heading to grandma's, week 6

Another week under my belt!  This week wasn't my best but it definitely reinforced things I knew (but chose to ignore), and provided some learning opportunities.  For an old broad, I sure make some dumb, non-commonsensical choices.

Here's the recap for the week.  Read and learn from my mistakes..... you know I'm here for you.

Week 6:  March 19-25

Poor colorless day 79.

Monday
Easy run of 4 miles at 11:34 min
Workout note: Felt horrible all day at work, had a low grade fever and chills.  When I got home, I went right to bed.  No workout at all for me, which means my "move 30 minutes every day" streak ended after 78 days. That was a bummer. So I'm starting over again.

Tuesday
Easy run of 5 miles at 11:34 min
Workout note: Worked from home, still not feeling too hot.  Besides being sick, I've been experiencing some heartburn along with TONS of PVCs and they are driving me crazy.  Even though I figured they're benign, the fact that I'd been having runs of them and wasn't feeling well AND had a 15 mile run coming up made me think I should talk to someone, just in case.  I was right, no heart worries, which is great!  But the PVCs are still really bugging me.  My resting heart rate is pretty slow now, so I'm likely just noticing them more.  Got out with Jane and ran 5.07 miles at 10:35 pace.  And though I still felt kind of yucky, it was a nice, easy run. Yay for that!

Wednesday
Workout note: Core work. 150 clam shells, 25 push-ups, 20 crunches, 20 hip thrusts, 20 reverse crunches, 20 bicycle crunches, 20 pendulums, 10 plank reps. Today is Sunday and I'm still feeling the effects.  Ouch.  I absolutely have to do this more often; if I don't, my core strength could end up being my achilles heel. (Get it? Hahaha!)

Remember the jacket I won from the running club? Here
it is!  Sweet, ain't it?  I photographed it in all kinds of
J. Peterman-like action poses, but then you couldn't see the logo.
So there goes my attempt at artistic expression. Dang it.

Thursday
Run 3 miles at 11:34-12:34 pace
Workout note: Met with the running group again (Shoutout to Mary!!) and did 4.02 miles (Monday's distance) at 10:59 pace.
I'm enjoying meeting new folks and seeing some old friends, too!  It was a fun, if rainy run.  We got soaked!
GarminElectra was obnoxious as could be....  beeping and chirping the whole time.  One of the women asked, "What does all that beeping mean?" I explained that GE doesn't like rain, doesn't like being called upon to work, really, and this was how she expressed it.  Oh, and GE showed her versatility, too.  This time, instead of shutting off mid-run, she wouldn't allow me to turn her off AFTER the run, so the miles kept beeping on the way home in the car.  Then, after originally denying access, for no reason all all GE finally let me get to the "Stop Workout" screen.  I have GOT to get a new running partner.  Or maybe figure out what I'm doing wrong with this one. Sigh.

Friday
Workout note: Jane and I headed out for a nice leisurely walk, stopping often so Jane could fully experience all the wonderful/nasty smells of spring. 1.21 miles.

Saturday
Long Run as Follows:
WU for 1 mile at 12:34 pace
Run 14 miles at 11:34-12:34 min
Cool down with brisk walk for 5-10 minutes
Workout note: Holy Hannah, this one was tough.  I take full responsibility.  Read about it HERE.  My biggest concern really is how much my left ankle hurt when I was done running. Feels like the tendinitis might be making a comeback.  I was hoping that switching to Brooks (from the Sauconys) meant I wouldn't need orthotics anymore, but it's feeling like I do so I headed out to get some new ones today.  Hopefully, that will help.  My old orthotics, may they rest in peace, served me well and have now gone to a better place.

Sunday
Workout note:  Walked to the Quickie-Mart with the husband and the dog.  2.64 miles.  I tried my new orthotics and though they felt great support-wise, they are only half orthotics and I'm thinking that seam might just drive me crazy, not to mention cause blisters or other mischief.  We'll see how it goes.

Miles planned: 27
Miles run: 23.97 (What the heck, let's just call it 24! Oh, and I'm including the miles I walked during yesterday's 15 miler.)
Miles walked: 3.85

Happy week to you!

hothouse flower

Who complains about heat and humidity in March in Minnesota AND getting a PR? That would be me. 

I ran the Get Lucky 21k today and got my most unsatisfying PR ever. Definitely not my lucky day. TenacityChris gave me a goal of 2:10 which seemed doable. And it would have been achieved if I hadn't totally bonked in the middle of the race.  

I made sure I got enough sleep this week.  I hydrated like crazy because I knew it was going to be warm, and though it's a real chore for a carb whore like me to have to load up on carbs, I was a good soldier and did it.  I had my yummy Honey Stinger jots before the race and was ready to go!  The race started well and I felt GREAT for the first seven miles. During mile eight I started to feel a little dicey so I slowed down a little bit, but the crappy feeling continued so I slowed down even more in mile nine.  

And then the wheels fell completely off.  I was dying out there for a while. I ended up walking a fair amount and swearing at myself for being such a delicate flower when there's a little humidity.  And it was was SOOOOO humid! 72 degrees and 91% humidity. In Minnesota. In March. No shit. And I was completely unprepared for that. I know 72 isn't hot but it sure felt like it today. I don't remember the last time I generated this much sweat. I was a salty crusty mess.  It sucked because it wasn't the pace that was killing me, it was how my stooopid body reacts to the heat.  

Looking salty and celebrating my PR

There were only 4 water stops on the course (not enough in my oh so humble opinion) and they ran out of cups for the last one. I almost cried when the volunteers said they didn't have any more cups so they couldn't give us water. WTF??  A fellow runner (savior) shouted, "Does anyone want to share my cup?  I only drank out of one side!" I was all over that and said I'd share.  No cooties worries here!  I think she saved my life! Ok, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic (moi??), but this was one of my toughest runs ever and I needed some water in a big, big way.  Bless you, woman in green.  You are wonderful.

Anywhoo, I was seriously wondering if I was going to be able to finish.  It was that bad.  But you know how I am about the bling.  It would take more than THIS to keep me from getting that damn medal. After two incredibly slow miles, I decided I was going to frickin' RUN the last couple of miles. NO walking.  Time to put the big girl pants back on.  

Racing side note: The Minneapolis and St. Paul Police officers who work all these races are usually very stoic and silent.  I always toss out something along the lines of "Thanks for being here!" because I do appreciate them keeping us runners safe during these races. Usually I get a head nod in return, or the more extraverted ones might go so far as to give a little wave.  I must have looked pretty rough today, because the cop at mile 12 looked at me and said, "You can do this! Stay strong!" That made me laugh out loud, and it did give me a little extra boost.  A little later a volunteer yelled to me, "This is STILL a good idea!"  Another laugh to keep me going.  

Here are my splits.  See if you can tell where the wheels fell off.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:15:01.7	13.19	10:14
1	9:48.4	1.00	9:48
2	9:44.0	1.00	9:44
3	9:42.8	1.00	9:43
4	9:39.6	1.00	9:40
5	9:55.4	1.00	9:55
6	9:47.8	1.00	9:48
7	9:45.7	1.00	9:46
8	10:27.8	1.00	10:28
9	10:32.3	1.00	10:32
10	11:41.8	1.00	11:42
11	11:44.6	1.00	11:45
12	10:07.0	1.00	10:07
13	10:19.1	1.00	10:19
14	1:45.3	0.19	9:20

So though it was a swing and a miss for my 2:10 goal, I still managed to finish with a pretty decent PR (exactly 8 minutes!), and I got my f-ing medal. That makes it all worth it!