Week 15 - Hard knocks

Last week I didn't run much. Missed the long run to boot. I knew this week would be rough, as I've noticed that it takes 6 months of running to build up a good base and stamina and get to the point where I can train and run and not be sore, yet it takes only one short week of not running to LOSE IT ALL.

WTF?

So considering I had the 10mile Bridge Run to do on Sunday, I figured I wouldn't push it too hard running during the week. Good thing too, as my quads were sore as hell from even the easy runs I did.

And there there was Custer. Fort Custer. A dream for hard core mountain bikers. And by hard core, I mean bikers that are GOOD, that have SKILLZ, and that DON'T SUCK.

AKA: NOT ME.

But I went anyways, thinking I was badass (right Leanne??) or something equally stoopid. And I went two days before the 10mile race. I figured, how hard could it be??? Meh, it'll be fine! No worries.

Uh, WRONG.

Here we go:

Monday: traveling back from Florida - so OFF

Tuesday: ok, let's get back at that whole running thing shall we?? Uh, yeah. Did 2.5 mi and at a pretty good pace (~9:30min/mi), but didn't want to push it distance-wise as I could feel it in my quads (esp the hip flexor - not something you want to pull the week of a long race!!). Yeah, been running all freaking year, and it took one week off to lose is. I HATE THAT SHIT.

Wednesday: off

Thursday: another easy run - this time 3 mi again at a good, sub-10min/mi clip. Again, didn't want to push the legs too hard in preparation for Sunday's race. This run felt better than Tuesday's, and it worked out some of the soreness from the quads. Sweet.

Friday: crosstraining...CUSTER STYLE. Ok, so the thing about Custer is this: it isn't physically demanding, but mentally it is HELL as it is very technical. And while I can power up hills without much problem, it is the finesse and scary shit I have a problem with. So here we are, Graveel, K8 and I, going along, about 10 min in, and we come to what apparently used to be BMX trails - loop-de-loops with high-banked sides and tight turns. I come to the top and immediately hammer on the brakes - promptly sliding down the first loop and getting dumped on my left side. oops. yeah - this part is all loose dirt and not conducive to hard braking. my bad. So I watch the other two psychos do it and think to myself, "self (MEG!), I can do this!!".

So I grit my teeth and go. totally fine (minus the yelling at the top of my lungs) down and around the first loop, so I started thinking, hey, I CAN do this! And then...well...I dunno what happened, but as I came around the turn for the second loop something bad, very bad, went down.

me.

HARD. smack on my right side. into a cloud of dust and dirt. In fact, that was all K8 saw of the spill from her perch at the top of the first loop (where she went back to in order to watch me attempt this nonsense). took me a minute to gather my composure and spit the dirt from my mouth. wow. that stung. yep, gonna leave a mark, or 20.

but I got back on the bike and proceeded to ride another 2 hr - quite a bit of it was spent either staring at things I couldn't mentally get past to try, or walking with my bike over/around/down stuff I didn't even consider trying.

Good times. I HATE CUSTER. K8 - WHEN DO WE GO BACK????

Saturday: OH HELL. my knee...my hip...the bruising...oh hell. I can barely walk. A lump on the outside of my knee the size of a jumbo egg. A lump on my hip the size of a softball. Black-and-blue all over. OH HELL.

Sunday: 10 mile Gazelle Sports Bridge Run. feeling stiff and sore first thing when I got up. But whacha gonna do? suck it up loser! well, turns out running this race might have been the best medicine for my aches and pains, although 10 mi might have been pushing it. But in hindsight, running this race forced me to do the 10 mi I was supposed to do, and if it weren't for the race, I doubt I'd have run even half that distance on my own. So it all worked out I suppose. And the race went pretty well - the weather was good, albeit a tad chilly at the start, and once I got moving my knee and hip loosened up and felt ok. Finished in a decent time for me - sub-100min, so I was happy with that. But boy did my hips and knees tighten up big-time when it was all over. And at mile 9 I started to feel a bit woozy - good to know for the half, as I'll suck down some GU around mile 6 or 7 to fend that off.

FOUR WEEKS TO GO - the countdown is ON! And the training is relatively easy from here on out as I taper my long runs down to keep my legs from tiring out for the big day.

TALLY: 2.5 + 3 + 10 mi running + 8 mi biking = 23.5 mi. Not bad, minus the bruises and lumps.

Not bad at all. Bring on the half-marathon. BRING IT!