Weekly Rundown- Decisions
“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.” -Mark Twain Well, it was a week! There was more shoe and foot drama because… well, I guess because I’m me. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s jump right in! Sunday 17 mile long run!!! This run was… fine, for the first 15 miles, and then grueling for the last two. I ran the first four miles in my regular Altras, then switched to the Timps (zero drop shoes.) Then I ran a loop I thought was 8-10 miles, but turned out to be longer. Oops. I did get to see my favorite part of the trail: …but didn’t get back to my car until I had completed 16 miles- I wasn’t going to stop and change shoes at that point, so I just finished the run. I ran out of fuel and water, and ended up running the entire last 14 miles in the Timps. 17 miles the hard way! Monday Both feet felt good during the long run, but now plantar fasciitis is flaring up in my right foot (the “good” foot.) ARRRRG! Unfortunately I have to blame the zero drop shoes- or, more accurately, the person who decided to run 14 miles in them the day before. After I hobbled out of bed (sigh) and loosened up that foot, I went for a 30 minute walk. Then home for the Caroline Girvan Deadbug Workout.. Tuesday In the morning (again, after hobbling painfully out of bed) I did Sally McRae’s Ankle Mobility and Foot Strength workout, and then again the CG deadbugs. In the afternoon I ran 4 miles, and this run was HARD- because it was 88 degrees with a feels-like temp of 92. Well- my race will be hot! I should be ready. Wednesday Gym day!!! 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, then squats, bench press, reverse fly, abs, and Runners Touch . I’m loving the Sally McRae workouts, but they’ve very focused on balance, mobility, and mostly lower weights. So I want to get into the gym at least once a week to lift, ahem, “heavy.” Thursday 3 mile run, then I was going to do the deadbug workout, but on a whim picked a Caroline Girvan 15 minutes abs workout instead. I BITTERLY REGRETTED this decision!!! It was a ton of crunches, which strain my neck. I hated it! Never again! Friday I did a Sally McRae total body dumbbell workout, and then the Caroline Girvan deadbugs. Phew! I’ll never stray again! I’ve heard that deadbugs are better than crunches for runners anyway- don’t ask me to explain why, but let’s go with that. Oh, and look what arrived in the mail… Yes- ANOTHER pair of Altras. They just came out with a brand-new trail shoe with a 4 mm drop- could these be my dream shoes? Saturday 5 mile run in the new shoes! Guess what… I don’t love them. The Timps are more comfortable, because they have a wider toe box. I give up! Just give me a pair of clown shoes with some tread and a 4mm drop, and we’ll call it a day. Seriously, I think I’m going to wear these for my race. I just don’t have time to get used to the Timps properly, and I don’t want to exacerbate the plantar fasciitis flare in my foot. SIGH. I’ve ordered some thinner socks- I’ll make them work! Sunday Off!!! I decided the best course of action is to take a little extra time before my last long run, which will be 20 miles. I’ll run that on Wednesday, and then have ten days to taper before my race. For Mother’s Day, I told my husband I just want two things- to sleep late, and for someone else to make dinner. I think this is achievable! Happy Mother’s Day if you are celebrating! And if you’re not- I hope you have a happy and relaxing Sunday.
Friday Coffee Date
Hooray! It’s Friday! Our super busy week is drawing to a close. Since it’s Friday, it’s time for a delicious hot Earl Grey tea (that IS what you’re drinking, right?) and- wait. Why do I call this post “Coffee Date” when I don’t drink coffee? Must think about that. Anyway… If we were having coffee (tea) together, I would tell you that I’ve kind of, sort of been doing Gretchen Rubin’s “Write 24 for 24” project, where you write for 24 minutes a day (or, if that’s too daunting, 2-4 minutes.) I started on February 28 and was very consistent for about a month- now it’s hit or miss. But something is better than nothing (right?) I looked back at what I wrote in March, and boy… was I whiny. It was right after I sprained my ankle, and there was so much emoting over how much it hurt, how much I hated limping around, and how much I wanted to be running again. And remember how I was thinking of doing a different 50 mile race, but then it got sold out before I could register? THAT was the end of the world, for a couple days. Writing it all out like that was helpful, because it meant I didn’t bore family and friends (and blog readers!) with all my complaining. But reading it two months later, the main thing that struck me was how temporary it all was. All the things that seemed so terrible at the time were actually little blips that mean nothing now. Hmmm. This week’s episode of Sally McRae’s podcast is titled “The Powerful DNF.” Sally talks about how to reframe a disappointing experience by asking “What have I gained?” (I definitely learned a lot from my DNF!) She also points out that whether you finish your race or not, life will go on. The sun will raise again and you’ll go back to work. Soon you’ll be running again and there will be other races- this all happens regardless of your race result. That got me thinking. As sad as I was on February 17th, I’m not sure I feel any differently today- May 9th- than I would have if I had finished that race. As a matter of fact, if anything, I might actually be HAPPIER. If I had finished Forgotten Florida, then the race I’m doing at the end of this month- Sweat, Swat ‘n Swear- wouldn’t have been on my radar. Who knows, I might be moping around right now, saying “Life feels so meaningless without a race to train for”.and instead I’m excited about a race coming right up. The last thing I would tell you over coffee is that our extremely busy season is drawing to a close. My daughter has events today and tomorrow, and then things calm down. It was really only two weeks of insanity. Once again, it was only… temporary. If you’re going through a hard or busy time right now, can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Do you have any “disasters” in your past which you can now see as temporary setbacks? Who else likes Earl Grey Tea???!
Reading and Eating
Oof. After a GREAT month of reading in April (I read six books, which is a lot for me!) May has practically ground to a halt. I’m about halfway through A Gentleman in Moscow, which I’m LOVING, but I’m longing for big chunks of reading time, and they’re just not there. At least I know why I had so much extra time to read in April- every single end-of-the-year event was apparently scheduled for the first two weeks of May. Oh well- things will calm down soon. But there is news on the eating front! On Sunday, my daughter had a jazz band concert, but she ended up getting a ride there and back. It was the same pieces they played at the concert last Tuesday, so I didn’t feel bad about missing it. As a matter of fact I was HAPPY to miss it, as it would have taken up my entire afternoon. Instead, I did a little meal prep! Now, after writing about meal prep last week, Lisa forwarded me the latest issue of the Lazy Genius Newsletter, where- gasp- even the Lazy Genius herself admits she struggles with meal prep sometimes: “I don’t need to prep exactly the way the reels tell me to. It doesn’t fit in my life. It doesn’t even make sense. And for what it’s worth, I still go through meal prep crises every few weeks. I so quickly forget that it’s not all or nothing. It can be in part. It can be once. It can be literally anything I need it to be.” So, no- I did not prep every dinner for the upcoming week. I spent about two hours in the kitchen, and made dinner for Sunday night, plus the Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil, and Vegetable Soup that Elisabeth posted about and has been going around all the cool blogs. And I made a batch of “breakfast tofu” (recipe from No Meat Athlete Cookbook) for breakfasts during the week. Since Sunday was Cinco de Mayo, we had tacos! I made guacamole, mango salsa, tempeh taco “meat,” rice, and opened a can of refried beans. My daughter and husband made theirs into burritos, but I used these taco shells: As I was taking a photo of my dinner I had to laugh. I really made a fun occasion as un-fun looking as possible: I guess some lettuce, black olives, and cilantro would have brightened things up a little! But it did taste delicious. Even the Hop Tea- which I had in place of a beer- tasted good. The soup was also delicious! All this food provided meals for Monday and Tuesday, which made me very happy. Now I just have to get through two more nights (Friday is always takeout.) And now- I’m writing this on Tuesday night- I’m off to a band concert (of course I am!) Did you do any meal prep this weekend? Have you read A Gentleman in Moscow?
Running Updates
Anyone stopping by for the first time- especially in the middle of the week- might wonder why this blog is called “Runners Fly.” It seems like all I talk about are books, food, cats, and random life events. Well, okay! Here’s a little running update. The Ankle Situation My ankle is doing GREAT! Especially when you consider that two months ago I couldn’t walk without limping. It’s still lacking a little strength and mobility compared to the good ankle, but I’m working on that. And it still aches sometimes. But yesterday I ran on my favorite trail and hardly even thought about it. A month ago it was hard to imagine ever running on trails again. So it just goes to show- be patient, and things will heal! The Race My race- Sweat, Swat ‘n Swear 50K– is coming right up- May 26th, less than three weeks away. My training plan for this race could be described as “accelerated.” I didn’t have much time between the ankle injury and the race. My long runs jumped from a 10 mile run, to 13, to 17. I’m going to give my body ten days to recover from that effort, and do the last long run- 20 miles- next Wednesday. That gives me a ten day taper before the race. It’s a short taper, but I’ll make it work! I think “I’ll make it work” will be the theme for this entire race. The Shoes I’ve been running in the new Altra FWDs, a shoe with the wide toe box Altra is known for, but with a 4 mm drop (Altras usually have a zero drop, meaning there’s no difference between the heel height and the forefoot.). I love them, but decided I needed a trail shoe. So I bought a pair of the Altra Timps, a trail shoe that’s comfortable and perfect in every way- except that they are zero drop, so they take some getting used to. After I ran part of my 17 mile run in them, I thought “If only there was some way to combine the FWDs and the Timps.” Later that same day, I received an email advertising brand new Altras- and one of them is a trail shoe with a 4 mm drop. YES I WANT THEM. I ordered them immediately- I have a feeling these are going to be my dream shoes. Have you ever sprained your ankle? Are you running any races this summer? Favorite running shoe?