago. We always joke that the best dogs come from Sedona because Pasta is such a good dog. I can't stop thinking about this dog and spent most of my run yesterday thinking about him. I came home and told the kids that I couldn't stop thinking about the dog but I just didn't have the extra money for adoption fees right now. We pull up his picture and see that his adoption fee has been sponsored. It’s a sign! I decided I am going to Sedona on Sunday to get this dog. I tossed and turned all night on Saturday because I wanted to make the right decision. How do you know if you are a dog hoarder? Norm would never tell me no, but I don't think he is exactly on board. The younger kids who have to help take of dogs during the day are definitely not fans of this plan. And to be honest, I am not sure Pasta wants a friend. I tell myself she does, but I think she likes being my only dog. Yes, we have lots of dogs but she is my dedicated dog. Everyone has dogs that belong to them but we help each other caring for all of them.
To keep myself from feeling sad about the dog and feeling anxious about not running, I clean house. It desperately needed it and I felt better after getting it done. So I ended the week with 80 miles. Not where I wanted to be, but not too bad considering how sick I have been.
