30 June 2011

Radio silence

Apologies for my sucktastic non-blogging lately. I am very busy getting sick, having meltdowns about running, mildly spraining my ankle WHILE running and freaking out about my upcoming half marathon. Too busy to blog obviously.

Let's just run through all of that in bullet-point form. Speedy like running.

- I AM SICK. Sorta. My throat started hurting about halfway through the work day yesterday and by the time I went to bed last night I was in full-on head-cold mode: sneezing, runny nose, fire-throat and all. It's slightly better this morning, sort of. Then I left my cough drops at home so to compensate I ate half of the intern's orange. Thursday = winning.

- I have been having many a running freakout lately. Things are changing in my office and I am basically in charge of everything now, which means my work day is about 10 hours long. Instead of just filing my own stories, I also have to wait for everyone else's to be edited, send emails to our media partners and do website maintenance. It sucks and did not come with a pay raise. Since I prefer to run in the evenings, this has mostly resulted in me completely slacking on my training for the past few weeks. Then I get stressed that I'm not running, and then I get stressed that I'm stressed, and that makes it even harder to run, etc. It's annoying and paralyzing and LAYERS DEEP, obviously. Here is a highly scientific diagram to help you understand.



I know. You don't want to get in my head. Anyway, so in my Tuesday-night panic I ate a metric ton of peanut butter then called my dad. He has been a runner for longer than I have been alive; he did Boston twice and the same 20-mile race for something like 25 years in a row, so I trust his judgment. He told me that I am entering a phase of training where I need to be mentally tough. Then he said, "And don't worry, it gets harder!" Then I melted into a puddle of stress and tears, and then we decided that I need to suck it up and run in the mornings so that I can just get my miles done and not have to stress about it at the end of the day. So I asked him to start calling me when he wakes up every day. The man is nutso and gets up at 5:15 with no alarm clock; whatever gene that is obviously skipped me. Anyway, he called me yesterday, I had coffee and ran 7.85 miles full of hills. My quads hate me, but it was lovely. Except for this:



I over-pronate like crazy when I run, so it's not unusual for me to roll my ankle when I'm training. I think it's the winning combination of a complete lack of coordination and the way I'm physically put together. I do it pretty often, and it's always the right ankle. I don't know why. Yesterday morning it happened just after I finished climbing a BEAST of a hill. I tripped on nothing, my foot bent in a way it's not supposed to and it hurt like hell. I stopped for a second to try to kind of peer at it, then realized that was dumb and so I just kept running. Three more miles, to be exact. I am smart. It hurts still and is quite swollen, but I can walk on it fine and will probably go running tonight, ANKLE AND SORE THROAT BE DAMNED. Because like I said. I am smart.

- Half marathon is in 10 days. I am pretty unprepared; the past two weeks really needed to be spent upping my mileage and doing speed/hill workouts instead of generally sucking at running. My longest run is still 9 miles. I know I'll run the whole thing and it'll be fine, it just probably won't be as good as I was hoping it would. I'm going to try to find another one to register for later in the summer, and in the meantime I am determined to go into this one focused on having fun, enjoying the experience and remembering that I am 110 percent capable of running 13.1 miles. Which of course I am!

The end. My bff Doug is coming to visit me this weekend, I have not seen him since I left Virginia almost a year ago. Doug does not run, so this is really not related to this blog at all, but I am excited and wanted to share anyway.



Doug is totally the only good thing about Virginia. If you ever move there (DON'T), you should look him up.

7 comments:

  1. "Stressing about stress" - yeah, that describes me about 85% of the time. Hang in there - i know it's easy to freak out when you miss a run or two, but you seem to have a pretty good base built up already. I'm sure you'll surprise yourself with the upcoming half marathon!

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  2. Sorry to hear about all the stress. But it sounds like your new morning run plan will work for you. Do you use any arch supports in your running shoes? When I was fitted for my Brooks at Fleet Feet Stockton (CA), the salesperson noted I over-pronate and recommended Spenco PolySorb Total Support arch supports, which he also cut and installed in my shoes. They have been great! (Especially since I am a newbie to running and worry about injuries.) No injuries so far. B-) Maybe there is a Fleet Feet store local to you that can help.

    Hope your visit with Dave goes well, and keep running!

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  3. stess sucks and running is definitely the anti-stress! Good luck on the upcoming half marathon!

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  4. feeling stress sucks, sounds like my post the other day. I feel like my running efforts are lagging at the moment.
    I've been trying to avoid joining the gym, because I can't afford it, but I think I'll get a short term pass just to try and build a bit of momentum. Hang in there, and getting more work and no more money, that does suck.

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  5. I'm so that person that stressed about being stressed. Hopefully your work load will get better and you will be rockin' before you know it!
    I looooove that your friend is coming to see you. Runner or not, spending time with him will hopefully relax you some and take away that stress!! : )

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