I traded in my run last Saturday to volunteer at a day of trail races. There were two races that day and I got there around 8am to help with the post-race food set up for race #1. Let me tell you, I really took the amazing post race food spreads for granted.
When you're tired and hungry after a race, you get so excited to see food that you don't even think about where it came from. What do you mean the race food fairy doesn't magically make it all happen?! I now have a whole new appreciation for the food I stuff my face with after a race.
My job duty for race #2 was water girl. Sweet! I've always wanted to man a water stop. My co-water girl and I got a bit lost on the way to our stop but made up for it with our enthusiasm and superb water handling skills. Who knew handing cups of water to sweaty runners could be so much fun?!
I headed out on the canal for a 20 mile solo ride. My plan was to do an out-and-back and I was feeling great when I hit my 10 mile turn-around point.
And then, literally 37 seconds after this picture was taken, I got a flat. WHY. Well I know why....I've been needing to buy a new tire for months, but I've been too stubborn to shell out the money to replace the poor thing. Oh hey karma, thanks for slapping me in the face.
Thank god for friendly bikers on the canal - I struggled for 20 minutes after I got my wheel off until some riders stopped and helped me out. And by help me out I mean fixed my flat for me. Somehow I still managed to get filthy:
After my unplanned pit stop, I was nervously back on the canal to finish my ride. The women who stopped to help me told me I needed a new tire like yesterday and asked how much longer I had to ride. When I told her 10 more miles she laughed and said "good luck." Thankfully I avoided any further flats on my way back.
20 miles and 1.5 hours later I was home safe and sound. Well, that's not true. According to Garmin, my elapsed time was 2 hours and 10 minutes. That means I spent 40 minutes changing my flat. I should probably work on my bike mechanic skillz.
Monday I did some Jillian Michaels and just about died. I'm blaming Jillian for my crazy slow run on Tuesday night. Nothing exciting about this run. Re-acquainted myself with Cobbs Hill. Remembered why I stopped running hills.
Emily and I had grand plans to run after work on Wednesday. She came over, we got geared up, we headed outside......and then this happened:
No, my Garmin didn't break. We turned around and walked back inside. And bailed on our run. I've bailed on plenty of runs before, but usually once I get my gear on and I'm out the door my mind is made. I'm running. I've never actually walked outside, walked 50 yards, and turned back around. Can't win em all I guess.
The lack of effort on Wednesday meant that it was time to kick my own butt on Tempo Thursday. On tap this week? 1/2 mile repeats. Four of them. Using my two mile time trial time as a base, I used this God-sent tool to figure out that I had to complete each 800m repeat in 4:58--5:13. And by golly would you take a look at these splits:
It's crazy what a little focus can make you do. It was definitely a tough workout and I was pretty maxed out at the end of each repeat. But....I had fun! I'm not sure if it was the change of scenery running on the track, or the fact that it was something different than just... running, but I really liked it! Welcome back to my life, Tempo Thursday!
I'd really like to end this on a positive note, so I'm only going to say one thing about today's run: it sucked. That is all.
Without my running buddies this morning, I surely would have keeled over and died (or, more realistically, turned around and walked back to my car). Toughest, hilliest run in a long time and my legs didn't show up for the party. Erasing all memories of this morning.....now.
Week two of logging more than one mile....success.
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