Rebouding

The last couple weeks were productive in different ways. 2 weeks ago I was at the shore for a family vacation. The running was sparse but I got in some miles, played tennis, and swam. The main running highlight was a 4th of July race (Sister Blister 5K) where I won in ~15:10, beating a G-town ’09 grad and winning some cash. Overall, the training wasn’t great that week but I had some time to reset and really think about how bad I want this (a lot!). I loved spending time with my family and started to really look forward to the hard work ahead. I felt really confident about my chances going forward despite packing on a few pounds do to all the good food around there.

I started the real training the next week. It was a typical hot and humid DC summer week and I pushed through an 82 mile week in 8 runs. Wednesday was a 2 x 2mile done in 9:59 and 9:52 that was harder than it was on paper thanks to the heat. I was able to get in a nice rhythm and got it through it. Friday was a nice double and Saturday was a great 15 mile run from the Line, closing hard for the last 3 miles after running a solid pace for the whole run. Sunday, I got to run with Cote who was in town for a friend’s 30th. It was a great week. I gained some more confidence and took a step towards regaining my fitness. I lost some of the weight I put on, with a few more pounds to go (130lbs goal weight for Chicago!).

This week has gotten off to a good start. Monday was a 13 mile run on the CJ trails and Tuesday was a double totaling 17 miles. I’m looking at 90+ this week but have a race on Saturday night so I wanted to get a bit ahead on my miles. It should be a tough few days in high heat but hopefully it will make me stronger. The following week will be tough to get in high mileage due to two separate trips for work and then Garvie’s wedding, both with early AM flights and tight schedules. It might have to serve as a down week but I’ll do all I can to keep progressing.

The Dog Days Are Over

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming so you better run

Run fast for your mother run fast for your father
Run for your children for your sisters and brothers

Leave all your love and your longing behind you

Can't carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses
Cuz here they come

Sorry for the long period of time between posts; things have been a little crazy since Cherry Blossom. The big reason is that I got sick – a lot. I had a bad cold, the flu, a sinus infection, and another virus (Lily gave me something that was croup to her) that I had an allergic reaction to. It was ugly. I had complications from some of the meds I used to fight all this stuff too. I was just surviving, training when I could with some missed days, shorter days, incomplete workouts, and extreme soreness when I ignored the signs telling me to back-off. I skipped some races, ran 14:30-something and 67:50-something in a 5K and half where I wanted to run a lot faster. I had a couple good stretches squeezed in there including an NYC trip to Nash’s wedding and runs with the likes of Del and Cote. Unfortunately there were more bad days than good ones. I hate to make excuses but I never had a run of bad health like this before, and it was likely the result of being worn down from school stress / lack of sleep and a baby in daycare bringing home germs to me. It was frustrating to say the least but I was actually happy with how I battled in training and in the half.

The good news is that the dog days are over. The fam is great and I graduated B-school with a sweet job in marketing that I’m enjoying - and I’m healthy. I just need to work on the fitness now. I took a week of light running and active rest after the half in MN and now it’s time to build back up. I have my sights set on a half in Philly in September and the Chicago marathon as my only two remaining chances to grab a trials qualifier. I am hungry for this. I’ll update the blog more often with tales from the trails (+ track and roads).