Workouts this week: June 19-25

Getting a ride home from a run. This was the weather all week.

The weather was bad all week, so the runs are a little unstructured. I was lucky to get miles in. I did get some speed work in, so hopefully I'm not too far off plan.

Monday: Off
I took Friday off and still made mileage, but I took Monday off too. I was tired, it was rainy. I couldn't lift weights because my arms were still sore from climbing. So I stayed home and did nothing. I wish I had accomplished more (but rest days are important).

Tuesday: Speed work inside
It was pouring today, so we did speed work at the track (separate post).

Wednesday: trail run
Went to my default trails for a run today.

Thursday: rainy run
Matt did a repeat of his #mymile today. I ran to the track to run with him. Only it was super rainy. I ran to the track, ran a mile and got a ride home.

Saw this giant chicken on my run. ?

Friday: weights + speed
I really didn't want to go to BodyPump today. But I figure weights are good for me. So I went. And Petey was our sub. (I think she is so hilarious! She likes to say DO IT AGAIN in her best jersey accent. Her commands almost sound like a drill sergeant but her tone is positive). And because she hasn't taught since 2016, she only do a 45 minute class. Which was FINE with me!! The class was good. Yay Petey. (She told me to try sweet potatoes with peanut butter. I did. Not the tastiest, but edible and probably great post workout.)

Then I did speed work. This was a bad idea. I had wanted to run 2 miles close to race pace, or as fast as I could. (I did 14:22 a few weeks ago). Today I had to WORK to get 2 miles in 14:56. 7:37 and 7:18. I was defaulting to 60 second laps, which made me work at the end.

And I'm not sure if was the abbreviated BodyPump or running after, but my quads weren't sore like they usually are after BodyPump.

Vent: There's a girl that comes to BodyPump. (I honestly wonder if she's one of those exercise addicted people that work out for hours like it's an eating disorder). She's tiny. She always 1) sets up in the back by the mirror and faces the window (not the instructor), 2) does 3x the weight the instructor says, and 3) does her own workout. If we're doing abs, she's got weight on her feet and is doing abs plus flutter kicks. She's always adding something to make it harder, or doing something completely different. It's distracting. At today's BodyPump, she came in five minutes late. And then asked why the class was only 45 minutes (the instructor said at the beginning of the class, she missed it). Then she complained to the instructor because she wanted a 60 minute class. !!

The weight room is downstairs. She should just do her own weight workout in the weight room because clearly she's doing her own thing. Don't be this girl. Do the workout (or try to), don't be distracting and don't complain (when you were late!) 

Saturday: Rainy run
The plan was to get up and run hills. It wasn't supposed to rain until 9 a.m. or so. Matt was going to run with the Athens Road Runners. His alarm went off at 5 something. Only he didn't get up. I got up around 6:30 a.m. and started getting ready to go. Only Matt wanted to come. We got to the IM Fields and it started pouring. It wasn't 8 a.m. so the forecast was off. We waited about 20 minutes in the car so it was only lightly raining and then went for a run. I tried to avoid the muddy parts of the trail. Most of the trail is gravel so not too bad. I had to go extra slow on the bridges to keep from falling.

I did 4 hill repeats. At as good of a pace as I could muster. Not 5k pace. It was a muddy trail. Then I did 1/2 of a repeat to make mileage. Two cool down miles and it was a very SLOW run. (A lesson in running slow).

Saw this turtle on my run. 

Sunday: Easy run + yoga
I skipped my long run this week. I wasn't feeling up to it. After last week's 9 miler my knee was feeling funny (not bad yet, but worrisome enough for me to cut back this week.) So I ran 5.5 miles on the road. I ran on streets near my house and turned back at 2.75. I was pretty close to mileage for the week, and didn't have more than 6 in me. This was an easy run. The first mile breezed by. Mile 3 wore we down a little and then it was easy and I even survived the stupid hill near my house that I hate.

I went to yoga that evening. Oddly, there was no one to check us to in to the class. And no music, since they never unlocked the cabinet. I didn't miss the music though. It was nice. The class was focused on hips. I learned a cool bind variation of pigeon pose. This was the class I needed.

And Garmin has this 100,000 step challenge. I ended up walking a mile around the indoor track to make 100,000 steps for the week.

Days running: 6 (no long run, all speed or middle distance)
Miles run: 27.55 (I dialed back from 30 miles on purpose).
Miles walked: 2

Things not seen on a run: crazy naked man that the police apprehended during my Wednesday run. saw the cop cars AND his clothes but thankfully not him.
I've had some interesting runs lately: wasps, raccoons, turtles, commercial shoots.

Cook's trail: Racoon edition

I’m three for three with Sunday morning trail run adventures:
1) wasps
2) getting lost
3) today

The run started off normal enough. Matt and I went to Cook’s trail (current favorite trail because it’s long, flat and pretty. And I’d rather do my long runs on trails, than on the road. Feel like it’s better for my knees.) We get there good and early, and start to run at 7:44 a.m.

It’s not too muddy (it is a little muddy). Matt sees a deer. I don’t see it. We run to the halfway point. 4 miles. I get water. Matt runs while I get water.

We start back. My goal is 10 minute miles (this is a slow run for mileage.) We’re right on pace.

We get back to the car. I run some extra to get to eight miles. Matt stops. He’s done. My goal is nine today, so I head back for another mile. I give Matt the car keys so he can get water and snacks.

I’ve got my headphones in. I got bored around mile 6 or so. And I’m not even a 1/10th of the mile in when I hear noise. It’s digging and grunting, maybe some hissing. I look to the right and see a large raccoon.

AND this week, this story about a rabid raccoon biting a trail runner went viral. Several different people shared it on Facebook.

Not the raccoon I saw. They're not actually CUTE in person. 

So I see a large raccoon, a few feet from me and FREAK OUT.

1. I scream loudly. (I’m sure Matt can hear me.)
2. I sprint away. Pace: 6:20 mile. (which is not bad for having already run 8 miles)

I get at least a quarter mile before I decide it’s not following me (I decide I can probably out run a raccoon). I run .75 mile before I turn around to come back. I grab a stick and call Matt. (I’m hoping he hears his phone since he didn’t run with it.) He doesn’t answer.

I try to text him. Only my phone is covered in sweat. My hands are covered in sweat and there’s nothing to wipe my hands on because my clothes are covered in sweat.

So I try to call him again, only I hit facetime with my sweaty fingers. And the phone doesn’t want to facetime him, so an error message pops up. So it won’t call him.

At this point, I’m considering walking the three miles to Sandy Creek Park and have him pick me up there. I’m not walking past that murderous raccoon again. Is there another trail that goes elsewhere and I can meet him?

I tell Siri to call Matt and she actually calls the right Matt (yay!). I over emote how scared I am of this clearly rabid raccoon. He tells me he’ll walk back to where I am. I start walking, knowing that I’m quite a distance from the raccoon.

And I don’t want the raccoon to attack Matt. We don’t have time for rabies shots.

Matt calls me. Only to hang up. I try to call him back. Only to see him in the distance. He’s also carrying a stick. I think he’s amused that I’m carrying a big stick.

I was worried the raccoon got him. But he didn’t even see the raccoon.

If it ran off when I screamed, that’s a good sign (it’s not rabid.)

So I tentatively walk back, keeping my eye out for where I saw it. I don’t see another trace of it.

Matt actually calls for the raccoon—he wants to see it. I don’t! He keeps trying to tell me that raccoons are out in the daylight, and grunt and dig—this is normal.

But I barely got a glance at the raccoon (I wasn’t wearing my glasses and I glanced so quickly). It was probably two raccoons getting it on. Because of how big it was (two) and all the grunting?

So I survived. No one got rabies. I learned that I can sprint after an 8 mile run. And that raccoons scare the bejeezus out of me. It was yet another Sunday trail run adventure.