(Somebody tell me I'm right.)
I mean. It's not that I'm running crazy huge mileage or anything, and honestly I really don't feel like I'm spending a bunch of time running, but man, I'm certainly exhausted all the time. So maybe relative to doing nothing/some elliptical when I can flog myself to the gym, my body kind of thinks I'm doing a lot.
(Spoiler: It's not a lot.)
The hard thing about this week was having social events scheduled basically every non-karate night, which meant that I was basically always sprinting in the door, showering just enough to not be offensive, throwing on real people clothes & some rudimentary make-up, & darting back out the door again. So that whole post-run stretching-and-rolling thing has been sorely lacking this week.
Some Numbers:
- * 39.66 miles (13.66 easy, 3 tempo, 5 speed, 18 long)
* 3:00:00 strength work
* 30:00 stretch & roll
Monday: a.m. strength work/p.m. karate
Tuesday: a.m. stretch & roll/p.m. 2 warm up, 2 @ marathon effort, 1 @ half marathon effort, 2 cool down = 7 total. Another of those runs that made me feel really, really crappy about my fitness & like I should just save myself the trouble and give up now. Either that or I was just really, really tired.
On the plus side, my fabulous friend K, who works for the amazingly I-can't-even-describe-how-awesome food non-profit Leah's Pantry, was helping to put on a fundraiser that evening involving a bunch of delicious food with beer pairings, which was fun. Also there were raffles and Don & I won a $200 gift certificate for local art, which means that even after contributing to the fundraiser we still came out ahead. #winning
Wednesday: a.m. strength work/p.m. karate.
Thursday: 6 easy. Technically it was only supposed to be 5 but I was really feeling more like 6 so I went for it. Basically as soon as I got back we drove to Alamda for a last-minute dinner with with friends involving a) duck liver pate b) beef wellington & c) wine pairings. It did not suck.
Friday: a.m. strength work/p.m. 1.5 warm up, 5 x 1600m @ 10K effort/1:30 jog, 1.5 cool down = 8.66 total. Oh, you guys. Much like my 10K a couple weeks back, this workout really highlighted for me how much my mental toughness as deteriorated. Here I am, running 10K effort mile repeats at a pace that really should not be a problem, and all I can think about as I near the end of each one is a) I am legit about to throw up, b) there is absolutely no way at all period I can do even one more interval, and c) I should probably just quit running altogether, things have deteriorated so badly. And then it's over and both my brain and body are like, "Oh, everything's fine now, nbd." ??????
This was definitely the hardest workout I've done post-injury, so just completing it was a confidence builder in some ways, but on the other hand it made me feel kind of lame & like I really need to get the mental part together ASAP because OH HAI OAKLAND RUNNING FESTIVAL IN 2 WEEKS!! Also, it was pretty hard on my messed up left foot, even with tape. And there is a lot of tape involved.
On the plus side, this track workout was immediately followed by a $5 viewing of Mad Max: Fury Road at our local Alamo Draft House, where they bring you really good food and beer/wine/cocktails during the movie. The two things I have to say about this experience are:
1) If you are a die hard feminist and/or really into over-the-top amazing film making and haven't seen Mad Max: Fury Road yet, you should really take care of that as soon as humanly possible. Like seriously. Just skip work or something.
FURIOSA 4 EVA
2) If you like movies and really good food & booze but do not have an Alamo Draft House nearby, please accept my condolences. And maybe just move.
Saturday: Rest. Because, badly needed.
Sunday: 18 long. This day began with a lovely brunch with an old college friend in Oakland. After that it was back to the city & off to GG Park for a few laps of the East Side.
I don't want to oversell this long run by calling it good, exactly (my left foot was still killing me, even K-taped to oblivion), but not since NVM 2015 can I remember running for this long and really just feeling like it was just no big deal at all (except for the foot) and I could have kept chugging along indefinitely. Which, of course, meant that as soon as I finished, I went into this weird shock of pain from the waist down that lasted maybe 20 minutes. Not really sure why, since I took it pretty darn slowly. Maybe it was just the cumulative week's mileage (highest since July), or still recovering from Friday's track workout.
Either way, after dashing in & out of the shower, I drove up the hill where some friends had cooked a giant pasta dinner, which I think you'll agree is pretty much the perfect follow-up to your longest run in nearly eight months.
(Also wine. Because wine.)
Off to bed now! Have a great week! :D
I don't think you're overselling it if you felt like you could keep running. I'd say it was good even though your foot hurt. Would have been great if your foot behaved.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is exactly what the lack of blogging means.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I keep hearing that about Mad Max. Need to watch it.
What if you've just moved across the country and just got a personal laptop last night? And internet this morning?
ReplyDelete