I was so pooped after my long run Sunday, but despite an early bedtime the fatigue carried into Monday. I struggled and needed an afternoon cup of tea at work, just to make it through the day without feeling too sleepy. After work Mike and I met up and headed to a yoga class together, to get some movement and stretching in.
The rainy weather that started over the weekend persisted into Tuesday, and the rain was coming down hard that morning, so I opted to sleep in and get my run done after work, either on the treadmill or outside. When I got home from work it was windy and foggy, but the rain was a drizzle at most so I opted to head outside to run. I pulled on my “Run Visible” Brooks jacket, to make sure that I would be visible, despite the less than stellar weather. I only had 4 miles on my schedule, so I did a nice out and back rather than loops near my house. I took it easy, enjoying the chilly weather, and eventually warming up enough that I needed to peel the jacket off and wrap it around my waist (in that moment did I think about how the new version of this jacket has a feature where it can turn into a vest when you take it off? Yes. I will continue to try to resist buying it, as the one i have is perfectly functional). I knocked out my miles, feeling good overall. Once I was done with my run I headed to the gym with Sophie, and we got in a solid 45 mins of strength training.
The Wednesday morning forecast called for rain again, so I hoped that the weather would be better in the evening again. I slept in, and we had another day full of rain and even some thunderstorms. As I drove home from work the rain was in full force, but thankfully it slowed down, just as forecasted, right as I got home. I geared up and headed out for another solo run, this time 9 miles. I have been on an audiobook kick lately, and listened to “One of us is Next” as I ran and out and back and then loops around my neighborhood. It was a little drizzly still, but at least it wasn’t windy. As the sun went down both my light up gloves and vest started to die, and I hoped that they would last until I was finished, so that I wouldn’t wind up alone in the dark (thankfully, they just barely held on). I made a quick pit stop around mile 7.75 to chug some water, then did one final loop to finish out the 9 mile run. Even though I was tired and just wanted to shower and be lazy for the rest of the night (I am pretty sure only a runner would consider themselves “lazy” after running 9 miles….), I pulled open the peloton app and selected a 10 minute core class. My friend Katie and I agreed to keep each other accountable with our core work, and she tagged me when she got hers in earlier in the day after running, and I knew I spending the extra 10 minutes on a little strength would be worth it. I am still not sure if the class was really hard, or if I was just really fatigued.
On Thursday afternoon Sophie and I headed to the gym, and did a workout that focused on the upper body. This new gym that we started going to is often packed out in the weight room, making it hard to find space to use the dumbells, so we usually stick to the fixed machines, because it is just easier to find space that way. But tonight I finally felt comfortable enough to make space for myself to do the exercises I wanted to do, and it meant we wound up doing a good enough workout that I was sore for days after.
I had 5 more miles to squeeze in before the weekend, and when I got home from work on Friday Den was just finishing up power washing the house. I asked him if he would want to come on the first mile of my 5 mile run, and he surprisingly agreed! I slowed my pace to match his, and we did a one mile loop right by the house (he would spend the next three days limping around a little, as his muscles protested the fact that he moved them in an unfamiliar way – while he can handle himself on a bike, running is not really his wheelhouse). I continued on for the last 4 miles, challenging myself to get a little faster each mile, and pleased when I pulled off a progressive run.
That weekend I headed into the city to run the Staten island half with my friend carson. You can find my race recap HERE!
