Mixed Bag of Complaints :(

I think this is the part of the season where I get all tired of running and start looking forward to getting back to my normal life, where I can go home after work and not work out. (If you haven't noticed...my blog entries have been kind of complainy lately.) I guess this is sort of ironic though, because my "normal life" pretty much is training for or running a marathon, since I have been doing that from January to the end of October for the past 3 years.

So I was actually pretty disappointed when I had to miss another gruelling workout on Tuesday because I was working late. This one was supposed to be a test, doing mile repeats. I would have loved to see how fast I could go on the miles, (improvement always makes me feel happy about running again) but it just wasn't in the cards.

So yesterday, I talked Bill into running with me. We didn't go out until 7:30, so it was nice and cool(er then it has been), and we ran right along the Hudson, which was nice.

But I have noticed lately, that my calves have been super tight. And not just when I'm running, but all the time. My shins are a little achey too, which is not good. My calves were so tight last night that when we turned around to head back (it was dark! I hate how it gets dark out so early now!) I had to stop and stretch them out.

I don't like feeling so sore all the time, especially since I haven't been feeling like I've been getting a lot out of running lately. To be fair, I don't feel like I've been putting a lot into it either.

I am also kind of freaking out because I have no idea when I am going to get all of my mileage in, since I am going on vacation and am going to be missing an entire week of practice (which includes 2 long runs.) I know, I know, run on the beach. But seriously, I think I need a vacation from working out too. It has been a long time since I've had a "real" vacation that doesn't include working or travelling to a marathon, so I kind of want to put running on hiatus while I am at the beach.

So, this weekend I will be trying to get in my 18 miler, while most of my group is doing an 8-10 miler. And then I think I am going to do another long run on the Friday before I leave for vacation, although that sounds pretty stressful.

I've worked too hard this season to not PR San Francisco, but with my training going as it's going I just don't know. :(

Frustration Workout

I HATE it when I feel like I have a bad run.

Yesterday, Bill and I went for a run along the Hudson. It was just an easy, 30 minute run. I don't know what it was. I was so out of breath the whole time and I really felt like I was working hard. I think that some of this was because we were going a little faster than what I have been running lately with my group, but it couldn't have been JUST that.

I was just so frustrated because when I feel like I am ONLY running for a short time or distance, the whole time I am thinking in my head that it should be easy and I should be able to do it. But my legs just felt heavy, and I just felt tired. It's like I know that I can do better and I can't figure out why I feel so crappy.

At any rate, I am in London again for the whole week...which means that I am missing my group workout tonight. It's too bad because tonight we are learning about Effort Levels. I have never done anything like this before, so I am curious to know how they work. I am really going to have to make an effort to run this week. I have a 9-miler at the end of the week, and if I slack I know I am going to feel it. Right now though, I can't think about it because I am sooooooo jet-lagged. :)