Week in review Sept. 19-25: Run and sleep

Lots of slow miles.

It wasn’t a great week, health-wise. I have a condition that usually managed with medication, but lately, I still feel lousy. (I have more doctors’ appointments this week to total FOUR in 2.5 weeks. Ugh.) Twice this week I came home from work and was barely able to walk the dogs around the block before collapsing on the couch. One night I was too exhausted to make dinner. It … hasn’t been great.

To add insult to injury, almost literally, I felt good enough to go out for a “speedy” run by myself on Thursday. It was challengingly fast but I appreciated the chance to work hard and feel some speed in my legs and lungs again. I came home feeling alive and like a badass. Then, I checked my average pace: 9:09 minutes per mile. The pace I need for my ultimate goal, a 3:59:59 marathon. And five miles felt hard. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.

I don’t doubt I’ll get that speed back in my legs eventually, but it’s still frustrating to be at this point. Not long ago I was doing actual speedy speed work and 20-mile long runs with fast finishes. I do take some comfort that the only races I have coming up are fun races and I probably won’t do another marathon for at least a year, so I have some time to work toward those goals once again. Still – it's discouraging.

Not only have I been exhausted in the evenings, I also lost an evening to my mom being in town and Saturday to my college homecoming.I have zero regrets about that day because I got to see some of my best college friends and their kids, say hello to a few casual friends I ran into, and reminisce about the good ol’ days. The sports center I spent MANY hours in for tennis practice has been completely revamped with a whole new weight and cardio wing. It’s amazing!

Through all of that, I did manage three runs and a bit of yoga this week:

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 21.1 miles in a sliver under 4 hours. This included that “speedy” 5-miler, and a 3- and 13.1-miler with my husband at his pace. I tried to talk him out of doing 13 since he only did 10 last week, but he’s as stubborn as I am and REALLY wanted to hit that 13.1 milestone. Now we know there is no doubt he can run the entire Freep Half in less than three weeks.

Yoga: One self-guided session of 30 minutes, consisting of my usual routine of bends, twists, pigeons, dogs, etc. This was much needed!

Total: Four sessions in about 4.5 hours.

I am hopeful these doctors’ appointments will have me feeling better soon. I will have to do some run schedule finagling around appointments to hit my goal of 75 miles this month, but two runs oughta do it. Even if they are slow I am getting out there.