Sunday, December 31, 2017

December and 2017 wrap-up

Happy New Year! It feels like -2 F outside (-19 C) so my husband and I decided to be super lame and stay in tonight. We'll probably go to bed at 12:01 a.m., which is fine by me. It'll be more likely that I'll get up early-ish and get stuff done tomorrow morning.

Anyway. I was a bit depressed that my year ended on a down note, but I did run the third-highest annual mileage in my life, run a weekend four-race challenge, run some fun 5Ks, and ride my bike outside. The first 10 months of 2017 weren't too shabby.

First, December:

I rode my bike 7 times on the trainer, lifted weights 5 times, swam once, and did yoga once. Not terrible considering I am dealing with a chondral fissure and still figuring out which workouts hurt and which workouts don't.

Now, 2017:
2017 running.
I ran 1,026.83 miles in 153 runs. The good news: It's an increase from last year. It's only the fourth time in my life I've broken 1,000 for the year. It's the only year I've done so without running a marathon or two. I ran eight 100+ mile months. The year included a quadruple race weekend of 30+ miles (part 1part 2) and two fun 5Ks (Pure Detroit 5KDetroit Free Press Marathon 5K).

2017 riding.
I rode my bike 53 times for 890 total miles, 458 road miles (14 outdoor rides). This is a slight decrease from last year, but more than twice as many road rides as I did in 2016. Plus, I signed up for Trainer Road this year and started getting into the FTP, cadence, and watts weeds. 53 rides is still an average of a ride a week, which I guess isn't too terrible. I didn't do any riding to kick off the year because I was focused on training for my quadruple running race weekend.

I lifted weights 53 times which is ONE LESS than last year. Wow! At least I'm consistent. Again, a once a week average isn't terrible.

I did yoga 28 times, which again is ONE LESS (!) than last year. This should be about double, but at least I am doing something.
2017 swimming (ugh).
I swam 7 times and just more than 1/10 of the yardage (meterage?) I did last year. This is what I'm most disappointed in. I focused on running for the first few months of the year, sure, but swimming anxiety got the best of me once or twice and then I just couldn't muster up the motivation to get to the pool. I enjoy swimming once I get to the pool, so it's just making the time and making myself go.

I only did pre-hab 6 times this year which more than likely contributed to the mess I'm in with my knee. I did go to a runners' workshop and learn a bunch of moves, and am starting physical therapy Tuesday. If I want to run again, I need to make this a priority for 2018.

Overall, I logged 300 sessions exactly. (I added them up an hour ago to find 299, so I did a yoga session. I needed it, anyway!) I did 341 last year; swimming was the difference, pretty much.

Still, my total time spent training was more than 308 hours for 2017. 308 hours! That's a part-time job! Of course I wish I had done more, but that is still nothing to sneeze at.

I don't know yet if I'm going to set concrete goals for 2018. Get back to running which probably includes pre-hab more, bike more, swim more, lift more, yoga more. What else is there?

I hope your 2018 is off to a great start!



Thursday, December 28, 2017

Just keep swimming

I made it to the pool today. I have been dreading going for a few weeks now, but once I was there, it was so good to be back in the water again. I did 1,000 meters of drills and an easy 5 x 200 just to get a feel for the water. Of course I was slow. It's only the seventh (!) time I've been in the pool for 2017. Ugh.

I'm trying not to think about how far I've fallen from my decent swimming days, because I am happy to be back in the water. And I have a lot of room for improvement.

Sorry if you follow me here an on Instagram, but I'm going to repeat myself. This about sums up where I am and where I want to go:

_____________________________________________________________________

Today's swim.
Real Talk:

It’s been a rough couple of years. Not long ago I was placing in my age group in short course and completed a 70.3. I used to swim 3-4 times per week. Today was my seventh time in the pool this year.

It’s been a whirlwind of overuse injuries; mismanaged hypothyroidism-induced anxiety, depression, and weight gain; DNFs and DNSs; and now a fissure in my cartilage. I have wanted to just quit, all of it, more than once.

I don’t know if I will ever be the “athlete,” and I use the term loosely, that I was a few years ago. Right now I will be happy if I can rebuild at all. But I am going to keep trying.




Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Week in review Dec. 18-24: Back in the saddle, literally

I am just happy to be doing ANYTHING again.
Merry Christmas, happy Boxing Day, a joyous whatever you celebrate. I had a nice, relaxing Christmas Eve, and spent time on the bike, wrapping presents, and watching A Christmas Story (again).

Then, Christmas Day was spent running around like a maniac hither and yon, picking up my brother-in-law from the airport, dropping off the dogs at my parents, working around six other people in my in-laws' kitchen to cook brunch, drinking mimosas, watching A Muppet Christmas Carol (again), heading to my parents' for a relaxing few hours, Skypeing with my sister, and driving home on a sheet of ice. So, you know, the usual.

I took Christmas Day off from any workouts and had another lazy day to mark my first day of vacation, but overall I didn't have a bad showing last week.

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for about 31 trainer "miles" in 3 hours. I am just happy to do be doing ANYTHING that doesn't hurt my knee, so I am taking it pretty easy and building my fitness and leg strength back up.

Weights: Twice, one barre class and one solo heavy/bodyweight session, for about 2:10 total. Barre is working for me because the tiny movements don't aggravate anything, and I can modify the larger movements. (Believe me, it still burns.) And I can do things like static squat holds for my solo sessions instead of actual squats.

Walk: I am totally counting a 20-minute warmup walk on the treadmill before my weights session. It was part of a workout, so it counts! (haha)

Total: Six sessions in 5 hours, 30 minutes. Not bad considering I could barely walk a month ago.

I hope to get in training sessions most days this week, even if they're not very intense. Even if I can't run yet, I will feel more like myself if I'm working up a sweat.



Thursday, December 21, 2017

Week in review Dec. 11-17: One workout is better than nothing, I guess

Hello! I'm late checking in for last week, but it's been a busy few days getting ready for Christmas. I wrapped up work and am now on my second day of vacation. I finished season 2 of The Crown, got my hair done, slept in today... you know, typical work break stuff.

After my followup with my orthopedist last Thursday, where we learned I likely have a fissure in my articular cartilage and not a torn meniscus, he cleared me to do anything that doesn't hurt, pound, or bend my knee more than 90 degrees or so. I figured barre would be a good choice since it uses mostly tiny movements and doesn't bend my knee too deeply. I headed to a class Saturday morning.

Verdict: success! I only had to modify a few moves, nothing hurt, and I got a great workout (and was reminded how out of shape my glutes and core are!). I've already been back once this week, partly because of the first success and party because I still have a few classes to use up before they expire in a couple weeks, haha.
It felt really good to log a workout again.
One hour of training last week may not seem like much, but I feel like I'm on my way to getting back in shape. Now, if only I can force myself to get to the pool. Haha.




Thursday, December 14, 2017

Better news than expected at the orthopedist today

I rocked the paper shorts (and Christmas socks) again.
I had my orthopedist follow up today. I was expecting him to tell me I had a meniscus tear and I needed surgery. The good news: I don't and I don't! Yay!

The bad news, from the radiologist's report: "Patellofemoral joint: Abnormality of lateral patellar facet. There is moderate subarticular marrow edema in inferolateral patella. There is probably a small overlying deep chondral fissure or defect."
Apparently, it means something called "chondral fissure."
What does that mean? My doctor explained to me that the first part is swelling (duh) and the second part means there's a crack or a tear or something in my knee cartilage. I don't know why that means sometimes I get pain in the back of the joint or suddenly can't bear weight, but he confirmed that it all goes together. When Googling "chondral fissure" I discovered symptoms are often very similar to that of meniscus tears.

So the bad news is that unlike a tear that can be repaired or a bone break that will heal, cartilage doesn't regenerate. So for now, my best bet is physical therapy to get everything strong and to make sure my patella and bones are tracking correctly, both of which will relieve stress on the joint. My doctor commented again on how tight my IT bands and hamstrings are, so I likely have some flexibility work in my future, too.

If that doesn't work, we can look into treatments such as having chicken cartilage injected into my knee (I didn't know this was a thing!!!), taking fat from elsewhere in my body and putting it in my knee (I could be OK with this), or stem cell treatments, but that is way down the line. He offered me a   cortisone shot but I didn't think that was necessary.

I can bike and swim (more bad news, haha) and do anything that doesn't hurt and doesn't bend my knee more than 90-ish degrees or pound my knee. So, that means running is off the table for a bit longer. But honestly, I can't imagine running feeling good right now, so I'll continue to hold off and let everything calm down.

We'll see what happens after I start PT. Hopefully I will be back on my feet, literally, again soon.




Monday, December 11, 2017

Week in non-review Dec. 4-10: Another knee update (because nothing else is happening)

Rub it in, why don't cha, Daily Mile.
I don’t have any good news to report. I had a decent easy spin and weights session a week ago Saturday, but my knee hasn’t felt any better. It still pinches when I walk, I can feel it catching when I extend my leg all the way, and sometimes it decides it doesn’t want to bear any weight. I have been super careful not to bend it much more than 90 degrees for almost the last month, when it started causing me real pain and discomfort.

I hurt it again on Tuesday (caught my foot and I felt something catch and pull in the knee joint) and I could barely walk on Wednesday, so I took that as a sign that I need to keep with the resting and doing nothing. I would go to the pool but 1. Ugh and 2. I am not sure I could walk all the way to the gym from my car and/or the train stop. On the plus side I am almost done with my big crochet Christmas project and caught up on Stranger Things 2.

I did have my MRI on Saturday and it was an experience. I called the hospital closest to my office for convenience, but their earliest opening was a Saturday, which made it even more convenient! (And I didn’t mind driving past my office on a Saturday since I combined the trip with Christmas shopping with my mom.) After getting checked in and filling out all the forms, I changed into comfy scrubs and was led into the MRI room. I was a bit nervous when I saw the big tube, but I was going in feet first and the other end was open, anyway.

I had to lie still for about 20-25 minutes, which is a lot harder than it sounds. My arms were falling asleep by the end. They played Pandora for me on these spiffy headphones, but that wasn’t enough to drown out the loud magnetic noises. I was surprised how LOUD it was! Lots of wub-wub-wub noises in different frequencies. It was painless except for my leg being a little tight by the end from not moving. The staff was super nice and I got my CD of images and was on my way shortly afterward.

I’ve looked at the images, but I have no idea what any of them mean. I can see my ligaments and bones, and my leg muscles look pretty good if I do say so myself. I was furiously Google image searching “torn meniscus MRI” and comparing it to my own images, and there is a shadow that KIND OF looks like it could be a tear, but I have no idea. The radiologist’s report should be on its way to my orthopedist and we’ll discuss that and the images at my follow up this Thursday.

I realize that logically, things are actually moving pretty speedily for me but I WANT ANSWERS NOW. I want to know what is going on. I want to know when I can expect to stop feeling pain and start running again. I feel like my life is on hold and I want to know how long this will last. I want to move and sweat and feel like myself again.




What does this mean? Indeed.


Thursday, December 7, 2017

Santa Claus came early!

First, the bad news: My knee isn't doing so hot. I was in a meeting the other day and went to uncross my feet, but instead my ankle caught on something and my leg pulled while my ankle stayed still. I felt something pull in my knee and it hurt so fricking bad. I am proud of myself for not screaming an obscenity, since I was on a conference call (haha). I could barely walk yesterday, but it is feeling better today.

The good news: Santa came early! I can't use it for much right now, but Santa brought me a new Garmin 35. I wanted something not too complicated and with a long-ish battery, and not necessarily a triathlon watch since I already have a bike computer and a swim watch.
Lime green, of course! I love the little workout guy for cardio.
I have been playing with it and am impressed with how intuitive it is. Of course, it's my fourth Garmin computer, so I should know by know what I'm doing. I am sad to retire the 305, but it has served me well for something like 8 years. It's time.

I did wear my new Garmin to bed these last two nights just to see what it would tell me. The first night was about what I expected, although I know I woke up at least twice, which it didn't register. I guess I'm a calm waker-upper? The second night was hilarious once I looked at the results:
6:45 of sleep, OK; 10:27, only in my wildest dreams.
I would KILL to get 10.5 hours of sleep but sadly, that is not what happened. I assure you I did not go to bed at 7:11 pm. My watch was charging happily on the kitchen counter during that time. Also, I just now noticed that I woke up both days at 5:38 am, 22 minutes before my alarm. Interesting! Most days, I wake up a few minutes before my alarm anyway.

My MRI is scheduled for Saturday and my followup appointment for a week from today, so hopefully I will have some answers soon. Also hopefully, I'll be able to use my Garmin as it was intended soon.


Monday, December 4, 2017

Week in review Nov. 27-Dec. 3: I actually logged three workouts this week!

At least it's something.
Although I have knee pain, locking, clicking, catching, etc. my orthopedist thinks it’s just an inflamed IT band and moderate workouts would be OK for now. So I hopped on the bike for an easy half-hour spin and lifted some weights Saturday.

It went OK. My knee was never in any pain but there was definitely twinge-y sensations in areas that haven’t hurt before, so I kept it super easy. I was able to do most of my upper body work without any modifications, and instead of squats and lunges I did weighted holds. Don’t worry, my quads and hamstrings still felt the burn.

I also got in a mini yoga session earlier in the week. These three “workouts” are the most activity I’ve done in a month.

It was:

Bike: One half-hour super easy spin on the trainer.

Weights: One heavy/body weight routine, modified so I could bend my knees as little as possible, for about an hour and 10 minutes.

Yoga: One 15-minute mini session.

Total: Three sessions in just less than 2 hours.

I mean, I’ve got to start somewhere. I’m not going to do any running until at least after my MRI, scheduled for Saturday. Whether something is torn or weak, I’m going to have a lot of rehab work to do, and I want to know what I’m dealing with before I start stressing my knee again. Until then, I’m keeping it easy and non-impact.



Sunday, December 3, 2017

I forgot to do a November review because there was nothing to review


Well, almost nothing.

I got three decent workouts in early in the month and on that last run, I had searing knee pain that came on suddenly at mile 6. A week later I suddenly couldn't bend or put weight on my knee. So I haven't run since.

As a result, my November review is very brief:

Runs: Twice, once on the treadmill and once on the road, for 12.75 total miles.

Bikes: Once on the trainer for an hour.

Yoga: Two solo sessions for 35 minutes total.

And that's it.

After an appointment with an orthopedist I have an MRI scheduled for this Saturday. I really don't think I should run, or do anything too strenuous, until I know more about what I'm dealing with. So these reviews will continue to be few and far between, at least for a while.




Friday, December 1, 2017

Tales from the orthopedist's office

Rockin' the paper shorts at the orthopedist's office.
Well, I had my orthopedist appointment yesterday. I left frustrated and angry but now with a bit of time between me and the appointment, I can say rationally that we’re on the way to solving the mystery. Hopefully.

I had a bit of a reality check as I was sitting in the waiting room feeling sorry for myself. Someone got wheeled out of the exam area with both legs stabilized in a wheelchair, and someone else was straight-up gurneyed right through the waiting area into the exam area by ambulance staff. I realize everyone is on their own journey and someone else’s suffering doesn’t minimize mine, but it did remind me that if I am walking, even if I am limping, to the orthopedist on my own power, I am in comparatively great shape.

I came prepared with lists of my left knee’s history (years of tennis, chondromalacia diagnosis years ago, etc.) and two pages of the log I have been keeping for the last few weeks of all the pain, popping, catching, sudden inability to bear weight, etc. that has been going on. After some x-rays, the doctor took a minute to go over my list and then bent and twisted my right knee this way and that. He assured me he would be more gentle with my left, and he was. He said my ligaments felt fine (I didn’t think I would still be walking around with an ACL or MCL tear), my x-rays looked fine, and both IT bands were really tight.

Then he dropped the bomb. “Your IT band is probably just inflamed.” Record scratch – what????? Why am I having pain at the front of my knee and inside my knee for my fricking IT band? “Sometimes it presents that way.” I literally just stared at him for five full seconds, I was so blown away. He actually stopped writing on whatever he was writing and stared back at me. “It could be a stress fracture. We could schedule an MRI to rule it out.” All I could muster was an “OK.”

I was initially angry because I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously, like he was just blowing me off and invalidating how this has been affecting my life. But logically, after some reflection, I know that doctors have to eliminate the easy stuff first, and an inflamed IT band sure would be a comparatively easy fix. What ticked me off, though, is that on my discharge slip when he recommended the MRI he wrote something about a possible torn meniscus. So he KNOWS that could be a problem but he didn't even say it to me?!? Was he trying to protect my feelings or something?!? That rubbed me the wrong way.

I am trying to focus on the important thing, that we will hopefully soon have answers, whether I need ibuprofen or surgery or something in between. But I'm not going to lie: I will be SO ANGRY if for the last six weeks I have been hobbled by something that could have been taken care of with a handful of over-the-counter pain relievers. Not to mention all the money and fitness I have lost. But I'm trying not to think about it until my next round of tests next weekend. Stay tuned.




Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Well, well. I'm on a racing team.

I was feeling very sorry for myself today. My knee has throbbed, clicked, caught, and hurt all day and I am worrying myself sick about my orthopedist appointment tomorrow. I'm equally worried that he'll say something is wrong or that he doesn't believe me and tells me nothing is wrong.

I depressed-ly got into bed with the mutts after work and was scrolling through Instagram when I remembered to check on the account for a new racing team I had applied for. Lo and behold, there was my name!!!!! My "congratulations" email had been diverted to my spam folder but my application has been accepted for 2018.
I'm a member of TBD Racing, officially meaning Tough By Design and The Best Damn racing team, but I also like TBD to mean to be determined, like your potential is still to be determined. =) This turned my whole evening around and I have spent the last hour following my teammates' (it feels weird to type that!) accounts and reading their intro stories.

This turned my whole evening around. I'm in a much better mood and now I REALLY have something to motivate me to figure out what's going on with my knee so I can fix it, rehab it, and get back to normal again.



Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Creaks, cricks, tightness, and pain in my knee


I’ve been too depressed to write anything about my non-existent training but the short answer is my knee still hurts and I’m not doing anything active until I get some answers.

I have been keeping a log of the random aches, pains, catching, clicking, inability to bear weight, etc. that has been happening since my last run Nov. 3 and the sudden onset pain Nov. 12. Every single day except for one, I have had at least mild discomfort. Most days I am in at least a little actual pain for at least a few minutes. I have been careful not to bend my knee too deeply, and I wear a wrap around my knee every day, and those two things help. But every day I am reminded that something is wrong.

Since I am still up and (mostly) walking I don’t think I tore a ligament. I am afraid it’s a torn meniscus. The potential for Things That Could Have Gone Wrong is huge – do I have a piece of bone floating around? Did I do serious damage to my kneecap or something else? Am I just a mutant and it finally caught up with me? I’m trying not to think about it. A torn meniscus is almost the best option, because at least that is (should be) fixable.

And no small part of my annoyance is the money I’m wasting by being injured. I got most of one registration back for a Black Friday race with a transfer, but was still out more than $50 for the registration I wasn’t able to transfer in time. I’m not using my Trainer Road subscription (although I just logged in and it seems pretty easy to suspend your membership). I have barre classes that will probably expire before I get the chance to use them. I ordered a new Garmin on Black Friday but I won’t be able to use it for running any time soon.

And and, I’m frustrated that this is happening NOW. The past 13 months or so was the year of getting my general health under control, and I was JUST starting to feel like myself again. Then, I do this and sideline myself again.

I’m discouraged, angry, frustrated, and sad. But I am also TRYING to be hopeful I’ll get some answers at my appointment Thursday and start moving toward recovery. Not being able to do anything is crapola and I hate it.


Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Update: Knee still hurts.

Hilarious image borrowed from The Tiny Terror
I have nothing to update, really. My knee still hurts occasionally and I'm not doing anything.

I got into the doctor right away last week and got a referral for an orthopedist next week, which is light speed in doctor referral time. I don't think it would be a good idea to do anything strenuous until I see him.

I went out of town starting last Thursday and got back yesterday (Tuesday) and walked around a lot, and my knee was mostly fine. I got the occasional pinch or twinge but nothing legitimately painful. I actually brought my old crutches with me, just in case, but was able to leave them in the car.

Once I forgot and tried to run across the street to beat a red light. My knee let me know immediately that THAT WAS NOT OK. Honestly, I'm afraid to try riding right now because won't that also put pressure directly on my knee? Should I cancel my Trainer Road subscription? Ugh.

Plus, I signed up for a very cool race Friday and now I can't do it. I was able to transfer my registration and get some money back but *I* wanted to run it. So I am annoyed about that, too.

Right now I am just laying low and trying to enjoy the holidays without any training. The silver lining is I am getting a LOT of crocheting done. I might try to get into the pool next week because what else am I doing? 

Honestly I'm pretty bummed that I can't do any running and am looking forward to hopefully getting some answers next week. In the meantime I am trying to rest and think positive thoughts but, not going to lie, it's hard.

At least tomorrow is Thanksgiving.





Monday, November 13, 2017

Nov. 6-12: I have nothing to review.

=(
My training is not in a good place right now. After a long run a few weeks ago my left knee was a bit tender underneath my kneecap, and it would hurt off and on. After a speedy run a week and a half ago the tenderness turned to pain, and “off and on” turned to on, all the time.

Yesterday I was in the kitchen, literally minding my own business, when suddenly I couldn't put weight on or extend my knee. Well, this isn't good. I rested it for a while, hobbled around some more, rested, hobbled, and went to bed. This morning it was fine, and then it wasn't, and then it was fine again.

Magically, I could get into the doctor this morning, and she confirmed something was going on. I didn't get X-rays since it's obviously a soft tissue thing, but I did get a referral to an orthopedist that I should make an appointment for now; I can always cancel later if it stops giving me trouble. I'm in a bandage now and getting around OK as long as I don't have to bend my knee too deeply.

As a result, my mental state isn’t in a good place, either. Between the not running, the knowing something is wrong, and the cold front that moved in last week I am the Queen of Crab. There has been a lot of lying around and moping. To be fair, there has also been a decent amount of cooking, errand-running, and crocheting Christmas presents, so not all is completely lost. But still – I am not happy.

I’m signed up to run a race next week and I have no idea where I will be running-wise tomorrow, let alone then. A silver lining is this race does allow transfers, so if I can’t run there is a good chance my money won’t be wasted. But *I* wanted to do this race.

So I don't know what will be going on for running and anything else in the future. I'm going out of town Thursday and I'm going to try to enjoy myself, even if I do have to hobble and limp around. Hopefully I'll have good news soon.



Monday, November 6, 2017

Week in review Oct. 30-Nov. 5: I “knee”d to evaluate

Nothing special this week.
Well, this is why I can’t have nice things.

I ran my first double-digit run in a while two weeks ago. Since it had been so long, it was a little tough, and I had some soreness afterward. But I didn’t think much of it, since it seemed to be typical post-long run stuff.

I noticed that my left knee, the one without any real cartilage, was still tender a few days later. Maybe I should have taken a few days off, but… I wanted to hit my running mileage goals of 1,000 for the year and 100 for the month. So I stuck to easy runs of no longer than an hour, and it felt OK. Maybe a bit sore the day after a run, but it was always fine by the second day.

Friday was going to be my last after-work run in daylight before Daylight Saving Time ended, and it was a perfect night for running. The air was crisp and cool, the sunlight was waning, the trees were still red and orange. I clicked off mile after mile, hitting about goal marathon pace minus 10-15 seconds (!!!) and every one felt easy (!!!!!!!!). I started to think that maybe I could pull off a spring marathon.

Then… bam. Knee pain. I’m not sure if I pushed off funny, or if 6 miles really is the threshold, or if I was just running too fast for my joint fitness, or what. I walked for a while and tried once or twice more, but I was done doing any real running.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

So, long story short, I didn’t do as much running as I would have liked. Saturday and Sunday ended up being filled with friend and family stuff so I just wrote them off as rest days.

Run: Four times, 3 on the treadmill and once on the road, for just longer than 22 miles in 3.5 hours. (This included a short run on the 31st to make 100 even for the month of October.)

Bike: Once on the trainer for an hour.

Total: Five workouts in 4.5 hours.

I'm frustrated, mad, and a little depressed that I am going to have to alter my goals for the rest of the month and year. I might get on the bike or in the pool later but right now I am just going to be grumpy that I have to take an enforced running break. Boo.



Saturday, November 4, 2017

A look back at October (finally)

Ugh! It has been a busy week. My life has been work, squeeze an hour of something active, cook, shop, pay some attention to my husband and dogs, and go to bed way too late. It's been exhausting.

When I finally had a chance to add up my October totals, it was pretty obvious I haven't had as much time to train as I would like. This was my smallest volume month since March, when I took it easy running after a weekend of 30+ miles in late February. I really only made two of my goals, both running-related, and didn't accomplish much else.
Running was my priority for October, but I didn't do a whole lot else.
By the numbers, it was:

Run: 16 times, for 100 miles in a bit longer than 16 hours. 100 miles was a goal for me, so yay! This included a fun 5K as part of the Detroit Free Press Marathon weekend.

Bike: 4 trainer rides for 5 hours. I rode once early in the month and had a good last week of the month and that was it.

Weights: 2 heavy/body sessions for about 2.5 hours. Ugh. Not even a once per week average.

Yoga: 3 times for a bit less than an hour. Again: Ugh. Not even a once per week average.

Total: 25 sessions in about 24.5 hours. A solid month for running, but blah for everything else.

In addition to making my 100-mile running goal, I also surpassed 1,000 miles for the year later in the month. It's only the fourth time in my life I've done this, so I'm thrilled. 

But none of my other goals got accomplished. I didn't lift twice per week, I didn't start using a TrainerRoad program, I didn't even get into the pool once. Ugh.

I'm doing the best I can with my limited free time, and I'm still getting in a few solid workouts here and there, so I can't be too mad. Let's see if I can't make some improvements for November.


Monday, October 30, 2017

Week in review Oct. 23-29: Some running, some football watching

A decent week.
Hey, it wasn't a terrible week. I did a decent amount of running and got on the bike and on the yoga mat twice each. This includes taking a full day off for football and another for a trip to the vet, so I'll take it as a victory.

This week marked the first real cold snap and I've been crabby about it all week. Monday I was on the trainer the day after a long run, and Tuesday I grumpily took to the treadmill as it rained outside. I had to work super early Tuesday and had to take my car to the dealer (again) Wednesday, so my schedule was a bit screwed up, but I still managed another trainer ride after I got my car back home.

Thursday one of my mutts was limping again. She had been limping off and on a few months ago, but we thought whatever it was had cleared up. However, she is a total brat, and figured out that when she sits in front of the pantry with her paw raised, she gets extra treats and attention. So was it really an injury or is she just playing us for suckers? I mean, we are suckers, but an X-ray revealed that she has developed arthritis in that paw these past few months. So I did feel bad, but gave her extra treats and belly rubs. I didn't get in a real workout that day so....

I got up super early Friday and got on the treadmill before work. Friday and Saturday both were filled with football (my husband's high school Friday, his university homecoming on Saturday) and I didn't work out at all on Saturday. Sunday I was able to rally and run a solid 8 miles in the cool air. It wasn't THAT bad once I warmed up, but I was wishing my hat was about an inch longer to cover just a bit of my ears.

So all that was a very long way to say:

Run: Three times, twice on the treadmill and once on the road, for 20.5 miles in about 3 hours, 20 minutes. This included hitting 1,000 miles for the year.

Bike: Twice, both on the trainer, for 2 hours total.

Yoga: Twice, both self-guided sessions, for about 35 minutes total.

Total: 7 sessions in a bit less than 6 hours.

Nothing exceptional, but a decent week. It works out to almost an hour 6 days, which is nothing to sneeze at. Considering everything that happened, I'll take it.

I hope you're having a great week so far.


Sunday, October 29, 2017

1,000 running miles for 2017 and I ain't a spring chicken anymore

Today on my run around the neighborhood I hit the 1,000 mile mark for 2017. It's only the fourth time in my life I've ever done this.
Yay me!
I ran 1,000 on the nose in 2014, so I'm already at my third-highest yearly mileage of my life. I hit 1,141 in 2015, which I will probably surpass. I did 1,313 in 2013, the only calendar year I've done two marathons, and I don't expect to exceed that.

It hasn't been the best year running but this is a big accomplishment for me, and I'm proud of my hard work.

On the subject of hard work, I ran my first double-digit run in months a week ago. My knee is STILL bothering me a bit.

I don't have any real cartilage in my left knee after a freak trampoline accident when I was 15 followed by years of playing tennis and then running. I've been to an orthopedist, and he said I don't need surgery or a scope or anything, so the best thing I can do is keep my leg muscles strong. Running and lifting weights usually keeps me pain free, but I overdid it last week for sure.

I only ran a couple times this week but I was definitely feeling it after mile 4 or so. Today I went out for 8 and was mostly fine, although I was definitely being very careful with form.

I turn 38 in a few weeks and I can't keep pretending that I'm 22. Sigh.






Monday, October 23, 2017

Week in review Oct. 16-22: Finally, some stuff other than running

Great running, a decent bike session, a decent weights session.
Although I had to take two days off my regular training last week, I still managed a decent showing. Not only did I get in lots of good and long running, I also managed a Saturday trainer ride and weight lifting session. It wasn't a WHOLE lot of stuff, but I was feeling pretty badass by the end of the week.

My in-laws were in town Monday and I had to catch up on food prep, since the Freep marathon a week ago Sunday meant I couldn't do my usual grocery shopping that day. And on Thursday I took a kung fu self-defense class, which, while very interesting, wasn't a real workout (at least for me). I made up for lack of training those two days with solid workouts the other five.

It worked out to be:

Run: 4 times, all on the road, for 32 miles in a bit longer than 5 hours. Tuesday and Wednesday were nice, easy runs, which felt pretty effortless in the cool air. Friday's run felt even more amazing. I ticked off multiple miles in 9:09, which is the pace needed for a 3:59:59 marathon, my ultimate goal. It was enough to get me thinking, hmmm, are there any spring marathons coming up? But marathon training in the winter... ugh. I also went up and down the sledding hill a total of 14 times that run, one more than the time before.

Sunday I went out for 12.5 miles, my first double-digit run in more than three months. I wasn't 100% sure I could do it, so I stayed close to home, just in case. The first hour felt good but I was starting to feel it in my bad knee and my hips. I considered heading home, but decided to try to tough it out. I was hurting more by mile 10 but there was no way I wouldn't finish the two hours and I did. I was glad to see I had those miles still in me, and I got to see some beautiful trees changing colors.

Bike: Just once on the trainer, for 1.5 hours on Saturday while watching college football and catching up on my magazines.

Weights: Another badass alert. I just did one round of my usual home body/heavy weight workout. But for some reason I was just ON today. I can do a few standing pull-ups and a few standing chin-ups, but the hanging versions have eluded me. I've had to use bands for an assist... until Saturday. I managed two sets of two hanging chin-ups and two sets of one hanging pull-up, and made it halfway up on the third go-round for each. I was thrilled! I also managed to bump up weight for a few other moves and bang out 10 pushups with my feet up one step. Woo!

Total: 6 sessions in almost 8 hours.

Not great, not terrible, a few gains here and there. A solid week and nothing to complain about. I'll take it.




Saturday, October 21, 2017

So, I went to a kung fu class

There have been a few attacks on female runners this past year or so, so I started running with my phone more often and have been keeping an eye out for self defense classes. I signed up for one at Detroit Kung Fu Academy this past week. I've gone to one tae kwon do class at least 15 years ago, so I had no idea what to expect.

It was ... interesting. I expect every self-defense class to start out telling us to be aware of our surroundings, as if we don't know that already, and there was a little of that. We went through a form routine a few times, and then learned a few moves. We learned how to sink our body weight down so we could leverage it to throw someone off balance, and how to punch and block.

I don't know that I need ANOTHER gym or studio membership, so I probably won't train there. But I wouldn't say no to the occasional odd class, and it's always good to learn something new, right?

And just because I didn't get any good pictures:





Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Week in review Oct. 9-15: On the run but not much else

Run, and that's about all.
My life has been a barely functional hot mess lately. My boss is on vacation, and I thought since she was gone, everyone would leave me alone until she got back and I could get some stuff done. HAHAHAHAHAHA. As it turns out, the more urgent projects still need to be managed in her absence, and project management is NOT one of my strengths. This week I have already managed to screw up both conference calls I was put in charge of. I can’t even manage a conference call! Haha.

This has led to a few later-than-I-would-like work evenings, which means later-than-I-would-like runs, later-than-I-would-like dinners, and later-than-I-would-like bedtimes. I feel like I am running around and getting nothing done. UGH!

The craziness got off to a slow start last week and I didn’t have a great training week. Really, the only successes were that I ran 5 times and one of those times was a very fun 5K. It worked out to be:

Run: 5 times, 4 on the road (1 race!) and 1 on the treadmill, for about 25.5 miles in about 4.25 hours.

The runs broke down to a very easy 3-miler with my husband Monday to make sure he could survive the 5K (haha); two cool and enjoyable mid-week runs; the 5K; and a quick hour on the treadmill Sunday between rounds of a monster food prep session. (Breakfasts for the week, tomato sauce, bone broth, lunch salads, and roasting a chicken for dinner that night.) Tuesday’s run was my fastest non-track run in a while, and it felt great. I never got a GPS signal on Thursday, as it was so cloudy, so I stopped a bunch of times to take pics of pretty trees changing colors. It’s a regular route so I know the distance and still had time running, so this worked out to be a pretty speedy run, too.




Some pics of pretty trees seen on a run last week.
Yoga: 15 minutes on my own.

Total: 6 sessions in about 4.5 hours.

I ended up taking Wednesday off training because I didn’t feel great and it was rainy and gloomy outside. I had already taken Friday off work and scheduled a car appointment and a hair appointment when I realized it was Treat Yo’ Self Day from Parks and Recreation, so I further embraced the theme with going out to lunch with my husband, visiting the Freep Marathon expo Friday afternoon and buying a shirt, and even doing a little baking. I didn’t do any training beyond the 5K Saturday, but ran a bunch of errands, watched the Kona coverage, and got my flu shot. I didn’t want to schedule anything in stone on Sunday because I had a bad reaction after my last flu shot, but I woke up Sunday feeling fine enough to spend most of the day cooking. It was rainy and windy and I was glad I wasn’t running the Free Press marathon or half marathon (more on that later).

Still, a busy long weekend doing other stuff meant that I didn’t get a whole lot of training in. Oh well.

This week is off to a slow, crazy start but I’m hoping things settle down. We don’t have any plans for the weekend (yet) and I am already looking forward to relaxing and putting in some quality training, especially getting on the bike and lifting some weights again. And if the weather stays cool, enjoying more fall runs and pretty leaves. Yay!



Sunday, October 15, 2017

Detroit Free Press 5K race report

I've done the Free Press marathon four times and the international half once, but I hadn't yet done the 5K. Yesterday was the first time my husband and I got up early(ish) on a Saturday, not marathon Sunday, and headed to the river for a super fun morning.

Race start was 9 a.m. which means I got to get up at a not-ridiculous 6:15 a.m. with plenty of time to take the mutts out, have a small breakfast, make sure we had all of our gear, etc. We didn't leave until close to 8 a.m., which was WAY too late for my peace of mind, but we're only a few miles from the race start so it ended up being OK. I almost blew a gasket when I realized the parking lot filled up only about a dozen cars before we got there, but we were directed into another lot that was actually more convenient. All was well.

We gathered our stuff and headed to the race start, a park on the riverfront. It was low 60s, gray and a bit drizzly, but we were perfectly dressed in capris (me) or shorts (my husband), t-shirts, and hats to shield our faces from any raindrops. We had time to walk around and people watch for a bit before we lined up near the back of the "runner" wave. The DJ was spinning some awesome old-school tunes, so I sang along to Technotronic and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

Before long, we were off! The first leg of the race was north to an east-west corridor, which was completely blocked off for us. It was a decent incline and some of the road was a bit rough, but we were careful to watch where we were going. That first long stretch northeast wasn't very scenic, but people were out cheering for us and the energy was high for the start of the race.
We had some nice park and river views after the first long stretch.
The jog to the Riverwalk was a bit tricky, and the path wasn't as wide, but the race had thinned out by then anyway. We got a few sprinkles here and there, but otherwise it was pretty nice running weather. We managed a steady pace and even descended our miles, which was good to see! Before long, we heard the finish line music and kicked it in to the finish. We grabbed some water and snacks, walked around a bit and took some pics, and headed out.

Swag at this race was top-notch. For a 5K, I was expecting a cotton shirt. Not only did we get a sweet long-sleeved tech tee with an awesome logo on the back, based off the City of Detroit flag, but we got a cool 40th-anniversary buff to wear as a headband, gaiter, etc. I have several buffs and they are handy to have, especially in the winter. AND we got a finisher's medal.
Close up of front and back race tee, finisher's medal, and buff.
My dog wanted to be in the pic too, lol. She did not run the race.
It was a great race and great morning with awesome amenities, toys, swag, and views. I'd definitely do this one again! Even if you're doing the full marathon, this would be a decent shakeout run next year. It was an awesome way to participate in race weekend without training for long distance.

I hope everyone who raced this morning did great!



Thursday, October 12, 2017

It's Freep marathon weekend!

The 2014 marathon medal.
This Sunday will be the first Sunday in 5 years I’m not running a Free Press Marathon event.

The Freep was my very first marathon in 2010. In 2011 I was still recovering from a tibial stress fracture, and in 2012 friends of ours got married out of town marathon weekend (How dare anyone schedule a wedding during marathon season without consulting me first!), so I ran Indianapolis instead, setting what was then a monster PR of 15 and a half minutes.

I ran the Freep full again in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and the half last year as my husband’s first big race. I know a lot of people might not like to do the same races over and over, but it’s my hometown race, you get to run into Canada and back, and I love it. So I do it.

This year, my training has been iffy and my husband hasn’t really been running at all, so we’re “only” doing the 5K on Saturday. Not going to lie, I am looking forward to a commitment of a couple of hours, max, and that’s after adding in the expo and getting to the race. I’ll have all day Sunday to catch up on stuff around the house, prep food for the week, and maybe get in my own long (non-26.2 miles long, that is) run that day.

The marathon will always be there and I’m not sad about missing it this year. I’m glad they have the 5K for us who have been slacking on our training. And… there’s still plenty of time to train for a spring marathon. We happened to be in Ottawa for our honeymoon during their marathon weekend, and our 10-year anniversary is next year, so maybe that would be a good time to return. We’ll see what the next few months throws at us.



Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Week in review Oct. 2-8: Life definitely got in the way

It was an even spread, at least.
It was another poor week, training-wise. All I did was two runs, one trainer ride, and some weight lifting.

It was just a bizarre turn of coincidence that a friend needed help with a (very fun!) thing Tuesday, my in-laws were in town for dinner Wednesday, and I had to work late Friday. I figured I would do what I could Monday, Thursday, and the weekend, and I did. I got solid runs in Monday and Thursday.

I got a call mid-week that a family member had passed away and that visitation was Sunday. Don’t be sad for me, because he was a great man and lived a long, full, amazing life. I really did want to pay my respects, so I hitched a ride with my parents out of town Sunday to spend some time with my extended family. Hilariously, my mom’s cousins kept coming up to me and giving me hugs, and I kept telling them, “I have no idea who you are!” We figured it out eventually, haha.

I made it back home Sunday evening with enough time to prep some food for the week but not to do any activity, and I was OK with that.

By the numbers:

Run: Twice, once on the road and once mostly on the track, for 12.75 miles in a hair longer than 2 hours. I may have only ran twice but I made both count.

Monday’s run was a speedy track workout: I did the 5K program of 800s fast followed by 400 recovery, which is honestly my favorite track workout anyway. I got the very last lap down to a pace that began with a 7 so I consider that a success. That is probably going to be one of the last warm track nights for a while, sad face.

For Thursday’s run I headed out to that dang sledding hill again. I "ran" up the steep side twice, but I concluded that if I can’t even run the dang thing I probably should scale back a bit. So, I moved over to the side that is slightly less steep, yet with a longer incline. Now, THAT I could do. I managed four times up and down without having to stop for a break, ran a half mile to the water fountain and back, and then ran up and down the less-steep side SEVEN times in a row without a break before heading back to the car, for an even, lucky 13 times up and down that stupid hill all together.

Of course, my pace was WAY off – more than a minute per mile slower on average than Monday’s run. But I hope those hill repeats are starting to build strength somewhere in my system. The saddest thing was when I downloaded my Garmin data the elevation doesn’t even show up. Ugh! That’s what I get for living in flat southeast Michigan.

Bike: Just once on the trainer Saturday for a “long” ride of 16.5 “miles” in an hour and a half. I thought about going to the state park but I ended up not being able to fit it into my day before the rain started.

Weights: One good round of my heavy and body weight moves in about 1 hour, 20 minutes taking out all the time slacking off and watching TV between sets. I definitely felt this the next day – I haven’t done pushups and core work in a while.

Overall: Four workouts in about 4 hours, 50 minutes. The long ride and long weights workout gave me a few extra minutes.

This Saturday my husband and I are running the Free Press 5K, part of the festivities that precede the marathon Sunday. I expect to get in a couple easy runs with him, and maybe a trainer ride and a barre class. As of now the week’s schedule is nice and light, so I hope to finally have a decent week of training.



Friday, October 6, 2017

September in review and looking ahead to October

I’m late for a September review for an embarrassing reason: I can’t add.

When I added up my yearly totals by sport, I got a completely different number than when I added up the overall totals by month. I’m pretty neurotic about my number totals so while I had psyched myself up to let go a few minutes’ discrepancy, an hour and a half was way too much to tolerate!

I’m happy to report the problem seemed to be an accounting error between the months of July and August. So, luckily, I didn’t even have to go that far back to find the problem. Whew! I’m a writer by trade and I’ll stick to my words, thanks.

Anyway. Although I didn’t make my running goal of hitting 100 miles, I was pleasantly surprised with some of my other numbers when totaling up September. I only biked seven times in September, but that was still better than the four times in August. I also did a bit more weightlifting.

In all, it was about an hour and a half more total time training in the same number of overall sessions, compared to last month. It broke down to 14 times and about 13.25 hours running, seven times and about 10.5 hours biking, five times and about 4.5 hours weight training, and one 15-minute yoga session.
Almost half my training time in October was spent running.
My other goals included:

Lift twice per week most weeks: This was closer to once per week.

Bike outside at least three times: DONE! I rode outside three of September’s five Saturdays.

Use my new swim toys to get comfortable in the pool again: Nope. I didn’t go to the pool at all in September.

Actually do yoga: Just that one session, sadly.

Actually do glutes/core/prehab: Nope.

PR my 5K: I didn’t run any 5Ks this month. I was looking at one at the end of the month but it was canceled.

Considering I lost almost a full week from the Cold of Death, I’m satisfied with how the month shook out. I also got to spend time with friends, cook lots of good food, see cousins that were visiting from out of state, hang out by the pool, and do some other fun stuff. When I have a less-than-ideal month I have to remind myself that training is a hobby and a privilege. Any day I can move my body is a good day!

For October, not only do I want to work on the goals I didn’t hit from last month, if all goes to plan I’ll also pass 1,000 running miles for the year during this month. I’ve only done that three times since I started tracking my running in 2007; my all-time record is 1,313 in 2013, the only calendar year I’ve done two marathons. I’m thinking about what could be a fun yet attainable goal for the year: 1,234, maybe? Or I could stop running at the end of the month at 1,017 in ’17. Haha, yeah right.

I hope your September was great and your October is off to a good start.




Monday, October 2, 2017

Week in review Sept. 25-Oct. 1: Run, work, recover

Definitely the result of a busy work week.
I knew this week wouldn’t be anything spectacular. I had plans Friday night (My Favorite Murder live show!) and a big work event ALLLLLLLLLLLL day Saturday. On Sunday my grandmother was in town a few days ahead of her 85th (!!!!!!!!!!!) birthday, so of course we went out to brunch. Since I was tired from being on my feet all day Saturday anyway, I spent the rest of Sunday prepping food for this coming week.

I did get in one workout per day Monday through Thursday, which was what I reasonably expected. I had grand plans to get up early during the week or on the weekend for an extra workout, but I just ended up getting home and/or going to bed way too late to make it work.

It ended up being:

Run: Three times, once on the treadmill and twice on the road, for 18.75 miles in almost exactly 3 hours. My treadmill run Monday was boring, steady, and slow while I watched a bit of Orange is the New Black and hopped off every couple of miles to tend to dinner. Wednesday I slogged through my run feeling like garbage, but Thursday was cooler and cloudy — perfect running weather. I managed a full 25 seconds per mile faster on Thursday compared to Monday; what a difference a 30-degree temperature change makes.

Bike: Once on the trainer for an hour.

Total: Four sessions in almost exactly four hours.

I’ve got another busy week this week with personal plans Tuesday and Wednesday and another work event Friday, but so far the weekend is open. I am already looking forward to not running around like a maniac and getting some solid (hopefully) training and sleep.



Thursday, September 28, 2017

Upcoming changes in my bike routine

It’s been busy at work and I’m feeling overwhelmed generally, so no blog posts for you!

We have a big event this weekend and the past couple of weeks have been go, go, go. Sadly, that means I have to work all day Saturday. Sadly sadly, that means I won’t get the chance to ride my bike on the closed-to-car-traffic route for the last time before May. Super bummer! I did get out this past Saturday and it was enjoyable, even though it was so hot I had to stop by my car for ice water.

I mentioned a few blog posts ago that I had just ridden my fastest ride in a year, which made me both happy and sad. Like my most recent fastest run in the past year, my feelings are a mix of being happy that my overall speed is increasing, yet frustrated that I’m making such slow progress and that I have such a low bar to clear.
That green triangle means it was my fastest ride in a year... sadly.

Because I’m a typical Type A triathlete, I went back and looked at all the other times I’ve logged in DailyMile faster bike rides since 2012. Four of those were races (all sprints, I’m pretty sure) so that doesn’t really count. Of the six other times, my fastest was 0.5 mph quicker and, inexplicably, on a 50+ mile ride. WTF???

So I guess I haven’t gotten THAT much slower in the past few years, but I have still gotten slower, which is pretty darn depressing. I know the problem is that I just don’t ride enough. I struggle with finding the time to get in the saddle more, between working a full-time job, running a few times a week after work, and doing all the healthy food planning, shopping, cooking, and prepping. I already don’t get enough sleep.

One of my goals for October is to find a three-times-a-week TrainerRoad program and complete it. I’m paying for a subscription, so I might as well use it and all the features that come along with it. My bike needs a lot of work, and if I’m dedicated all winter I should have something to show for it in the spring. Right? Right? Please tell me I’m right.




Monday, September 25, 2017

Week in review Sept. 18-24: Back in the game

Not a bad week back.
I'm going to make it quick since I really need to get to bed. But after a week where a bad cold kept me from doing only one 3-mile run, I was thrilled to have a good week of bike, run, and lift.

I had a couple of easy runs on the treadmill to start the week, to make sure I could handle a run and to avoid drizzle and cold. I managed a mid-week trainer ride and weights video and a couple more runs to round out the work week. I ended Thursday's run literally covered in bugs that were apparently woken up out hibernation by the heat.

I had a great bike ride Saturday but, sadly, it's probably one of the last outside for a while. I'm most likely working all day this Saturday, the last day the road is closed to car traffic until May. I started out with an OK run Sunday, but the heat was just too much for me and I called it at 5 miles.

The most maddening thing about the week is I came in a just less than 10 hours. Had I done 10 fricking minutes of yoga I would have hit it. GRRRRR! I need to add up my totals Sunday afternoons just to avoid that.

Anyway, it was:

Run: 5 times, 2 on the treadmill and 3 on the road, for 29 miles in about 4.75 hours. I don't usually do 5 runs in a week but this worked out to a two on, one off rotation.

Bike: Twice, once on the trainer for 11.8 fake miles and once on the road for 35 real miles, in a bit longer than 3 hours.

Weights: 3 sessions, 1 video plus 1 heavy/body routine in two parts (I saved squats and lunges until after Sunday's run) in about 2 hours.

Total: 10 total sessions in a hair shorter than 10 hours.

Overall, it was great to be back after being sick. The heat was a bummer but I still got in some solid training time, and it felt good.



Sunday, September 24, 2017

Cutting back on runs and goals

I had good intentions to get in 11 miles today. It would be a nice, round number for the week (35) and get me a big chunk of the way toward my goal of 100 for the month.

I had a commitment in the late morning so I did my food prep beforehand and hit Trader Joe's right afterward. By the time I got outside, the weather looked like this:
I can handle hot, I can handle sunny, and I can handle no breeze, but all three turned out to be too much for me. I tried, I really did, but by mile 4 I was starting to slow down. I could not fathom 7 more miles. So, I swung home to make 5 for the day.

I'm bummed, yes. I hate cutting sessions short because a small part of me feels like a failure. And longer-term, I'm bummed because there's really no way I'll hit 100 miles now.

But, I made the best of it. After I showered and cooled down, my husband and I had a drink by a pool we have access to and hung out in the shade. We made a couple new friends and ended up staying for dinner. It wasn't a total loss.

I know I'll be complaining about 0 degree temperatures before too long, but dang. This "summer" weather was just too much for me today.



Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Week in review Sept. 11-17: Sick, sick, run, sick, sick

And it took about 6 Benadryl to get me there.
I was feeling about 90% back to normal yesterday, so I spent the evening catching up on everything that got pushed to the wayside while I was sick over the weekend, and neglected to do a weekly wrap-up.

There’s nothing much to wrap up, anyway, as I only managed one 3-mile run all last week. I started feeling sick Monday, felt better and ran Wednesday, and then got actually sick Thursday into Friday. Luckily I was on the mend by Saturday, so although it sucked at least it was fast-hitting and fast-leaving.

So my grand weekly totals are:

Run, once on the road, for 3 miles in about 29 minutes. Technically they were descending miles, taking 2 seconds off from miles 1-2 and 4 more seconds off from miles 2-3, so I’ll count that as an additional success.

Of course I’m bummed I lost a whole week, but in the great scheme of things, I only missed one day of work, I didn’t have any real plans I had to cancel on Saturday, I was mostly recovered so I could enjoy my Sunday and get a few things done, etc. And, if anything else, this is a good reminder that I need to get my flu shot this year.

I hope your week of training went better than mine!