Believe to Achieve

Major congestion.  Finally it has gone to my head.  Amber also complaining of same headache I had Christmas night and then while I was at work last night she spiked a high fever.  I wanted to go home from work but they wouldn't let me so I wore a mask when in with the babies.  Long night but really I never felt tired but for once, just foggy-brained.  Slept only two hours when got home.  Got up for two then slept again for 90 minutes.  You know how hard it is to sleep with a cold.  I awoke to a fuzzy tongue from breathing in from my mouth.  How's that for comfy sleeping?  I sure hope to kick this soon but it will put a damper on any mileage or quality (speed) running this week must recoup well, take it easy.  I am supposed to work Mon, Wed and Thurs nights.  I will call in if I don't improve.  Amber and I stayed home from church today.  RESTING drinking 7up.  

MASSIVE INVERSION.  Temp reads 8 but feels like   -2.  For real!!!!  Not a good thing to run outdoors.  This haze is supposed to be with us until 3pm and then it will be partly cloudy, and repeat same weather history for tomorrow.  Arghhh.  I feel gross.  The congestion downpour just won't stop.  I am using way too many kleenexes.  Totally bummed.  Called in sick, of course.  Now I will have to work all of New Year's Eve so I don't lose more hours.  I could have had the second half off.  Oh well.  I will TRY to run at the gym later around the track for maybe 3 to 4 miles.  But I think I am opting for a NO RUN day as hard as that is for me to write here : (((((

3pm run--waited for the haze to lift and me to have even the slightest desire to get out there.  I basically had to just "play the part" by getting geared up and moving towards the front door. Scary when NONE of the frost has melted from the night and its the afternoon.  I could hear the wind with my iPod on and my foggy-filled up sinuses.  Oh well, it has already been decided that I am Prez. of the NAIRC so why let my group of followers down when the going gets rough? Because of this cold I started to sweat sooner so I was able to remove the 80s pullover before the first mile and just wear it around my waist.  Oh I was a sight, with regular baggie sweats and old soccer socks to the knees, a t-neck, headband and gloves.  Brought the only modern item with me-- my new garmin.  I was in shock to see my pace to be rather quick for how I was feeling.  After two miles I was down to a 7:31 pace.  Ooops.  I think it is those Menthol honey lemon cough drops opening my nasal passages.  I was probably getting more O2 to my brain then usual so I faired better.  Weird.  I began to feel a big sinus headache coming on a few minutes after my last bit of cough drop melted in my mouth.  Mile splits:  1-  8:26, 2-  8:02,  3-  7:52, 4-  7:42,  5-7:42,  6-  7:28,  .56 @ 7:35,  cooldown .48 @ 8:50.   Avg.  pace 7:55 for 7.04 miles.

Left out my door into the frozen tundra haze at 6:57am.  Ran 11.12 miles @ 8:04  pace.  Ran the 10 mile loop I ran with the girls on Saturday, only in reverse with an add on at the end.  My garmin has a VP (virtual partner) display.  I put his pace at 8:15.  I gained on him at mile 6 and was almost two minutes ahead by the end.  Pretty fun to watch me gain on him.  I am a slow to warm up kind of runner and once I get going I can go and go so this is great tool to have on my garmin.  I will eventually decrease his pace as the weather warms and during races to help myself stay focused.  I will write splits cause I can.  This phase should pass soon, no worries : D. Splits:  8:48 (downhill), 8:09, 8:10, 8:33 (lots of uphill), 8:11, 7:44 (some good downhill) , 7:40 (up then down), 8:01, 7:48, 7:38, 8:06 (mostly uphill) and .12 @ 7:59 (uphill).

Winter Storm Advisory Run. Ran to the PG rec center on the upper back roads to avoid  a collision with a car since there was nowhere to run but the tire tracks or snow piled high sidewalks.  I ran on both.  It was quite the site.  Knee bend running then sloshing then skidding to remove two inches of snow from the bottom of my shoes then finding a brief patch of wet pavement where the plows just put ice melt on then avoiding the snow plows themselves.    Pace to rec center a whopping 9:51 for 3.08.  Then 2 miles around the track at 8:15 avg. Then 5.25 miles on the TM (1 % grade) starting at 8:20 pace and ending at 6:40 pace (briefly).  I went up in increments by .1 mile per hour every half mile for the 4.5 miles.  The last .5  miles I was so not wanting to run speed at all so I took the frog in the warm water approach to speedwork.  I went up in increments of  .1 miles per hour for every .05 miles ran until at 6:40 pace for .05 miles.    How's that for pathetic?  Avg pace for 5 = 7:54.  Cooldown .25 miles.   I was not into the TM at all and my  clogged sinuses have made a ravin' comeback.  I coughed all night long.  I forgot to take  1/2 of benadryl and midnight is too late to take that so I am not comatose the rest of the day.  Ran home 3.06 miles at 9:13 pace (wow, an improvement). Off to work tonite and tomorrow night.   Total mileage 13.39 (sorry Smooth :D).

This tops in at number three in my worst runs ever run in my life.  Sinus congestion intense.  Cough ridiculous.   Nausea to the nth degree with other stomach issues.  Combined with a 1/2 mucinex taken last night at work and amazingly 5 hours of sleep after my very busy night shift I felt out of body and entirely gross.  No cough drops today, the thought made me more nauseated.  So bronchial coughs throughout my run in the 1pm air.  Sunny and bright from the snow reflections on the run to heighten my senses and dull my motivation even more.  My muscles were achy.   Breathed a ton of perfume and cleaner last night at work which is probably the main culprit for my weakness today.  Someone sprayed strong deoderizer around the unit because someone thought they smelled throw up.  Lovely.  The cleaner was worse for me and sent me into a major coughing attack.  Embarrassing.  Just wish I could have fallen back to sleep because I felt so drugged when I awoke.  This sounds terribly depressing of a report.   I will hopefully recoup soon.  I am not going to take any cold meds they only compound the problem  6.22 miles at turtle pace of 9:37 in sloshy slosh.   First mile 10:47 when I just wanted to lie down and play dead.  Last mile I decided to pretend I was a runner and ran a 8:22.    This too shall pass  : D. 

Almost as gross as yesterday--stomach and nausea worse--sinuses non stop clear drainage.  Ate badly last night working the holiday for over 12 hours from 6 pm to 640am.  Couldn't take anything to help me sleep because I threw up when I got home.  Not a sick throw up but a garbage rejector throw up.  I ate like 4 chocolate chip cookies then someone brought in cinnamon rolls at 4am.  And earlier I had Costco meatballs with a very creative pasta salad (lots of different veggies and some fruit) with poppy seed dressing.   It just did not turn well in my stomach.  So I slept from 7 until 10 am then turned on the TV to find something to lull me back to sleep.  Watched some New Year's parade in California.  Was so wanting to be there in the 80 degree sunny weather they were enjoying.  Got up just before 1pm, still feeling intensely nauseated so I drank some ice cold water and took a probiotic.  Walked like the dead for an hour and figured a medium-paced run might help rid my body of the rest of the garbage followed by a hot bath/shower.  Ran 4.14 miles @ 8:05 avg. :  8:11, 8:23, 8:15, 7:30, 8:00 (.14).  Ran a nice and easy cooldown of .58 miles at 9:08 pace.  Total miles today 4.72.  I am still grossly nauseated.  Ready to eat completely nutritiously and spoil my body with goodness   : D.  Am I up for a TM marathon?  Sure hope so.  

The run was AWESOME.  Getting to the start was a different story.  My alarm didn't go off and luckily my daughter came in to get the dog and I groggily asked what was going on and glimpsed at the clock "crap, 6:21!!!!!!!!!".    The plan was to meet Josse at 630am at the Orem Rec center and run 10 out and 10 in, depending on the weather.    Flew into my clothes running around frantically and getting in my car at 6:26 am forgetting my headband and Gu.  Oh well.  Josse waiting for me was more important.  So like a bat out of you know where I sped to the rec center in record time.  There was only a light dusting on the roads covering some black ice at times, Eeeks with part of the driving.  Made it there about 6:41am.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSSE !!!!!  That would not have been good to stand her up.  If my brain stayed asleep longer in bed she would have left in a few minutes.  Basically I was jumped started and a lot of my adrenaline was used up that at the start of the run I felt like I had been hit hard.  WAKE UP!!   I did finally and my muscles slowly ridded myself of the 1/2 benadryl I took at 9pm.  No wonder I was a zombie.  I sure needed the sleep but not this way.  

The more exciting part was the gorgeous run from Orem Rec up the Provo Canyon to just under the overpass.  That's where the plowing ended.  The path was dusted over with snow and had some packed ice patches but totally doable and just overall fantastic wintery terrain.  We stopped once at Will's Pits Stop and two water stops at the same fountain that apparently runs all year round, thankfully.  Ice cold water, yes!!!  We blabbed about lots of stuff and picked it up well after the 9 mile mark (our turn around) and we went back the same way we came adding the first two miles of the T-day turkey trot around the rec center.  Avg pace for the 20 =  8:11.    Pace first mile 8:55.  Last mile 7:26.  The last five miles were quick.  We were wanting it over with.  Josse was keeping me goin'.   The birthday girl takes the cake today, that's for sure.  Thanks Josse for waiting and putting in the miles with me (not to mention having a spare headband).  PS I think we averaged better than our last 20 miler in the autumn air, amazing!!!!  :D.