A Balance, Redefined

No run today. I had a rough day yesterday. The reason why I didn’t have my full post was because I trashed my laptop yesterday. Let’s just say liquids and electronics don’t mix well. Fortunately, all work related info is backed up on at least two locations but my running stuff may be lost. To make things extra fun Kaitlyn had a slight fever yesterday and I woke up with a pretty sore throat this morning so I thought lets leave well enough alone and take the day off.

Congrats again to everyone who braved the wind yesterday at the Striders half!

Single: I struggled with if I should run today. I’m still not feeling 100% and was a little tired from last week. When all was said and done I worked 80hrs between Mon-Sun. The good news is this week should be a little lighter and marathon week I should be able to claim back some quality sleep. Last night was just another 7hrs. Woke up and my throat still had some issues and I just had that general flat feeling. By the time I got home I was feeling better and after dinner decided to brave a loop of SH. It felt hard. My left foot has continued to bug me on and off and my breathing wasn’t right. I’m going to try and get a little more sleep to night and continue to focus on a lot of water. My laptop was covered for accidental damage so it should be able to be repaired. I started to retype my workout from Saturday to get some comments but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow if I actually want to get more than 7 hrs of sleep tonight. Mi 5-R1 Avg. 7:17 HR 144

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 124

Single: Back to my usual 7-hrs of sleep. Feeling better today. Still congested but my throat wasn’t as sore. By the PM I was feeling good enough for a run. My legs were FLAT! My quads just didn’t want to go, so I pushed them into gear for 2-miles (5:56, 5:48) it felt good to go that quick after a few days of living as a sloth. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting either so that is a good sign. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:13 HR 152

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 132

Single: Things are more or less continuing to improve. I had planned a descent amount of sleep but then at 4am a noise in the kitchen (that turned out to be the ice maker misbehaving) woke me up and I wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Not that I would have slept much more but this way I only ended up with a little under 6hrs. The good news is that I got into work an hour earlier so I was able to take a break at about 11am for a run. I ran the course MM 1-4. My legs still felt tight but MUCH better than yesterday. Also, for the first day since Sunday I did not start my day with Dayquil. I still had some drip and am perpetually clearing my throat but feel much better. Anyway, for the run I felt fine. I decided I would do one mile at marathon effort, and being who I am I choose the fast mile 4. This is the fastest mile on the course but I had yet to hit the split without feeling as if I was pushing too hard. Today was different, even though I had four things against me. 1) Drippy nose, 2) Slowed for traffic at McDonald’s intersection, 3) Stopped for traffic at 2100E, and 4) A nasty 10+mph head/cross wind. Despite all that, I hit the mark exactly on Avg. 5:22 HR 170. I am very happy with the way it felt as well. The rest of the run back to lab was not as enjoyable as I had to turn and head back up the hill and then into the head/cross wind. (Kory, I look at it this way, the weather is getting that NE wind out of its system before next week so we can have a nice calm Sat morning). I stopped home for a quick kiss each for Sandra and Kaitlyn and then back to work. Mi 8-R2 Avg. 7:06 HR 150

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 129 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today was a little bit of a backslide but not too bad. I did manage 8-hrs of sleep last night and I already got my laptop back from repair and there was no data loss. I’ll even finally update last Saturday today. The backslide came in the form of just not feeling as “better” as I had yesterday. I was congested enough again to take more Dayquil. The day however went smoothly but I ran short on time and only managed to get in 6 miles with miles 5 and 6 of the course as a inner/outer loop combo to SH. What is cool is that someone went through and remarked the course. It is now accurate at miles 5 and 6. Either I was completely blind yesterday or they did it sometime last night or today. What is not cool is the wind. It was not super hard but it felt like whatever direction I was running there was a headwind… Mi 6-T2 Avg. 7:15 HR 149

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 135 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140

Single: Today I felt good again. I managed almost 8-hrs sleep and that always helps. Also, though it was cooler in the morning and the Weather Channel said 26F windchill with 10mph winds it did not feel that bad. I ran out to the new one mile marker and kept the pace easy to the two mile marker then I started my MP miles. The first is slight up then two almost all down then two rollers. Overall, I was happy with the perceived effort. I’m still thinking that 2:35 pace feels more like my half marathon effort than full but I’m hoping the adrenaline of the day will help compensate for that some. Then I spent the rest of the day with family and running errands. Now I’m in work for a couple hours but then hopefully another full night’s sleep. Mi 13-T2 Avg. 7:02 HR 159

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 134 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 147 / / Saucony Rides #1: 133 / / Saucony Rides #2: 140