The Broad Running Broad

It only took four weeks into training but I finally got my energy up and didn’t take any unplanned rest days.

Although I did have to readjust plans halfway through the week due to the winter storm that rolled in overnight and is still going on. Which explains why a regular Monday post is coming on a Sunday instead.

I’m snowed in and have time. This is leaving me flummoxed because Sundays usually aren’t this quiet. Based off the bits and pieces of the conversation my upstairs neighbor is having, he’s equally flummoxed by the snowfall. But I’m digressing.

This past week went as follows:

M– 1:15 minutes of resistance training and about 45 minutes of yoga/Pilates.

T – 6 morning miles on the treadmill. After work I went and rode 18 miles on the bike.

W – 45 minutes of yoga/Pilates before work. I debated if I wanted to lift in the morning and do yoga/Pilates at night, but since Wednesdays are my in-office day and mid-week is when my slump kicks in, I went with yoga/Pilates in the morning and loafed around Wednesday night.

TH – Easy 3 miles in the evening.

F – 1 hour of strength training in the morning. It took forever for me to get going this morning, so an hour was all I could do before work.

SA – 6 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon, followed by 17 recovery miles on the bike.

SU – Day of rest(?)

The Week 4 Recap:

This was the first week I felt like a runner again.

Aside from the energy levels staying consistently high, I’m glad to report that I was able to roll with some punches and meet my training goals for the week.

My first hurdle came from a flare up in my right heel. A few weeks back I ordered and received a new pair of Brooks running shoes. Regularly I wear a size 5, but for running shoes I size up to 6.5 to allow for insoles and foot swelling. There was a pair in a color I liked on their website that only came in a 5.5. I haven’t decided yet if this is against my better judgment, but I ordered the 5.5. They fit correctly, and I’m not having any issues in my toes or along the underside of my feet (which are problem areas and the main concern) when I run.

However, the heel part of the shoe is tapered to a point. I can’t tell if that’s because of the shoe design or the fact that I haven’t broken them in yet and they’ll “round” out in time, but I have noticed the follow day after the new Brooks runs has been causing some serious heel pain in my right heel.

My worst flare up came Wednesday afternoon at the office. I had on a pair of winter boots that weren’t helping matters, so I had to get those off and down an ibuprofen to try and get the swelling in my heel down. In retrospect I was increasing my mileage too much in that particular pair of shoes, so I’m going to rely on my broken-in pair for a little longer until I can run without a flare up.

Then the second hurdle came on Friday afternoon. The news was reporting about the winter storm coming this weekend and the panic buying. Originally I had a planned volunteer activity on Saturday morning and was going to hit the store for the few items I needed on my way home. However:

1.) We’ve had below-freezing temperatures in the few days leading up to my commitment.

2.) It was going to be between 2-5 degrees when I would be outside on Saturday morning.

3.) It was anyone’s guess whether half of what I was needing I’d still be able to find if I waited until Saturday.

So when the volunteer coordinator emailed me on Friday afternoon to ask if I was still planning on coming out, I had to send my regrets. Friday evening after work became my trip to the grocery store, and thankfully I was able to get what I needed.

Now if I needed oranges, bagged lettuce or chicken breast I would have been out of luck.

Saturday was supposed to be my day of rest, while Sunday was going to be my log run day. A part of debated if I really made the right call on Saturday, since it was cold but dry. Now that it’s Sunday and the snow has arrived, I definitely made the right call.

As of 1 PM, there’s 9 inches of snow at my place. The governor declared a state of emergency yesterday for the 8-12 inches Central Ohio is supposed to get, and this afternoon the sheriff declared a Level 3 snow emergency in my county, which never happens.

In spite of the heel issue and weather challenges, I was able to have a productive week with training. Today’s a day of rest, although I might do some yoga or Pilates before dinner since there’s nothing else to do and my back is trying to bug me. Miss Marina is fast asleep, and I got my chicken pot pie cooked last night so I can have that tonight.

I hope wherever you are you’re staying safe and warm. Until next time Reader-friends.

Yours,

Allison