Weekly Rundown- Getting Back on Track
This week was all about getting my schedule sorted out- not running that race last weekend really threw everything off. I spent the first half of the week making sure I was rehydrated and recovered from the stomach virus so I could run long on Wednesday, and the second half of the week recovering from that long run. It was definitely nice to be able to eat and drink again and otherwise enjoy life! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get started… Sunday I did a cautious 2 mile run and felt fine, although I had eaten very little for the past two days. The rest of the day was spent drinking water, LMNT, and reassuring my stomach that it was okay to eat again. Monday 4 mile run! Things are feeling pretty good. Tuesday Upper body day at the gym. Bench press, seated cable rows, lat pulldown, triceps and abs. I had a flashback to many years ago when I worked with a trainer; he always wanted me to focus on triceps and abs. Hmmm, what are you trying to say??? Sigh. Wednesday On the plan: 20 mile run. Is there an antonym for “ideal?” I need that word. This run was not originally on my schedule, but since I didn’t run the half on Sunday I switched everything around to make this day my long run. I planned to hit the trail after dropping my daughter off at 8:00. School starts at 9:30, but my daughter has jazz band every Wednesday at 8 am. Every Wednesday, of course, except for this one. We got an email on Tuesday night that jazz band was canceled for today. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I just couldn’t start a 20 mile run at 9:30 am, on a day where it was going to get into the upper 80s. Now, I know. Somehow I’ve lost my mind and signed up for a 50K trail race in April, and it’s going to be hot AF. I KNOW. But I just couldn’t do that to myself today. Plus, I did have a couple other things that needed to get done, such as grocery shopping, and I just felt that I couldn’t start that late. So I switched to Plan B. Plan B was, get in 6 miles on the roads while my daughter ate breakfast and got ready, then take her to school and continue on to the trail where I would run 14 miles. Again, not ideal, but it seemed to be my best bet for today. The first 6 miles went well, and the timing was perfect. I got home just in time to get my daughter into the car and go straight to school. Everything went smoothly, and I was on the trail by 9:30, ready for the rest of my run. The trail that I’ve been loving lately is too far away, so I went to my nearby trail, which is okay… but there’s no shade. It was already hot, so I stuffed my sports bra with ice and started off. Other than the fact that my legs were saying “What in the WORLD are you doing? I thought we were done for the day!” I felt pretty good. I had my cooler set up in the car, and planned to circle back in the middle of the run to replenish my supplies. The only problem was, I ended up running 8 miles in this segment and somewhere in there the wheels started to come off. Did I mention there’s no shade on this trail? I could feel the sun beating down on me, and I had only brought a bottle of LMNT on this leg- which tasted great when it was ice cold, but became nauseating when it was warm. That also meant that I had nothing to pour over my head to cool myself down. I was at a pretty low point when I got back to my car, but told myself I only had 6 miles left! I got more ice and switched out the warm LMNT for ICY COLD WATER, and started again. Except I really wasn’t feeling it. I took a caffeinated gel at mile 15, and told myself to give it one more mile before making any rash decisions. But at 16.5 miles, I turned back, and I knew that would get me back to my car at 18.5. Well, it wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s still farther (by half a mile) than my last long run, and maybe I learned some valuable lessons. When I got to mile 18, I knew I would be back at the car soon. But then I realized- I’ll be back at the car, which has my cooler with ice and another cold water bottle. If I stopped briefly, got new water and ice, could I continue on (at my now glacially slow pace) for another 1.5 miles? The answer, of course, was yes. The answer to that question is almost always yes. I stopped at the car as quickly as possible (let’s not draw this out any longer than we need to!) and put more ice in my bra, got an icy cold bottle of water, and set off again. You guys, it was not pretty, but I did it- 20 miles for the day. If I were training for a fast road marathon (ha! pretty sure those days are over for good) this run would have been a disappointment. But for what I’m training for, I’m considering it a success. There will be times during my 50K where I don’t feel good and want to stop, and I’ll have to figure out a way to keep moving forward. So this run was not fun, but it was perfect for what I need right now. Thursday After my harrowing experience on the trail, I was pretty sore and decided to give myself a break. Instead of going to the gym for the stair climber, I