Breakdown: Week 14 & the Creepy Dark

Monday: Labor Day ... what a strange name for a holiday. It implies actually doing labor, not taking the day off. As such, I jumped on the t-mill to do the first real accessment of my ankle/calf injury. I ran for about 20 minutes, just over 1.5 miles, when I felt it start to tighten up. I decided to call it a day & rest. Good thing, too; within 1 hour, I was in pain & popping Excedrin.

Tuesday: The first day I woke up with absolutely no pain since "the accident." The problem was lunch... fairly confident the chicken I had for lunch went bad. And I didn't realize until halfway thru eating. In fact, it was Mr. X. who realized it might be bad. About 3 hours later, I started to feel awful. I ended up cancelling my weight session. But honestly: who can work thru a touch of food poisoning?

Wednesday: First road run since "the accident." I woke up at 0500 & realized it was still wicked-dark outside. Totally unprepared a "creepy dark run," I hopped on my t-mill. Probably a good idea anyway, considering I was still accessing the left calf. At first, I was horribly stiff & felt not-so-great. But when I hit the 2nd interval, it was smooth sailing. I felt great! The only thing that wasn't great was the boredom... I used to be able to zone out on the t-mill. But now I'm so used to running outside, it's a bit boring for me. I popped out 5 miles at a 9:29 pace, but that's my footpod-to-Garmin estimation, which I don't always rely on. At any rate, it was 45 minutes of running, which makes me better off than I was.

Another big achievement: I ate "clean" the entire day. So Wednesday was 100% awesome for me.

Thursday: First thing's first. I ordered a new RunningSkirt... I finally ordered the Sparkle Hearts print. Yes, I have an addiction. I'm dealing with it. ;D

The evening was spent at a weight session with my trainer. Just so nice to get back into my regular routine!

Friday: Another dark morning. Mr. X was supposed to wake up & run with me so I wasn't alone in the dark... but he didn't budge when the alarm went off. So it was another t-mill run for me. One hour of running at a 10:04 pace. Since it's t-mill miles, it looks way more impressive than it actually is. But it felt good, which is what counts. Then I blew all the good work by going to dinner in the evening. Pizza... my ultimate weakness.

Saturday: A day of rest before LSD Sunday. And believe me, I rested! After a short trip for groceries & lunch (yes, another slice of pizza), I parked my butt on the couch & proceeded to take about 3 naps. It was like my body said, "Time to store up the sleep!" I also developed a massive headache; I'm sure that contributed to me having "the sleepies." Around 1700 (that's 5PM, people), I pulled myself together, took a hot shower to help my headache, & gathered all my clothes for LSD Sunday. That includes my recovery clothes... so  the only thing I have to worry about is waking up & running.

Sunday: LSD... the moment of truth. Alarm went off at 0545; I wanted to start between 0615-0630. Mr. X followed in the car to be my Waterboy (which is what I'm calling him from now on, btw) & personal security agent. This time, I left directly from my house; it's tough to find a place to run 16 miles safely here... there are crazy cars/drivers everywhere. That's why I focused on getting out the door as early as possible.

Starting off early, focusing on avoiding cars

I started off very strong. In fact, Mr. X couldn't find me for awhile because I was 2 miles ahead of where he thought I'd be. I was covering 5 miles per hour & feeling very good about it.

Jumping for joy at La Rotunda

I was smoking the run without really trying... & feeling great about the entire thing. All was awesomesauce until about Mile 12. That's when my legs started to really feel the run. I started singing to myself... out loud, by the way, just to keep my head in the game. Mr. X kept a closer eye on me & we developed a highly sophisticated method of communication so he'd know I was okay:

Thumbs up: probably means "F" off in Italian; clothes are clinging to me

At this point, it was all about putting one foot in front of the other. With 1.5 miles left to run, I threw Mr. X the Camelbak (it was bothering my back) & took off.

Or at least I tried to... by my legs were screaming at me. What I didn't understand at that point is that I was beginning to cramp. I thought I was just being a baby & toughed it out. Until Mile 15.6. I could not go any farther; I was crying but no tears were coming out & in more pain than I'd originally realized. Mr. X met up with me... & we walked it out. Right up to 16 miles.

After the run, still feeling the cramping.

There are some runs where you feel like a superstar. There are some runs you suck at. And for this one, I feel like a superstar. Sure, I didn't end strong, per se, but I ran 16  miles before most people had breakfast. I ran fast enough to impress Mr. X. And I even learned what cramping in the hammys & calves feels like, so I know what to watch out for next time. I think it was a great way to end my week.

16 miles complete!

Now comes lunch (Hurray, Mr. X is cooking), a nap, & recording a new episode of the KindleWomen podcast. Yes, it's going to be a long day. But I just survived 16 miles; I think I can handle it.

*edit: I lost my sunglasses on this run. When I stopped at the water point, I took my hat off to rinse it out... & my sunglasses were resting on the brim. In my run-induced haze, I completely forgot they were there. Now I need new sunglasses. I haz a sad.*