Back on track (mostly)

Now that the UTI mess is behind me and I'm feeling more normal in general, I've been able to start keeping up with a better running schedule. Next week I'll be adding my strength and yoga back in. This week, I kept it just running. "Just keep running, just keep running" - Finding Dory reference. No? Just me and my three-year-old? Okay, moving on.

Anyway, I spent this week struggling with fatigue, probably because of the increase in frequency, distance, and overall mileage from the prior week. I went from running 10-13 miles per week to over 20, and the last time I had a 20 mile week was back in June. And I had several weeks in there where I ran less than 10 miles. So. Yeah. Fatigued. But not sore, so that's good!

My allergies and asthma were raging this week as well (hello, nebulizer, my old friend) and the weather was pretty hideous, with summer temps and out of control humidity and dew point, usually up over 90 and 70 respectively. That's not good news for anyone, let alone someone with asthma. Needless to say, running outside was hard and miserable this week and it added to my fatigue and recovery issues.

Workout summary

Monday

What I planned: Nothing
What happened: 3.5 mile bike ride
The weather was absolutely beautiful on Monday and I wanted to get outside. I also wanted to stick to my running schedule, which meant Monday is a day off from running. So I rode bike instead. 

Tuesday

What I planned: Easy 5 mile run
What happened: Nothing
While I wasn't sore, I was definitely feeling fatigued, so I took the day off. I think it's going to take quite a bit of rebuilding for me to get back to where I was, which is incredibly frustrating because it took a lot to get back there the first time. So here we are again. Back to rebuilding and trying to gain some semblance of speed. 

Wednesday

What I planned: Easy 3 mile run
What happened: Easy 3.09 mile run
My schedule went as planned (shockingly). I was tired during this run and struggled with my asthma and allergies a little. The consistently high dew point is also a problem. Where is fall?

Thursday

What I planned: Easy 5 mile run (2 on my own, 3 with my running group)
What happened: Easy 3.08 miles
I had to take my son to the doctor and didn't get out in time to get those extra 2 miles in beforehand. So I ran 3. And wheezed the entire way. Sigh. 

Friday

What I planned: Nothing
What happened: Nothing
No running for me on Friday. Since by that time I was thinking I'd be running the IOP Connector the following day (see "Saturday" below), I took Friday off. 

Saturday

What I planned: Easy 3 (possibly at the Isle of Palms Connector Run 5K)
What happened: Easy 3.05, not at the IOP Connector Run
I've had this race on my schedule tentatively but never actually registered. After the month-long UTI mess plus the nasty weather, I had decided against it.

Then I got a free registration from a friend the day before the race, so I thought I might as well run it. But it turned out the free registration was for the 10K and there's no way I was running a 10K in this weather, so I figured I'd go to the race with my friend and register for the 5K that morning. Then I got a text from my friend on race day that she wasn't going to make it to the race, so I opted out (and that was totally fine with me!). 

The weather was just so bad with 95% humidity and a 75 dew point that there is no way my asthma would have tolerated trying to run any faster than a slog. And paying $40 to basically have an asthma attack while logging yet another bad race time did not seem like a good idea at all. So I skipped the race and slogged (and cursed) around my neighborhood. 

Sunday

What I planned: Long run - 8 miles with my running group
What happened: 8 miles on the treadmill at the gym + 1 mile with B in the evening
No one else could make it out this week for the long run, so I decided to take my run indoors. I just couldn't handle the weather. The idea of slogging through 8 miles in another day of 95% humidity and a 75 dew point was so unappealing that even the treadmill seemed like a good idea. 

This was my longest run ever on a treadmill and my longest run in general since May (and my first treadmill run in probably over a year). I typically run much slower on a treadmill, mostly because I'm not used it and I'm convinced I'm going to face plant at any second, but I ran these 8 miles as faster (or as fast) than some recent much shorter runs outside in the heat. So I think my overall fitness level is okay. I just need some decent weather.

I'm really hoping it gets better soon because these 70% dew points are killing me even if the temps seem sort of okay. Until then, and because I need to stay on track a bit better, I'm taking a lot of my runs indoors to the treadmill. Not ideal, but necessary at this point. I guess it's a good thing I never canceled my gym membership. 

On Sunday evening, D, B and I headed out to an event to celebrate the life of our friend and fellow runner, Cindy, who was tragically killed in a car accident last month. To say Cindy will be missed in an understatement and the Charleston running community wanted to do something to honor and remember her.

So we did what we always do - we ran.

It was just a 1 mile walk/run, and I had intended on walking since I already logged 8 miles earlier and we had B with us. But little B decided he wanted to run. And he ran almost the entire way and ended up with a 12:55 pace for his mile! What? He was so determined to "beat daddy" (and he did!). I'm so proud of my little runner boy and I know Cindy would be proud, too. 

House updates

The drywall is going up and the exterior siding and brick are going on! I cannot wait to move into this house. 

Something creative

I recently realized - well...not realized, I already knew it, but now I'm actually doing something about it - that I need to be doing something creative almost every day. For the same reasons I run, I also create.  

What sparked this revived creativity was actually my day job where I've shifted gears a bit and started doing a lot of visual design and illustration work, as opposed to heavy research work. While I still do research, right now I have some big projects for design.

And man, am I having fun! The hours just fly by.

That spark has carried over into personal projects. I've been trying to sketch something - anything - daily. It's quick and messy and imperfect, but it's practice and it's helping keep the creative juices flowing.

Here are a few from the past week:

That's a wrap everyone! I'm getting back into a more normal routine after being sick and I've finally found (made) some time to be creative. 

My goals for next week: back to yoga and back to strength, at least one of each, and a little bit of speedwork. And definitely some more art. I've been missing all of it. 

How was your week?  

This week, I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippi Piddlin' for their Weekly Wrap series.