Weekly recap (11/28-12/4): Taking care of me
KIAWAH HALF TRAINING WEEK 9
Moms are notorious for putting themselves last, myself included, especially when it comes to health - my health versus the health of my family members (including the fur kids).
Earlier this year, I got Meadow's nasal cancer diagnosis just as I was supposed to start allergy treatments. Guess which took priority? Yep, nasal cancer treatments. I'm not going to die from my allergies (presumably - although I could from asthma which is exacerbated by allergies). Small sliver of potential death aside, allergies do make me pretty miserable and completely wreck my running game, but getting my sweet pup into remission became more important.
So I postponed my allergy treatments and carted my beagle two hours (one way) to the specialist in Columbia, South Carolina. For 4 weeks, 5 days a week. We did leave her there overnight some nights, but it was still a lot of extra travel and stress.
And Meadow's cancer diagnosis wasn't the first thing that made me postponed my own health treatments- I was supposed to start allergy treatments over the summer. It was just the most recent in a string of other reasons when everyone else in the house came first. But I think I have a window of opportunity right now and Meadow is in full remission, so I finally scheduled my allergy shots. And annual checkup(s), eye doctor appointment (I'm on my last pair of contacts - eek!), and maybe a sports massage and assisted stretching session.
With all of that health craziness (my own and everyone else's), I haven't (again) been able to put in the training necessary to do what I'd like to do at Kiawah. Asthma and allergies, along with my compounding mystery exhaustion issues (maybe anemia - we'll see this week at the doctor) have left me unable to push myself at all. While I didn't miss quite as many workouts as I have in the past, I did skip out on speedwork because it's too exhausting for me right now. And I never really consistently got my mileage up to where I want it.
Workout summary
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: Easy run - 6.03 miles (9:05 pace)
- Wednesday: Barre
- Thursday:
- Easy run - 4.10 miles (8:31 pace)
- Barre
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: Off
- Sunday: Long run - 8.01 miles (9:07 pace)
Totals
Running miles: 18.14
Total runs: 3
Barre/strength: 2
Total workouts: 5
I thought about not even running Kiawah because I hate to have yet another crappy race on my official record, but I deferred it last year so I can't defer again. The good news is the weather is looking pretty perfect (if just a bit too cold) with highs only around 50, so I'll probably be looking at temps in the 40s for most of the race. That's freezing by Charleston standards, but much better for running. As long as the air isn't too dry - which will also aggravate my asthma, though not as bad as too humid - the only thing I'll be fighting during the race is my own exhaustion as opposed to exhaustion plus weather plus asthma.
So I'm running (slogging?) through Kiawah and hoping I don't have any issues and that my time isn't too abysmal. Goals, right? "Not an abysmal time." Sigh.
Anyway...this week, to get ready, I'm taking it fairly easy and running without a watch so I'm not distracted at all by pace and I can keep it absolutely glacial.
I've got a bit of congestion and a sore throat and have been popping DayQuil and Zicam, which seems to be helping. I'm also using my nebulizer regularly to prep for the race, especially since I've got this cold thing, which could make me more susceptible to issues.
And shoes. I think I need new shoes. I've been having issues with the balls of my feet hurting in my current shoes, Brooks Launch (both 2 and 3). After wearing these shoes for over a year now (not the same pair but the style), I'm not sure what's going on. The same thing happened with the Pure Project line - all of a sudden they started hurting my ankles. So I'm thinking maybe I need more cushioning and should try Brooks Ghost since it's still a neutral shoe, but has more squishiness in the footbed.
I'm not switching shoes just before a race, but afterward, I think I need to do some experimenting. I'll also be heading to all of those appointments to finally get myself straightened out and maybe able to push my speed again.
Anyone else ever have a trusty style of shoe go haywire (and not just because a new version launched or they are an old pair)?
I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippi Piddlin' for their Weekly Wrap post. You can check out all of this week's posts here.