Week 8 of my training plan for the Glass City marathon is done. That means I am half way to race day! (which is a bit scary at this point!) This was an interesting week for me. Two vaccines. Also, I caught a cold from our ski trip, so this week involved a lot of congestion and a stuffy nose for me. But I also had some good workouts, and a big dud. I ran 40 miles this week.
Mon – 5 easy miles. Happy Presidents day! That means a day off for me. It was unseasonably warm here in the afternoon, but I ran in the morning like normal. There was still ice hanging around on our sidewalks.
Tues – 8 miles, speed work. This would have been a great success, because it was a speedy run, but unfortunately it was supposed to be a “race pace” run, so in that respect I didn’t hit the mark on this one. Going faster than I’m supposed to does put this in the speed work category, so that’s what I’m calling it! I blame not being able to see my watch all of the time and not wanting to be late to work! Also, I thought 50 degrees sounded cool, so I overdressed. After a few miles I had to ditch my shirt. To be running in only a sports bra in February felt great!!
Since it’s 2-22-22 day, my employer bought us tacos (for taco-twosday!). And, we got TWO vaccines after work – my COVID booster and also the shingles booster. Followed by more tacos and a margarita 🙂
Weds – Rest day! As expected I woke up feeling very tired from my shots. Sore arms, sleepy and some chills. Latching my bra was quite the struggle 😆 Luckily it was work from home day so no need to go anywhere! By 3pm I needed a nap. After a solid hour of sleep I felt much better.
Thurs – 11 miles, a double day! Mostly recovered from the vaccines, but I did have a swollen lymph node from my COVID booster (sore underarm). I had already signed up to sub coach with my favorite group at the track, but I wanted to run in the morning so I ran the easy 5 miles that I missed from yesterday in the morning. My evening track workout was 2 x 3200 and we ran a little over 6 miles total. Everyone did great!
Fri – Rest day! I did go to the gym. Alan and I took a walk down by the river and saw these new treehouses built by the metroparks. They are cool looking, but very small. I guess they will start renting them in the summer. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that!
In the evening I took the kids to the high school musical, the Addams Family. I’m always so impressed by the quality of the shows at the high school. I’m also shocked that these are high school kids performing!
Sat – 16 miles, long run. I’ll cut to the chase on this – it sucked. Was it because I had a cold all week? My legs were sore. My feet felt heavy. My hips/glutes/quads hurt. I hoped I wasn’t going to repeat last week’s bad run, so I mapped out a decent route. Yet, this felt like a struggle by mile 3. By mile 10 this involved a lot of walk breaks. I felt like I didn’t have enough endurance to continue running. The average pace was 10:17 which isn’t bad, but the execution was just bad bad bad. Ugh. I’ll have to come up with a better plan for next week. My long runs are not going well!!
I crossed paths with my husband. I’m sure we were only smiling because we got a break from running. His run was a bit of a challenge too.
After this run I’ve decided to return my new shoes. I put a lot of miles on my Saucony Triumph 17’s, but these new 18’s just aren’t working out for me. Time to look for a new “long run” shoe!
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
So after a few weeks of bad long runs, I really hope next week will be a reset for me and it will be a good run. They can’t all be bad runs, right? The situation is becoming a bit disheartening! But on a good note – I think my cold is gone now 🙂
I just saw this on my WordPress app. 10 years ago? Holy crap, really!
Q: Did you take part in your high school’s musical?
I did not. It would have been fun to help out with the set though.
Q: What shoe do you use for a long run (or daily trainer)?
I was in school plays in elementary school. In high school I did set work and lights — mostly so I could go to the cast parties. 🙂
Sorry your long run sucked. Hopefully different shoes will help. I’ve been in Brooks Adrenaline for the past few years now, after Mizunos got narrower.
My son’s girlfriend was working the lights at the show we went to. It was also fun for my daughter because she saw her former XC teammates (who are graduating this year).
I think the Triumphs are just “too much” of a shoe for me. Extra cushioned and that makes them feel a bit heavy and clunky. And, I have to blame my run on something, so it will be the shoes. haha!!
I did not do any musicals in HS (absolutely no singing ability, LOL), but I was very active in speech competition (individual & group). Our HS did the Addams Family in early March 2020…and then Covid hit a week later. It was such a great production.., a little of current day stuff in the dialogue!
Speech – that is something I totally avoided in HS! I did enjoy choir though. There were a few lines in the musical which made my daughter wonder about. They had a reference to rehab and Charlie Sheen. She said “who is Charlie Sheen??”.
I’m going to say your cold and two vaccines probably had a lot to do with your extra-hard long run. i agree, it’s discouraging to have to “bad” long runs in a row- you’re probably dreading the next one. But you’re right- they can’t all be bad. Next week you could be feeling completely different.
I always played in the pit orchestra for our high school shows! It was one of my favorite times of the year. And my son played for a couple of their shows when he was in high school, so I went to those. I agree, the productions are very good and the kids are GREAT!
I’ve been running entirely in my Hokas (Clifton) lately, but I definitely go through phases. Before this I was loving New Balance, but they don’t feel as good with my orthotics.
Gomez Addams was played by a really tall kid, I really thought it was an adult! Ditto on Morticia. Those kids have a lot of talent!! I see music is a very integral part of your family and background. Very cool!
I thought my old Triumphs were a nice “comfy cruiser” for the long runs. A big padded shoe for when I didn’t care about my pace. But these new ones have been questionable since I first tried them on. And, since I still have the shipping box in my closet, that really seals their fate for heading back to the store!! Time for something different.
As you see in my post that shingles vax did a number on me as well. I was surprised! i’d say it affected my run as well so perhaps that is the same for you. Tomorrow is a new day to crush it
Yes, moving on to another week – another chance to get stronger! The weather will be getting a bit warmer too, so we have that to look forward to. I had several friends who told me how terrible it was to get shingles. I’ll take a day or two of yuckiness if I get to avoid shingles!
Sorry to hear about the shoes, I need to try out some of the new Sauconys as they do have a habit of suddenly changing and I’ve been caught out like that before. But hello lymph node covid jab twin! I only know a few other people who’ve had that one!
When I was in for my mammogram we talked about the swollen lymph node being a side effect of the shot. Seemed pretty random, but I’m glad I knew about it. I’m glad the side effects were short lived (well, maybe they whacked out my run, but who knows!).
Happy 10-year blogiversary! My blog turns 10 at the end of next January.
Hopefully, your two vaccinations were the cause of a less than stellar long run. That second shingles shot is no joke. Bill and I said that if we could survive it, the Covid vaccination had nothing on us. We both experienced all of the negative side effects of the shingles shot and I only had a sore arm from the Covid shots and booster.
I was in the senior class play in high school, but it wasn’t a musical or else I wouldn’t have been cast for a part. LOL
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Weekly RunDown: February 20 – 26 / Heading into the Spring Cycling Season Undertrained
Wait, what? 2nd shingles shot is bad? shhhhhh! I didn’t need to hear that! They said to get the 2nd shot in 2 to 6 months. Maybe I’ll wait 6 months on that.
I was really surprised on the 10 year anniversary! I had no idea.
Oops, sorry!
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Weekly RunDown: February 20 – 26 / Heading into the Spring Cycling Season Undertrained
I’ve had plenty of crappy long runs. I don’t think it’s indicative of your fitness, there are other factors like you said, like the cold and the vaccines, etc. And some runs are just tough. You stuck with it and I bet you’re going to have a great race in 8 weeks!.
This must have been the week for shingles vaccines, I think Deborah had one too.
Jealous of a sports bra run in Feb!
I do complain about running in the dark before work, but every time I do it’s actually a pretty nice run. That 50 degrees really made it a deal breaker to get outside though. Wearing shorts probably would have worked too!
I’m sorry the long runs have been a struggle. Sometimes that can signal a good race! I’m also sure 2 vaccines + a cold can definitely = a bad run. I do not recover well from vaccines, at all. For myself personally I would never do 2 at once!
Funny, my husband’s cousin’s son was in the Addams family HS play, too, but they live in VA.
I was in the orchestra — 1st flute & had a solo, actually — for our HS play, Man of La Mancha. It was a lot of fun! I do sing fairly well, but am absolutely no actress. My brother did some acting in HS.
I had never heard of the Addams Family musical, but I did like it. The guy playing Gomez was just perfect for the role. I don’t think I could ever remember that many lines and songs!
Fingers crossed it was just vaccines and a cold which made my run difficult. Better times ahead I hope!
You are brave to get both your Covid Booster and Shingrix on the same day! I had some pretty strong reactions to both vaccines. I am in the group to get another booster, but I am holding off until after my mammogram–that swollen lymph node you got is exactly what I don’t want for my exam. Maybe your long run felt bad because you were still recovering from the vaccines?
Wendy recently posted…Sometimes You Get Just What You Need
Luckily the underarm pain was only there for 2 days. Glad I had heard that could be a reaction to the shot or I would have been concerned. I figured we would just knock out both vaccines and get it done with. I’m glad we didn’t feel crappy for twice as long because we had two!
2-2-22 was definitely a busy day for you! I remember that I had a hard time washing my hair after my first Covid vaccine shot – my arm was so incredibly sore, lol.
Sorry that the new Saucony sneakers didn’t work out. It’s always a bummer when one model of the sneaker feels great but then the new model doesn’t feel as good.
The sore arms were bad. Glad the pain only hung around for a day or so!
Yay for boosters and tacos!
I’m sorry that long run sucked. It’s so frustrating when they don’t work out.
Any thoughts on your new shoes?
I’m going to go back to my Endorphin Speeds I think. I do love those shoes, but I feel like they give me an advantage. I’d rather be surprised on race day and slower on my training runs.