The Broad Running Broad

Well it got done.

I already knew going in that Saturday was going to be a day of rest and Sunday would be my long run day, which I was fine with. Last Sunday’s 6 miles before church was both energizing and relaxing (thus confirming running really is a sport of juxtapositions), and I was looking forward to doing it again.

That didn’t quite turn out like I was planning.

The breakdown went as follows:

M – 45 minutes of upper body work.

T – 4 miles on the treadmill, followed by 45 minutes of lower body work.

W – rest day

TH – unplanned rest day. I did not expect to be as tired as I was.

F – 4 miles on the treadmill. My leasing office sent out a community-wide text reminding everyone it’s Food Truck Friday. Against (?) my better judgment, I went and got a chicken quesadilla with a side of chips and queso for dinner. It was wonderful. Then I got the energy burst and decided I could totally run an hour after eating.

Reader-friends, the phrase “can you but should you?” applied here. The first three miles were awful. After a bathroom stop I decided I was safe to run one more mile and get my total to four. Going forward, I will definitely not be doing that again.

SA – rest day

SU – 7 evening miles.

The totals: 15 miles ran, and an hour and a half of resistance training. I skipped the bike.

The Week 2 Recap:

The energy burst from Week 1 unfortunately crapped out on me in the middle of Week 2. Even though we had a warm spell mid-week that felt pretty good, I got hit with a coldness that made wanting to leave home impossible. Being cold turns me into a bear, and the struggle became real.

Then it was Saturday. I had a volunteer commitment course marshalling the first of the two Fantastic Frigid 5ks, which has become a January tradition. I was bundled up since the course is half open field and half shady woods, and I learned in years past if you’re standing there without proper insulation, it’s not going to be a very good time.

This year though was going to be in the upper 40s, which is a heat wave compared to years past. The forecast did call for some rain, but it sounded like that would be closer to the afternoon once I was done being outside.

The run started around 10:15.

The rain started coming down at 10:30.

And it was a cold rain.

I was able to make the best of my shift, blasting music from my phone and white girl dancing from my spot to keep moving/warm and cheer on the runners. It wasn’t a bad time, but it was definitely a cold one. My coat was soaked, but thankfully the lining inside was dry so I was cold but not soaked through during the errands to follow.

That night I laid down between 8 and 9, which is a little early for me, wrapped up in everything flannel that I own. The heat was set to 70, since it was cold and getting colder overnight. I fell asleep pretty quickly.

… And then to my surprise, I didn’t wake up until 8:30 the following morning. Church is at 10:30, which meant I lost my morning run time and needed to quickly down some electrolytes and get myself showered before 10.

I was pretty surprised how tired I was throughout Sunday. Coffee at church, while delicious and warming, didn’t really help me wake up. I commented to Mom the dark circle situation was looking bleak, which says something when I don’t typically have dark circles. A part of me wondered if the Sunday long run was even going to happen, and I debated how I could arrange Week 3 in case Sunday Runday didn’t happen.

I spent Sunday cleaning and debating when around 4:30 I finally decided I had enough. It was cold but dry outside, and I have light reflective running clothes. So I got layered up like the onion from Shrek, and went on the first outdoor run of 2026.

I would love to say all of my troubles went away as soon as I stepped foot outside. That wasn’t the case for the first half hour.

Or the second half hour.

It wasn’t until Mile 5 of 7 that I got into the groove and was able to relax into my run.

It will be 10 years next month since I took up running. At one point I was the highly disciplined runner, always finding a way to get out and go run before 5 AM on weekdays telling myself there were no excuses.

But then life gave me a reset, as did realizing that all work and no play was making Allison a dull girl. Frankly, I don’t like to be a dullard or the exhaustion that came with it. So I had to learn how to roll with the punches – to trust that I’ll get what I need to done, even if it doesn’t happen right away or exactly as I imagined it.

Week 2 was a lot of rolling with the punches. The miles may not have looked like I imagined they would, but they got done.

And it turns out quite a few of my neighbors don’t take their lights down, so I got to run those quiet streets and have the twinkling beauty to myself, getting lost in my thoughts as I went. Moments like those you really can’t pencil in down to the minute.

So Reader-friends, the lesson of Week 2 is simply – don’t be so hung up on the “oughtas” and arbitrary timelines of when things have to happen. Change plans sometimes – it might be better than you’d expect.

With that being said, I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.

Yours in life and running,

Allison