I find myself frustrated. It's a product of a combination of events that I've, mostly, had little control over. That could be why it's frustrating; a lack of control. Or, it could just be the fact that I tend to be a planner and routine kind of person, and I've been lacking any sort of consistent routine for a few weeks.
It started with a trip to Vegas, which was awesome, but I knew I wouldn't get a lot of running in those days that I was gone. On two mornings, I managed to get out on The Strip and complete a 6 miler and a 5 miler. However, I would like to note that I planned to not be getting the miles in and, therefore, concentrated on having a blast with my sister. Everything went as planned until......
I came home from Vegas sick. And I don't mean just a little, snotty cold kind of sick. Strep. Yuck. This was not planned, especially since I was supposed to be running a 50K in Arkansas the following weekend. Strep = Frustration #1. I spent most of the week just trying to rest and recover so that I'd be able to head to AR with my buddies and run the White Rock 50K. Good news! I got better and Sarah and Coleen and I met up with some other runners down in AR on Friday night. Fantastic!
So, since I'd just been pretty darn sick, I wasn't all that surprised that I was feeling pretty sluggish to start off the run. What I hadn't planned for was to have my IT band start acting up around mile 7. I dosed myself with loads of ibuprofen and kept running. In hindsight I should have listened to Sarah when she said to run to the top of the hill and then get a ride back down. That would mean only completing half, but this was supposed to be a training run for 3 Days of Syllamo and not a "real race". Guess what....I didn't listen. I kept going and around mile 22 I seriously thought about sitting down and flagging down the next car that drove by. Every step shot pain from the outside of my right knee up my entire leg. Damn! I ended up chugging along slowly until the next aid station (mile 28) where I caught a ride in for the last 5 miles.
IT band = Frustration #2
Besides the problems with the actual running portion of the weekend, I had a great time! Trail runners are some of the best and most fun people. I figured I had better take it easy the following week so that I wouldn't permanently injure myself and I stuck to indoor biking for the next few days before I headed out to Portland to see some family. Oh, and guess what! I got sick again. Nothing terribly serious, but enough that it called for more antibiotics and running wasn't really an option. Bike only.
Sick again = Frustration #3
I left for Portland on a Thursday and was feeling somewhat better. I packed running clothes because there was no way in hell that I was going to miss a chance to run with new scenery. I managed two short but VERY hilly runs during my couple days in Portland. I have a pretty fun family so I got to see and do all sorts of things from swimming with dogs, to walking along the beach in the rain. I was feeling completely re-energized and ready to hit the training hard this week but.....
Work. Darn again! Top priorities and deadlines moved up means I've been spending many hours every day in the lab with strange hours. I've definitely been able to increase my training and runs from the last two weeks, not as much as I would have liked, but it's better than nothing. Of course, this also means that there is less time for people in my life. Forever a balancing act, right?
60 hour work week = Frustration #4
Wow. So I didn't really mean for this post to be so long, but I've been so busy and venting has helped. So I guess my message to myself is that shit happens and I will just deal with it. All in all, I'm a lucky girl to have amazing people in my life to help me through life's little frustrations. :)
