Workouts - December 28, 2015, a Long Run, and a lot of BLAHHHHHHH
I have been so, so, so sick for the past eleven days. I ran a fever for three days earlier this week, but now I'm fighting bronchitis and a sinus infection. Over it. Sometimes I feel like a hard workout makes me feel better in the moment, but it can be so difficult to get out the door and get moving. I also dislike having to take it "easy" and not exhaust myself and delay healing.
The fact that I've been sick for 30 of the past 40 days is making me reconsider whether to run an early spring marathon. There are some longer distance trail races that get started in March, including this points-based series and this trail 50k. They are sounding better and better to me as time passes and I live through more and more unhelpful long runs.
Anyway...here are the week's workouts!
Monday: Too sick to do anything :(
Tuesday: Stayed up feeling sick all night, and finally got up around 4 am. I saw Ashtanga yoga on my gym's schedule for 5:30 am, and headed over there in the dark. I actually felt strong and relaxed during the class, but started coughing and had to leave during the final savanasa. Sorry everyone! I was incredibly quiet and made sure to stay back from everyone and wipe down everything I touched with the disinfectant wipes.
Wednesday. 5.2 @ 9:10 around my parents' community. They live in a very rural part of northern Mississippi, on a minimally maintained county highway with no shoulders or painted lanes. Traffic moves VERY fast along the blind curves and hills, and you frequently have to dive down into the ditches to avoid being hit. With all the horrible weather, the ditches are full of mud and water. Very exciting and messy! My husband and I both brought trail shoes for running, but I still took several hard falls on this run. All of that combined with the 75-degree weather and humidity to make this a very tough run.
Thursday: 6.2 @ 8:42 at the Army Corps of Engineers park. My husband and I decided it probably wasn't safe to do too much running near my parents' house, so we drove about ten minutes to a running trail on a dam spillway. We did a 10k and called it good. The weather was still horrible...near 80 degrees and 99% humidity. It felt like running in a jungle.
Friday: 4 @ 8:46 around my parents' community, with my husband. We decided there was probably safety in numbers. We were wrong. We also got caught in a hard rainstorm and flew back to the house at a 7:10 pace. I sat under the porch coughing up a lung like, "WTF am I doing with my life?"
Saturday: Couldn't get motivated to do anything, which is incredibly rare for me. Lame.
Sunday: 10.4 @ 9:05, back at the Army Corps of Engineers park. I let this serve as my "long run" for this week, even though it wasn't anywhere close to the ~17 I had planned. I went into this "long run" with absolutely no expectations. I just told myself I would run at least three miles, and go from there. I put my quart water bottle and a caffeinated gel out on my front bumper and got started.
It was 79 degrees and 99% humidity when I started. There was some very stormy weather moving in, and the wind across the top of the spillway was crazy. Each time I climbed up onto the dam, I braced myself to run into it. Then, on the other side, I braced myself to face a giant, stinky deer carcass covered with vultures. It was a truly...unappetizing sight. On my second lap, I saw some other runners who seemed miserable and confused. I waved at them. On the third lap, I had my water and gel and discovered the water fountain had been turned off for "winter." I did another two laps and decided I was getting overheated and coughing too much.
I felt pretty good the rest of the evening, so I don't think I overdid it on the run. There is always another day for a hard long run, so I will continue being patient while I get over this plague.
Totals:26 miles of running, a yoga class, three injury prevention sessions, and two days of full rest.
 |
| Sick life...seriously, I'm doing all I can. |
The fact that I've been sick for 30 of the past 40 days is making me reconsider whether to run an early spring marathon. There are some longer distance trail races that get started in March, including this points-based series and this trail 50k. They are sounding better and better to me as time passes and I live through more and more unhelpful long runs.
Anyway...here are the week's workouts!
Monday: Too sick to do anything :(
 |
| But this is waiting for me back home...all tuned and ready to go. |
Tuesday: Stayed up feeling sick all night, and finally got up around 4 am. I saw Ashtanga yoga on my gym's schedule for 5:30 am, and headed over there in the dark. I actually felt strong and relaxed during the class, but started coughing and had to leave during the final savanasa. Sorry everyone! I was incredibly quiet and made sure to stay back from everyone and wipe down everything I touched with the disinfectant wipes.
 |
| All this tornado weather has made for some interesting skies. |
Thursday: 6.2 @ 8:42 at the Army Corps of Engineers park. My husband and I decided it probably wasn't safe to do too much running near my parents' house, so we drove about ten minutes to a running trail on a dam spillway. We did a 10k and called it good. The weather was still horrible...near 80 degrees and 99% humidity. It felt like running in a jungle.
 |
| Not a good feeling. Especially for December. |
 |
| Spillway. |
Friday: 4 @ 8:46 around my parents' community, with my husband. We decided there was probably safety in numbers. We were wrong. We also got caught in a hard rainstorm and flew back to the house at a 7:10 pace. I sat under the porch coughing up a lung like, "WTF am I doing with my life?"
Saturday: Couldn't get motivated to do anything, which is incredibly rare for me. Lame.
Sunday: 10.4 @ 9:05, back at the Army Corps of Engineers park. I let this serve as my "long run" for this week, even though it wasn't anywhere close to the ~17 I had planned. I went into this "long run" with absolutely no expectations. I just told myself I would run at least three miles, and go from there. I put my quart water bottle and a caffeinated gel out on my front bumper and got started.
It was 79 degrees and 99% humidity when I started. There was some very stormy weather moving in, and the wind across the top of the spillway was crazy. Each time I climbed up onto the dam, I braced myself to run into it. Then, on the other side, I braced myself to face a giant, stinky deer carcass covered with vultures. It was a truly...unappetizing sight. On my second lap, I saw some other runners who seemed miserable and confused. I waved at them. On the third lap, I had my water and gel and discovered the water fountain had been turned off for "winter." I did another two laps and decided I was getting overheated and coughing too much.
I felt pretty good the rest of the evening, so I don't think I overdid it on the run. There is always another day for a hard long run, so I will continue being patient while I get over this plague.
Totals:26 miles of running, a yoga class, three injury prevention sessions, and two days of full rest.
Comments