On Tuesday, I went to run class. I was feeling a little tense about it, knowing my Tuesday run class times were coming to an end soon because of work. It felt like a disaster. I was supposed to do 400 meter cutdowns. I started the warm up lap fine. I felt bad, but not like running was impossible. Then I went for the first 400 meter interval. Around 250-300 meters later, I bailed. I just knew I could not make it to the 400 meter mark. I couldn't breathe. My legs felt like they were made of lead, and I was tired. We decided to do a 200 meter repeat workout instead of the 400 meters, and I started again. The 200s went well, but I was still frustrated. I felt like I'd never be able to complete a 400 meter repeat workout. Every single time, something goes wrong.
After run class, I headed to the pool. I had two lessons to teach and managed to squeeze in a very easy 500 yard swim to get my muscles to loosen up a bit.
Following swim, I had a doctor appointment. As most of you know, that was causing more than a little anxiety. Don informed me this morning he was taking the kids to Pigeon Forge to see their Michigan cousins who were in town to play ball, so I was on my own (as usual when facing scary medical stuff). My friend and teammate wasn’t having that, so she arranged child care for her kids and texted me to say she was going with me. She showed up as I was leaving work and drove me to the appointment, sat with me through the entire thing, and kept me distracted, relaxed, laughing, and as worry-free as possible. These are the moments that remind me how blessed I am with this amazing (albeit crazy 😜 ) run group family. I couldn’t ask for a better pack.
The medical scare appears to be just another crazy acute reaction to the neurotoxin crud, but we will know more in a couple of weeks. With that comes both relief and frustration - but focusing on the relief and pushing forward. The doctor and nurse practitioner both seemed fairly confident that it’s nothing to worry about, so I am going to hold onto that and figure out how to get a better handle on the nerve pain that’s been pretty tough to deal with the past couple of weeks. Hopefully it will settle down soon.
On Wednesday evening, the group run moved over to Haw Ridge to tackle a trail run together. I appreciated my coach so quickly making this possible when I asked about training on a trail before my race. However, this run was tough.
Following the group trail run, I was still on edge and needed to run more. One of my teammates asked if I wanted her to join me for another mile or mile and a half. We set off on the asphalt trail as our coach headed back into the woods to do the trail run a second time.
Believe it or not, on Thursday, I had a complete rest day. No run, no swim, no OCR, no strength - nothing. Just a day off.
Friday I was back for another attempt at 400 meter repeats in run class. I did 4 very consistent 400s but then bailed to do just 200 on #5. I did a 6th run but kept it at 200. It was better than I had been doing, so I'll take it. I'm still waiting on the day I can actually complete all 6 400 meter repeats in 1 workout.
Early Saturday morning, four of us met at the gate to Cades Cove and set out on a quick 5-6 mile loop run. It was beautiful. We saw a bear, a bunch of deer & turkeys, and had some great conversations as we ran. It wasn't very sunny and the temps were more comfortable than they have been most of the summer.
Sunday, I squeezed in a 1000 meter swim between teaching swim lessons, and then called it a day. I was feeling pretty sore.
My race insanity starts next Saturday with my first trail race in over 5 years. I'm really looking forward to it, but hesitant about it being on the trail. I'm not sure how my body is going to react to it. Wednesday evening was rough. I just hope I can make it all 4.2 miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment