 |
| My only sky shot from last week. |
I'm back with another Weekly Review with
Hoho Runs and
MissSippiPiddlin. Check out their blogs for more info on how you can join the linkup!
Before I start, thanks for the nice comments on
last week's post about eating crap and feeling icky. I really appreciated the shared stories/feelings! :)
This weekend I have another half. The
Medina Half Marathon will be my last 13.1 until fall and after it's over I'll have participated in three halves over two months. This is a new record for me! I'm not really "ready" and it's a fairly hilly course with lots of turning, so we'll see how it goes. One advantage: I've run it before. One disadvantage: I've
run it before, so I know how hard it is.
Week of May 16-22
Monday: Sick
Tuesday: Sick
Wednesday: 2 miles, 8:46 pace + walk to work
Thursday: 2.4 miles, 9:21 pace
Friday: 2.3 miles, 8:58 pace + walk to work
Saturday: 6 miles, 9:03 pace
Sunday: Rest
Weekly Total: 12.8 miles
2016 Total: 426.5 miles
 |
| Monday/Tuesday |
Being sick took it's toll on me this week. I took off both
Monday and
Tuesday from work. While I did a few productive things Monday (including prepping my lunches for the week), I slept in 'til 11:30 (!!) Tuesday... and took a nap later in the afternoon. I was beat.
I returned to work
Wednesday and went running after with Alex. We didn't stay together because after about two tenths of a mile I was already tired. It was 66 degrees and everything above 55 feels like lava to me, so it was a tough 2 miler. I had 5 on my schedule, but around mile 1.2 I knew it wasn't going to happen. I met back up with Alex (who also ran about 2 miles) and we agreed to go home. We made some pretty tasty homemade pizzas, so at least the night wasn't a total loss!
 |
| Gimme pizza |
Thursday's run was another relative scorcher at 68 and sunny. I stopped four times to catch my breath. Lordy, humid running is not my forte! I felt pretty defeated during this run and didn't even make it to 3 miles.
Friday was more of the same. It was 72, but kind of overcast and the humidity was lower. I really tried to run slow and easy, but for some reason I kept going too fast. Consequently, I burned out just after 2 miles. Sigh. Needless to say, I was pretty disheartened about running going into the weekend.
 |
| Tweeting about running (instead of running) |
I slept in
Saturday (taking advantage of my last free Saturday!). It was rainy and gray, which I usually enjoy while running, but it took me eons to actually get outside. I finished a
book, ate some toast, got
dressed, ate more food because an hour had gone by since the toast,
tweeted about not wanting to run, and then I finally got out to get it done. It was okay. Once again, I tried to run easy and slow, but my mile times were all under 9:09. Besides normal traffic stops, I took about 6 breaks, so obviously I was running too fast in between. It's almost as if I couldn't slow down when I was running. I consciously tried, but my pace would creepy back into the upper 8s. Regardless, I hit my milage and felt pretty good after. Alex worked on trees all day and when he finally got home around 7pm we got cleaned up and went out to our favorite Japanese/Korean combo restaurant and proceeded to order
everything on the menu. So good.
 |
| Super jazzed about this great beer. |
Sunday was a rest day with a drive to Marengo, Ohio for beer. Before beer, we stopped at Fleet Feet for their Gambler sale (40% off Friday, 50% Saturday, 60% off Sunday) and I scored t
hree amazing Oiselle finds. (Things that are still full price online!) After beer, we went home and laid out in the sun for a while. It was a lovely, warm day and felt amazing after Saturday's chilly rain.
Thoughts
I don't really know what's going on with me lately, but I'm about 99% sure it's mental burnout. If I didn't have a half this weekend I probably would have run the same mileage (maybe more), but without the pressure of a race I would be more relaxed about pace. I am looking forward to my training group's summer session. It'll be nice to have someone else (coaches) pacing me so I can zone out!
Besides my questionable fitness level (I honestly can't predict a finish time!), I am so nervous about the weather for Medina on Saturday. Ohio is getting a big warm up and the forecasted temperature is 68 at the start. By the end it will be at least 75. I've tried to run during warmer times of the day, but it's still very difficult. I am
so not ready for a hot-hot race. Oh well. By this time next week the
medal will "bee" mine! (You should click that link. The medal is great.)
Are you doing anything fun over Memorial Day weekend?
Do you prefer cold or warm weather running? (I prefer cold if you can't tell. But honestly, 50 degree runs are perfect!)
Glad you are feeling better. No fun being sick.
ReplyDeleteYour pizza looks amazing !
Hope the week is good, and maybe the temps will cool down for the weekend / race ?
I'm hoping a cold front comes through -- at least Friday night/Saturday morning. And then it can warm up as soon as I'm done running ha ;)
DeleteNo crazy plans for Memorial Day...we're going to finish putting in our patio. While it will kind of suck (at least the manual labor part), I'm SO EXCITED to have it done! Our deck was in rough shape and our yard isn't really suited for a deck. Plus I think I like a patio vibe better.
ReplyDeleteSorry you've been feeling so burned out with running. I totally get it. I was there and honestly I think my injury was the break I needed. Maybe the summer will be a good change of pace for you and you can run when you want with less pressure of distance races. -C
Finishing a big house project feels so fantastic. We're trying to decide if we want to sell or stay, but either way have to tackle a bunch of projects. Should be an interesting summer...
DeleteSpeaking of summer: I think it will be just what I need to find the fun in running again. This week has already been better, but I'm looking forward to group runs and lower milage during June!
Homemade pizza is the best! We haven't done that in a while.
ReplyDeleteI always though I enjoyed running in warmer weather but last year the heat really got to me. Maybe it's cus I'm getting older now..lol. It's going to be 89 here this week!
I definitely enjoy summer running clothes; it's a lot easier to get dressed for a run when you don't need 5 layers! But I'm having such a hard time adjusting to the heat. Maybe by July we'll be adjusted. I know I'm always so shocked during the first cold weekend in October! ha
DeleteBest of luck this weekend! The hills sound challenging but I think you've got this :)
ReplyDeleteI don't mind warm weather running but I like there to be a gradual warmup, not suddenly hot and humid. The body needs time to adjust! I ran during lunch today and it felt like 80 degrees and pure humidity. Basically like jungle running! Although I do like being able to just wear a pair of shorts and a tank during summer runs - makes it easy to get ready.
Thanks! I think this race will be ok as long as it's not too sunny and humid.
DeleteI do enjoy summer running clothes, but I wish we'd have some nice, breezy 60-70 degree days before it goes straight to 80! ;)
Good luck this weekend!! You had me laughing at your pros and cons for the race :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you were sick at the beginning of the week, but I'm glad you're feeling better now. It always takes me a couple of days for my running to bounce back after being sick. No big Memorial Day plans for me. I'm taking advantage of the long weekend by doing back to back long trail runs, hopefully with lots of elevation gain. So the rest of the weekend will probably be about relaxing and recovering :)
Oh man, your weekend plans sound tough, but fun! I'm so glad I got my sickness out of the way so that I don't have to worry about it this weekend. I hate being sick on race day!
DeleteI feel your pain with heat and humidity. Hopefully, race day will won't be too bad. Just have fun with the race. I think we all get a little burned out. I sort of feel "lost" right now with nothing specific to work toward. What a nice surprise to find Oiselle at such great sale prices. Good luck this weekend! Thanks for linking with us Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteI understand the almost "lost" feeling when there isn't a goal. I really try to keep big races on the calendar to have something to work for, but there's inevitably a month or so where I'm in between. At least you're keeping things interesting with those brick workouts!
DeleteI think your right in the disadvantage of a race that you've participated in. Sometimes I won't look at the elevation or drive the race route because I do better just dealing with whatever is thrown my way the day of.
ReplyDeleteThe hubs and I are going to the MS Gulf Coast for the 3-day weekend. We are staying in our RV right on the beach. It is not commercialized where we'll be nor is it the prettiest beaches but it's a trade off so we'll see.
I did that with Nashville RnR and I think it did help! I knew it was hilly, but didn't know when to expect specific hills (or that they would happen over and over haha). Your weekend plans sound fun. You never know what fun things you will discover down there. I wish we lived closer to an ocean or gulf! Lake Erie isn't great. ;)
Delete