Let it ride

I'm feeling super run down today and maybe even on the verge of getting sick… but it's not bad enough to know for sure. I am probably just tired and whiny. Hard to tell. I HAVE been doing a lot of stuff lately. It's true that I have been pushing myself to enjoy every waking hour of these beautiful (and looong) summer days. I've not only been spending hours outside every day running, swimming, playing softball, etc, but also spending the evenings drinking and socializing and staying up late.

I'm sunburned (ok just really tan), dehydrated, and exhausted.

But I kind of love it. And I'm not going to stop! It's a gamble, but I think I’m going to suck it up and let it ride. I know if my body sends me real signals of "SERIOUSLY " then I will rest. Until then I'm going to make sure to get to bed early, drink tons of water, lay off the beers, and try to find a level I can maintain for another few weeks.
We did have an insanely fun weekend with lots of quality workouts and fun. Here's a quick rundown-

Friday, as I mentioned in my last post, I rode my bike home and then rode to the pool and swam 800 yards without a break. Success! I did 1000 yards total and called it good. I rode home and even went for the world's shortest run, just to try a "brick." I literally ran around the block. I survived. Success #2! We had friends over for dinner and game night and got to bed late (as usual).

Saturday, we slept in. Yay! We spent a couple hours doing errands and chores and then finally made it to Forest Park for a trail run. We're alternating back-to-back trail runs with one single longer trail run every other weekend. This was a back to backer. So I ran 9 miles on the Wildwood and I was just cruising! I ended up with a 9:30 ish average which is blazing fast for me on a trail! Fun fun.

We grabbed a sandwich and then met our softball team at the park for some practice. It was very hot in the sun and practice lasted a couple of hours so I was pretty tired by the end. But there was a beer festival! So we stopped by there for a bit. More sun, lots of beer, some fried pickles and more beer. I was toast. But some of our friends were grilling! So we stopped by there next. I borrowed their shower and switched to water and managed to have a really good time. We got to bed late again!

Sunday, again with the sleeping in. This is a dangerous cycle. Especially when you have a long run to do and it's going to be a HOT day. We did chores and errands again before finally heading out to do our trail run. We drove out to Hagg Lake and got started a bit before noon. We weren't sure what the distance was but I was prepared to run 15. It ended up being less then 14 and thanks be to God for that. It was HARD! I employed a strategy of walking up the (MANY) short, steep hills. This worked out pretty well but even the non-hills were tough. It was a pretty technical trail and largely exposed to the sun. I ran out of water at one point for a couple of miles which was scary. It was really warm (80 ish) and I was working so hard. When I finally hit a picnic area I chugged a bottle full and refilled to go. It's so hard not to do that, but ohhh the sloshing. Anyway, I made it! Zach seemed to have a good run too and I couldn’t believe he said he didn't walk AT ALL. WTF? Who is this guy?! Well, I was happy with my strategy though and I finished strong (ish). I ended up with an 11:20 pace over all which includes all the walking. Not bad! The key was "walking with purpose" or "power hiking" or whatever you want to call it. It's not a lazy stroll, it's a pump-the-arms march.

After the run I changed into my swimsuit and grabbed my goggles etc and went for a short swim. It felt great to cool off, but it was really so that I could get in an open water swim before the tri next weekend. I had plans to go on Monday too but it was a good chance so I took it. I didn't  bother with my wetsuit but only swam a few minutes so it was fine. I felt great in the water! We headed back to town, grabbed lunch (I love you, Pizza Bagel!), and showered. Next stop: softball game. We rocked it. Our guy hit a big homerun in the extra inning. So great! Suck it!! (<team motto) Then we hosted the team for a bbq at our house. And you know what? You guessed it! We stayed up late.

Monday, sadly, no sleeping in. Got up at 5:15 or whatever. I stuck with my plans to do an open water swim with Amy and am so glad I did. We had a great time! She has dramatically improved since starting open water swimming - she used to get so nervous! We swam side by side around the lake twice. We swam for about 35 minutes! I felt very comfortable and am ready for the race this weekend. Thanks Amy!

I fell asleep on the couch when I got home. I tried to go to bed early after dinner and chores but it was late again. Frick.

So that brings us to today. I'm tired, my throat kind of hurts, and I'm tired. Did I mention I'm tired. But there is no rest in sight… 8 mile run tonight (edit to add- run done, felt Ok!), bike ride and climbing tomorrow, trail run on Thursday, swimming on Friday, long trail run Saturday (concert that night down in Salem), and then triathlon on Sunday. And then a big softball double header.

I figure if I got through 6 months of Ironman training I can certainly handle this. But, then again, I don't HAVE to do any of this either. So I am going to listen to my body and all that. If it's not fun, then I'm not doing it. That's the take home here: Keep it fun and don't be dumb! That's my new mantra, feel free to borrow it!

Pictures!

Super sunny Saturday afternoon:

boys:

Hagg Lake (looks cloudier then it was!)

 

Team bbq! Save the Whales Motherf#%*er! (team name)