Thought I'd be able to get a bit of running in the time of virus, didn’t expect working out to be such a challenge. The pools are closed and I miss swimming badly – at my age a workout that escapes gravity is a great help. The trails are insanely busy and it’s not possible to keep physical distancing on bike rides, I’m not willing to ride on the roads due to injury risks at a time when going to the hospital is so fraught. It’s a beautiful spring day and I’m sitting on a bike trainer in the back
The last couple of weeks of training have been so so with my Saturday long runs not going very well, even after cutting back on my running during the second week. We'll see how the next week goes. 5 weeks to go to my target half marathon virtual./time trial.
Week of April 5
Total Miles: 41
Mon: 59F and sunny: 30 min Aerobic run, 30 min of Pickups, 1 mi cool down; 7.9 miles
Tue: 55F and cloudy: 60 min easy run; 6.6 miles, 9:16 min/mi, 123 avg HR.
Wed: 70
Today marks my 3 year anniversary of running the Boston Marathon - 4/2017
I was super pumped to have qualified and been able to run that race. Having never thought of myself as an athlete I was in awe to be starting among these finely chiseled runners.
After 2 years of injury hell I finally turned a corner in November. It was like someone unlocked the door and I got to emerge from injury jail.
I asked my husband for 1 of 3 races for Christmas -- Shamrock 1/2 Marathon, Revel
So I had a birthday last week. Since we are all bored stuck at home and looking for meaning in our lives, I tried to think of a birthday run. 58 miles? No chance. 58KM? Still way too long. 5.8 miles? Nah, too boring. 58 laps on the track? That would be 14.5 miles and possible, but challenging. But all the tracks are closed, so forget that.
So then I thought an appropriate challenge during these "Stay-at-home" times would be to do 58 lengths of my block. I would never get more than 200 yards
Covid-19?
Over-training?
Some other virus?
Mental fatigue?
Disappointment at my race being cancelled?
Whatever it was, my last good run was on April 1. Since then, I've run 8 times. 7 of them were awful. Slow. Tired legs. Gasping for air. Listless. Dragging.
The day after doing 6 x miles (total 11.5), I was scheduled for 10. That was the morning I got the email cancelling Sugarloaf. So I did 7 instead. It wasn't great, like normal. It was slower than most runs latel
To say this March has been a time of change is the biggest understatement ever, but we continue to run on, and for me that is a tremendous blessing in these uncertain times.
Running this March has been fairly productive for me with 154.3 miles.
With the Bayshore half marathon cancelled, I have cut back on speed work, focusing more on endurance and running by feel without looking at my watch for splits.
Weekly mileage: 141.5 miles
Monday: 45F and Cloudy, 30 min Aerobic followe
March 2020 in review!
Total mileage for the month: 0...no running and no clear answers on what my hip issue is (injury update post here) - but after manual distractions at my very first PT appointment on April 1 I was able to walk without a limp for the first time since February 11, so I'm now feeling optimistic, although it's insane that a few minutes of movements helped the issue more than 8 weeks of not running did.
Races:
Obviously none this month. Although my reason for n
My notice came in an email yesterday afternoon. Sugarloaf is cancelled. If you remember, for a week or so I'd been congratulating myself for picking a marathon in May instead of April. Turns out Mother Nature doesn't like to be upstaged.
On Wednesday I'd run one of my hardest workouts - 6 x mile repeats at 5K pace. If that workout was any indication, well ... let's just say my 5K pace isn't what it used to be. And it was harder than I wanted to get what I got. The last one was the slowest,
Who would have guessed that a simple 2020 goal of running a race a month could be so easily disrupted by anything other than injury or lack of interest? I'm not on Loopville, anymore (nothing personal, Loopville), but I had been thinking about running my own races, and with March coming to a close, I had to decide. Saturday was rainy, so no go. Sunday I had a 7 mile progression run that I wanted to do just to get out the house for awhile. Monday's are usually 3 miles and hill sprints, so I plann
Well, I told Dave I would do the Half, so I had to do it. My plan was to choose my flattest course - out and back at the beach - and see how close I could get to Atlanta's hilly 1:46:59 from 4 weeks ago. But then they shut the beaches down, including the walk and bike paths, so that was out. I didn't really want to do a virtual race in roads with all the stoplights and stuff. So the best option was to go up to Palos Verdes, where there are no stoplights and not many cars. Nice beautiful roads wi
I received an email last Saturday that the Bayshore races in Traverse City scheduled for Saturday May 23rd were cancelled. I was a little surprised and disappointed with 2 months to go. Now I hold out little hope that the Michigan Ragnar Trail Relay for June 27-28 that we signed up back in December won't be also cancelled. The Bayshore race director has offered 3 options; 1) defer your registration until next year, 2) receive a refund of half your registration fee, and 3) donate your regist
When I heard about the Loopville COVID-19 Virtual Race series, I thought it was a great idea. When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t so enthusiastic about it. The weather looked kinda crummy (temps in the high 30s and some rain) and my poor choice of pre-race carbo loading the night before (Chinese food) lead me to believe it wasn’t going to be a wonderful run. But when you pay your registration fee, ... um ... well, when you’ve mentally committed to doing a race, you do it.
I decided to
Early last month when I was laying out my training plan for Sugarloaf (at the time it was either that or Salisbury, MD the first week of April), I put a half marathon down for the last weekend of March anyway. As it happened, there weren't any races nearby and I wasn't in a position to travel then. So, I was going to do a solo run.
Then all this really weird stuff happened and now over half the country is on lockdown. Everyone's races everywhere are cancelled. Well, thought I, why not invit
Its not going to surprise any of you, that the most important part of any race is getting in your training. (putting hay in the barn, etc.)
In preparation for this race, I was doing interval training on Tues and Thurs with my 2 grandsons Benjamin (7 y.o.) and Oliver (5 y.o.)
Our daughter's (and grandson's) house is about 150 yards away, and the school we went to is another 150 yards. The 3 of us ran to the school,
took a short breather, and did our first lap of the track (it use
Boy, I wasn’t sure about this whole racing thing. I’ve been enjoying my leisurely solo jaunts around the block, the almost daily meanderings around the little suburban maze of my immediate ‘hood with the kids and Tucker, and proclaiming myself not a slave to any dangling carrots.
Tucker is our 4 month old Shih-Tzu/Bichon Frise puppy, btw. Part of the family. Beloved by all of us. Not excluding yours truly who was very slow and grudging to commit to getting a dog (if I wanted more creatures
Double social distancing RR
Last week –
This was the weekend I was supposed to run the Asheville Marathon. As with every other race for the foreseeable future it was cancelled. I seriously debated over if I would run this virtually or not. Running marathon distance is hard enough in a real race, I wasn’t sure if I could even do it on my own, and I also wondered if it might be a bad idea considering how hard running that far can be on the immune system. I didn’t fully commit to doing it
Woke up this morning at 5 am and fell back to sleep till nearly 8 am. Raining, cold, windy outside. No reason to bound out of bed, that's for certain. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do today for my COVID-19 entry. I had proclaimed a 10K as my intention but in standard fashion for myself, I questioned my abilities and desires.
I messaged and texted with 4 different friends this morning to catch up and wait out the mist and rain that was supposed to stop around 10 am. It did and I got
Hi
I will keep it short since my previous attempted returns have fizzled out.
In the Fall of 2018 I developed meningitis which somehow developed into encephalitis. From what I understand that is a swelling at the brain stem and limits brain function. I had a 9% chance to live and was in quarantine (before it became cool) for a few weeks. I recovered enough to become cognizant in about five months. It took over a year to feel "normal" again.
My job was supervision of 30-40 empl
I'm missing my group runs. Sure I have run solo most of my life, but when it is forced, it does get sad after a while. I've noticed a change in how we react to each other too. A week ago runners were even more friendly than usual. More waves, smiles, nods, etc. Like, "Hey we are in this together - it's good to get out and run, isn't it?" Now I still get a few like that, but more and more people avert their eyes, turn their heads, or look at you like, "You're not going to come into my 6 foot circ
Despite being so long ago, I vividly remember my first year running anniversary. I had completed a marathon, was looking to improve times, and strengthen newly found friendships. At that point, I was certain of two things. 1) I would keep these new friends forever. 2) I would never stop running.
So many things have changed over the years. Surprisingly an online friendship formed, and despite the 1600 miles between our homes it has not only lasted, but flourished. The running on the ot
I like (auto) biographies. I remember as a kid checking out the biography on Helen Keller and Betsy Ross. Lately I've read biographies about Steve Jobs (one weird dude -- fruititarian -- never even knew that was a thing!), John DuPont in Foxcatcher (my brother was a wrestler so I found that somewhat interesting with all of the big wrestling names).
So with the Covid-19 quarantine we've been catching some biographies on Netflix and/or Amazon Prime. We watched the Elton John movie, one on ZZ
No more group runs....for now. I miss meeting up with my fellow running buddies on Saturday mornings and going for coffee afterwards, but it is the best for the public health, we will get through this.
Anyways, Week 11 of training for Bayshore Half Marathon:
Total Miles: 40.8
Monday: 36F and sunny: 30min Aerobic run, 30min Lactate Threshold run, 1mi cool down; 8 miles in 1:11; Pace/Heart Rate per mile; 9:14/119, 9:20/115, 9:20/119, 8:44/128, 8:14/135, 8:15/13
Here is a link to the awesome title song for background. It can also double as an aerobic video if you need a workout.
So 2020 is going to be a year like none of us have ever experienced. Not since 1918 or maybe 1930 has American life changed so quickly. Every day has been a new development and what seemed crazy a week or two ago is now the new normal. We in California are now told to stay home unless necessary. I expect the rest of the country to follow suit soon. I expect it will be 6-8 w
Deciding to run Sugarloaf instead of trying to get ready for that Maryland race sure turned out to be brilliant, didn't it? Not that Sugarloaf is a safe bet either, but at least there's still a chance that mid-May might still have a small race in a small town in a less-populated state. Granted, the drive will be longer since I can't go through Canada right now. But maybe by May.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I'm starting to feel ambivalent about running a marathon this spring at all now. D
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