Week 17

Kind of a blah week. It's meant to be an easy week anyway. I had a few speed bumps but made the miles happen. Biggest bump I'm dealing with is sleep. The little guy is doing his thing and waking at night. I've been trashed all week, chugging coffee for motivation to get out to run. I'm hoping it's temporary because I won't improve without adequate sleep.

when I roll, he decides he needs to!

This next week/phase I'm starting tempo runs. I've yet to set a plan, I guess I'm hesitant with the sleep situation, but should have an idea tomorrow. This will be a taxing phase. Slightly easier in effort compared to intervals but longer in duration. This is where I get fast. Yes, I'm training for an ultra which is a relatively slow race, but getting the speed up early will make the "going long" much easier and efficient when it's time to train distance.

Sunday afternoon at the ford

Wednesday night's run was exciting. I stepped outside, temperature was maybe high 40's with a very light rain. No big deal. I get dressed: shorts, long sleeve, light jacket, light gloves. I'm out the door maybe 815 pm and happy to have kept up my motivation and to escape home. I'm heading out over the river to some country lanes that provide hardly any traffic and some nice hills. I'd like 10 miles but am checking the loop to get a solid distance on it.

Severn Valley Railway passing 

I get about 3 miles in, am on dark country lanes, and the weather turns to complete shit! Driving rain, heavy winds, and the temperature has dropped about 10 degrees! I'm instantly soaked and running faster to keep warm! The hills have streams ripping down them and huge ankle deep puddles have formed on the flats! My phone starts dinging away. Text messages. I hate that noise on a run. I find a place to attempt to check my phone as I curse my wife. I dig it out and she's just checking to see if I'm ok, the squall obviously hammered the house too, it wasn't just a hallucination. I ignore it focusing on getting home and not hypothermic.

 It was a battle to get home but 9.2 miles later I'm attempting to operate my key to get in the door as my hands have become crab claws from the cold. The whole thing was like a dream, my visibility and hearing where muffled from rain, wind, darkness, and the light from my headlamp. The oddest run I've ever had. I got in and my legs were beet red and covered in mud, I had the uncomfortable "frost nip feeling" on my "you know what" that brought back memories of Nordic ski racing in the bitter cold.

A little excitement I guess. I wish I wouldn't have been so wet as I felt really good and wanted to run more!

behind the Safari Park

Sunday ended with a decent but tired 13 miler. I'm still praying for my mornings to open up, even if it's at 430 am. I'm so tired of comments from stupid people on my short's length, traffic at night, drunks at night, etc. Mornings are the best. No people. 

When I'm jeered at while out on a run it reminds me how much I miss living somewhere where I'm normal. I'm such an outcast here. When I do talk with someone who says they "like my mountains," "I love camping," or has similar interests as I do they have absolutely no idea how experienced I was in these things. I never realized the experience I had until moving here. I miss being among active outdoorsy people, I fit in, here I never will.

Fingers crossed I get a solid night's sleep. In reading about sleep the effects are cumulative which is unfortunate for me. You can't just get one night of good rest and be better, it needs to be consistent. I guess I'm going to have to axe watching The Walking Dead and just go to bed! 

Update: I'm adding this Monday morning. Solid sleep last night, the little guy slept through!