Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

No run tonight. I was going to, but I fell asleep in the chair while writing my paper, and took that as a sign that I was too tired to go outside. The storm helped confirm mu decision. 

I really wanted to let today's run go, too, but I decided that I should at least do something. 

Wow--this is by far the worst running week I've had in who knows how long. Don't worry, I'm not injured or sick. I just finally ran out of batteries. I've had paper that was due today, so after working at my internship all day then working on my paper at night, I just wasn't sleeping enough and I finally decided to just write this week off for running. I stayed up late last night (actually till 4:30 today) to finish and submit my paper. Now that's done, so I'll use the weekend to catch up on sleep. Hopefully Monday will represent a new beginning for me.

In other news, my sister ran the Provo Marathon today. My brother and I went to cheer her on at two points along the course. Watching the front runners come through made me wonder where I could end up in something like that. Not at the front, I'm sure, but maybe I'll use the summer to prepare for an honest marathon attempt in the fall. 

It's only one day into the week, and already I've almost passed last week in terms of mileage. Nice!

Unfortunately, I felt off after a couple of miles. But If I'm going to get back in shape, I need to just suck it up and keep running. After a couple of weeks I should have some spring back in my step. 

So, one day after my new commitment to consistency, I missed a day. Sleep is important, too. But I'm back on track tonight with a slightly shorter version of Monday's loop. 

Tonight I ran a lap around the temple, coming home by way of the bike path that makes up most of my mini two-mile loop. It wasn't a great run, but it was good, and it would have been better if it weren't for the heartburn that was bothering me by the end. I'm not sure if I should blame Iggy's for lunch or Brick Oven for dinner or both. 

So, I missed two days this week, but that was semi-deliberate. Not that I wanted to miss days, but right now I think that sleep needs to be a higher priority than absolute consistency if I want to regain my fitness. So when life got in the way and I had to choose between a run an a full night's sleep, I chose sleep. 

Anyway, this morning I ran a 10-mile road loop from our house. It hurt a lot more than I think it should have (weird to think that I used to run 10 miles once or twice a day like it was nothing), but that was mostly my legs protesting. My lungs were perfectly comfortable at an average pace of 7:30, which is encouraging.

I've decided that I will run mostly on the roads this summer, because it's just so much easier to fit into my schedule. But my plan is to maintain climbing legs by hiking with Elliott.

I gave that a try this evening. Catherine and I hiked up Battle Creek to the Trail 51 junction with my brother, and I carried Elliott in the Baby Bjorn. As expected, it was hard work, and as expected, I'll need a better carrier. But we had fun, and we're looking forward to introducing Elliott to the outdoors this summer.

Diet Coke and M&Ms for breakfast. Jalapeno cheesesteak, fries, and Mr. Pibb for lunch. Costco pizza and Root Beer for dinner. No heartburn on my run tonight. Go figure. 

Same loop as yesterday. I didn't feel as good, but since I'm trying to build consistency I just slowed down and chugged along rather than cutting the run short, as I've gotten in the habit of doing. 

My lower legs have been sore, so I'll probably dial back a bit tomorrow. 

As planned, I ran a little less tonight. For some reason, my lower legs have been quite sore lately, so I wanted to back off just a little for a day. But it does feel nice to be moving toward some sort of consistency. 

Hooray for consistency. I ran my new loop again tonight. I'm hoping to make this part of the routine. It still doesn't feel as fluid as it should, but that will come. At least I'm out there. 

I got rained on tonight. I hadn't even considered the possibility, but it felt nice when it happened.  

We decided to head to St. George this weekend to visit my grandparents, and with work and travel time I wasn't able to run. I'm okay with that. 

Catherine and I ran together this morning while my brother kept an eye on Elliott. We ran from my grandma's house to the bike path and then into Bloomington Hills. From there we ran up Webb Hill, but on the way down Catherine's IT band started to act up. Eventually, it was too much for her, so she walked to a nearby hotel and hung out in the lobby while I ran home to get the car and pick her up. 

It's a bummer about the injury, but at least we know that not racing today was the right call. Still, I know the frustration of an injured knee. I wish we could figure out what makes our bodies rebel against the things we love doing. 

Shortly after our run on Saturday I started to feel a horrible pain in the back of my right knee. I started to worry that I had damaged a tendon or something, but I soon noticed a red lump that was pretty itchy by the end of the day. So I think what happened is that something bit me in the wrong place (as though there's a right place for something to bite you).

Anyway, that seemed confirmed by tonight's run, because although my knee was sore before I started, it didn't bother me at all once I got going. Although, I did start feeling the dull ache on the outside of my right quad that makes me worry there's an IT band issue around the corner. But that can't be right. Seriously, take a look at my mileage this year and tell me if an injury is warranted.

Anyway, tonight I ran the same loop I ran last week, which is quickly becoming my go-to daily run.  Tonight I ran it in reverse, which made the return a bit less monotonous. Even more so because I finished with a shortcut through the cemetery, which added a tiny bit of bonus mileage. 

Late. Tired. Short run. Lame.

I ran my new daily loop, backward again. It was late and I haven't slept more than 4 hours per night for a couple of days, but I felt pretty good. My consistency sucks these days, but I'm hanging on as well as I can. 

So, this has been a bad week on paper, but I'm okay with it. I took one day off because I just needed sleep, and another because there was not time to fit in a run around my sister's wedding. Sometimes life happens, and sometimes there are things that matter more than a run. And on the plus side, the on the days that I did run I felt much better than I have in the past few months. If you're going to run 20 miles per week, it's probably better to do it in a few 6-mile runs than in daily 3-mile runs. 

The week could have been better, but I'm not going to complain. 

Also, I got attacked by a dog on my run. My rule is simple--if an angry dog comes close enough to me that I can kick it in the head, I'm going to. It did, so I did. That slowed it down for a bit, at least enough for me to get clear. I don't care if we're talking about a poodle in a pink sweater (and in this case, we are), dog attacks aren't funny.

Actually, I guess it is kind of funny in retrospect.

Catherine and I were going to run the Remembrance Run 5K (hooray for free races) but we slept in instead and went for an easy run on the bike path with Elliott. I'd say it was a fair trade. 

Morning miles for the first time in a while. My goal right now is to be in bed by 10:00 and up at 5:00 to run. I got to bed a little late last night, but close enough to count. This morning I ran my usual loop. This was the first time I've run it before 10:00 PM, so now I know what the neighborhoods I run through look like. 

Another early morning run. I'm trying to make this a habit, but it will take a while before this stops feeling so unnatural, even if I am getting more sleep than I used to. But if memory serves, it always feels a little uncomfortable to get up for an early run, no longer how long you've been doing it.

I felt okay today. A little more sluggish than yesterday, but my pace turned out to be about the same, so who knows. I did feel some twinges in my right knee, however, which is unsettling.  

Today makes four mornings in a row (and three early mornings). It's still hard to get out of bed and run, but at least it was warmer this morning. And I was a bit faster than yesterday, even without adjusting for a mid-run bathroom break.