MCM Week 6: Dragging My Feet

When I looked at the calendar for this week, I wasn’t sure how I would fit all that mileage in between appointments, social plans, body aches, and the forecasted freak weather events, so I lowered my training volume expectations. Almost every morning of this week was a mental battle to get out there and just do the damn thing, but I got through it. I put one foot in front of the other and hoped for the best.

Here's the plan breakout for Week 6:

·       Sunday – 10 miles Long

·       Monday – 6 miles Easy

·       Tuesday – 7 miles Speed: 1.5 mile WU, 5 x 1k @ 10k pace w/ 400m jog, 1.5 mile CD

·       Wednesday – Cross-train

·       Thursday – 8 miles Easy

·       Friday – 6 miles Easy

·       Saturday – 6 miles Easy

What actually happened:

·       Sunday – 12 miles Long

·       Monday – Heavy Lifting

·       Tuesday – 8 miles Easy

·       Wednesday – Heavy Lifting

·       Thursday – 7 miles Speed: 1.5 mile WU, 5 x 1k @ 10k pace w/ 400m jog, 1.5 mile CD

·       Friday – 4 miles Easy

·       Saturday – 5 miles Easy, Beach Yoga

On Sunday I was delayed getting started on my long run because I had to transfer everything over to my new phone, so I didn’t make it out there until 9am. It was still overcast and drizzly out earlier, so I was also waiting for that to stop. I felt like I was procrastinating and didn’t feel up to it; my legs felt heavy, I was tired, and I dreaded having to go food shopping and meal prep after. The plan called for 10 miles, but I knew this week would have interruptions due to heat and appointments, so I tacked on 2 extra miles. It was the slowest 12 miles I have ever run, and even if I tried it would be difficult to get into a higher gear. Aerobically I felt great, but everything felt stiff so each footstep felt like it was creating an earthquake instead of lightly flying off the pavement. When you have a good run, your feet will have minimal contact with the ground; this wasn’t the case for me today. I ordered Gua Sha tools that night to help scrape my muscles before future runs between massage appointments.

I was greeted by a gorgeous sunflower on one of my early morning runs.

I could have done a slow run on Monday, but the gym was calling my name. It felt great to lift heavier than usual while still giving my body a break in other ways. I took my time to mobilize my joints between sets, and I love the little shock I get from my toes all the way up through my grip when I lift the bar off the ground. Pushing the bar away from me on the bench is also quite satisfying too. When my Gua Sha tools and emollient were delivered that night, I went to work scraping the bottom of my feet, calves, quads, and hamstrings and felt so much better.

I drove to work early to run on the bike trail and around the soccer field. The plan only called for one speed session this week, so I swapped Tuesday’s and Thursday’s workouts and went for 8 easy miles. I felt anxious on my drive up to work because it was going to be over 100 degrees again and I felt off. I wore my hydration vest and packed it with the frozen water bottles again as if I was going for a long run. Because of my lack of energy on Sunday’s long run, I was prepared with a Honey Stinger waffle and Cliff Bloks. I was so glad I had these and electrolyte water because this run felt amazing and I could have gone longer if I didn’t have to get back for my client (who ended up starting his run when I got back). I felt annoyed that I could have run at sunrise at home and showered before the drive instead of carrying all my stuff and towels to the office gym. It also would have been cooler outside. I can’t control what other people do, so in Taylor Swift fashion I shook it off.

I just couldn’t get myself to put on my too-tight goggles and suit to swim in the pool, so I made it another heavy lifting day on Wednesday. With all the upcoming extra time on my feet, I needed my legs and core to be strong enough to handle the gravitational forces for extended periods of time, as well as maintain muscle mass in my upper body. At my age, if I didn’t do the occasional bicep curl, I’d end up with what one of my elderly clients calls “bingo wings” on my upper arms. Bingo wings also add to chafing risks on that sensitive skin, so I gladly go for the extra pump on a lifting day.

The temperature was great on Thursday morning and perfect for a track workout, but due to some of the westerly winds moving smoky air from the Canadian wildfires it was difficult to breathe. The air eventually got super thick and there was a flood warning for the afternoon, so I made sure I got to the track by 7:30. I can’t really figure out track math to know when to run 1000m, so I just ran 3 laps then jogged 1 lap for each work bout. I was generally able to pace myself properly according to plan, but some laps were closer to my 5k pace than 10k pace so my recovery jogs were much needed. The workout took a lot out of me and made me question if I’ll be able to hold onto my desired marathon pace when the day arrives. I decided to trust the process, especially since it’s still 2 months out.

It was still a little drizzly out, I had a minor migraine, everything was sore, and I had a very busy day and weekend ahead of me, so on Friday morning I stuck with a 4 mile recovery run before a dentist appointment. It was annoying that my recovery run and my hard effort track workout from the day before both yielded similar average pace results; I guess this is why I prefer a long steady state vs sprinting and walking. I was so achy and sleepy that I debated a rest day the next day, but I thought I’d wait and see how well I would sleep after a long drive later that night.

Despite getting home around 1:00 in the morning, my body still woke up at sunrise and wanted to move. I took that as a good sign that I had short but restful sleep. I drove to Sandy Hook and only had enough time to run 5 miles before beach yoga. Because I was still pretty slow with it being an easy run, I was a little late for yoga, but the instructor was still giving his spiel, so I didn’t miss any of the poses. He tends to talk for 10-15 minutes at the beginning of class so I was lucky to have some leeway, but I still feel rude for arriving late. The deep lunges and warrior poses in the sand really helped some of my muscle crankiness. I was still tired and had a lot of driving to do to visit my friends, so some of that muscle tightness came back from sitting in the car in traffic. I just hoped I wouldn’t suffer too bad the next day for my long run after all the extra work on my legs and joints this week. I wanted to run like the milk-drunk toddlers I visited; arms and legs flailing without a care in the world. Oh to be young again…

I was 7 miles short of the plan, but my weekly win here was 2 quality heavy lifting days and that I didn’t need a rest day despite lack of sleep and a cranky body.