Sorry no pics this week.

I am working on doing that thing where you give it the best you've got, do the best you can do under the circumstances, say, "This is okay," and don't beat yourself up about stuff you can't control. (It goes better at some times than at others! And that is okay too.)

There are only two weeks and one race left in my fall season, so I'm a little less stressed about building up mileage than I was earlier in the fall when I was starting to have yellow injury flags all over the place with months left to go.

My feet are definitely still a bit FUBAR'd, but I think they'll make it through these next two weeks and that last 5K on the 16th.

And after that, rest.

~*~*~ Fall '18 Speedfest: Week 16 of 18 ~*~*~

Grant Total: 34.2

* 16 easy
* 4.2 threshold
* 14 long

Monday 11/26: a.m. strength work / p.m. karate

Tuesday 11/27: 2 warm up, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 @ AT, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 cool down 2 warm up, 2 x 2 @ HM pace / 2:00 jog, 2 cool down = 8.2

I inteded to do my track workout this day, but by the time I got out there it was REALLY dark and for some reason the stadium lights weren't on, and there was no one else there. It made me feel really creeped out and also I was not sure I could safely run the 200ms, as dark as it was. In the end I decided to instead do my Friday threshold workout in the actual park. Given that it was even darker by then and there were STILL no lights on, I'm not actually sure this was better, but I was able to do most of it back and forth along a stretch with lights.

Wednesday 11/28: Karate

Thursday 11/29: 8 easy

Friday 11/30: 2 warm up, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 @ AT, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 cool down 4 easy

Attempt #2 at the track workout. Except, when I got there the track was closed for a football game. AWESOME. And of course it was dark again, and of course there were no lights on in the park. So I quickly recalculated in my head: I had to drive to Monterey & back the next day for work but I could be home by 2:30, and if I was really fast I could get to the track by 3 and get the workout done by 4:30 and get home by 5 and then be only a little late for the Christmas party we were going to do that night. EXCELLENT! So instead I just did a four mile easy run in the small lighted part of the park, and OMG I felt awful & it was the hardest 4 miles I have run in *quite* sometime.

Saturday 12/1: 2 warm up, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 @ AT, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 cool down Rest

And by rest I mean "rest," ie there was absolutely no rest whatsoever gotten. I got up at 5:30am, drove to Monterey in terrifying pouring rain, gave two talks, & drove back home in the rain with every intention of getting the track workout done.

But (you knew there was a but, right?) there was traffic, and I got home later than I intended. And I felt terrible. And doing the math again in my head made it pretty clear that we were not going to make it to our party anywhere close to on time if I did the run. But really, I just felt so exhausted and terrible at that point that I kind of just said eff it.

Sunday 12/2: 14 long

The feeling terrible and exhausted bled into Sunday and WOW, how I did not want to do this run. Did not did not did not. I always tell myself "Just get a couple miles in & you'll feel better," and usually that works. Not today. The whole thing felt awful start to finish. I swear I ran 23 miles, not 14, and felt every step of it. By the end I could not remember what my life had been like before I started that run.

So, y'know. There was some running. I'm pleased with the runs I was able to get in, even if they didn't all feel stellar, and I'm not beating myself up about missing the track workout.