The Rosy Wanderer

The weeks are just flying by! We are four weeks into 2023 Dopey training, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m sticking to my schedule and doing what I’m supposed to do, but, like last week, I don’t feel confident at all.

Monday

Today was a pretty lazy day. I only did a 10-minute core workout, which is, unfortunately, an improvement on my Monday workout session. I’m struggling to feel confident, and I know the two things that would help would be strength training and losing weight. Strength training should help lose weight, so why don’t I prioritize it? Ugh!

On a fun note, I got my new Macbook Air M2 today! I had a Macbook Pro 2011, and I had been waiting the last few years to get a new Macbook. My old one is still a good computer (I love Mac quality), but I couldn’t really upgrade the OS anymore. Not a big deal because most of what I do is web-based, but I also wanted a new computer. The difference in 11 years of technology is just outstanding! Just look at the screen and the size. I’m quite excited!

Tuesday

Tuesday is tempo day, and I’m focusing on trying to PR the Around the Crown 10K in just over a month. Overall, my total pace was 11:58/mile, which includes a 30/30 warm-up and cool-down. I did 2.16 miles at 90/30, but it was only at a 10:53 pace. According to my MM pace, I should do a 10K at 10:19/mile, but I’m not sure how to do this. I felt like I was sprinting to do what I did. I got in a total of 3.5 miles, but I was really frustrated.

Wednesday

Just a small, slow walk. I was feeling sluggish, so it only ended up at 1.89 miles at a 16-minute pace. Boo.

Thursday

Thursday’s training was drill training. My cadence drills again ranged from 41-45 or so. I feel like I should be able to do more, so I must be missing something from this exercise. Overall, I did 3 miles in about 44 minutes. My overall pace was 14:37/mile because I was really slow on the warm-up. I hate that I keep saying that “I wasn’t feeling it” because I do want to get out there. I’m just so, so sluggish. Despite being slow going, I did do squats, lunges, and calf raises when I finished, so got in a little strength training.

Friday

I did a short 10-minute pilates workout to help my core. Friday night I was so tired and skipped an event at my church and went to bed before 8 pm.

Saturday

Despite an early bedtime and the dogs sleeping all night, I didn’t feel well when I work up Saturday morning. I was planning to do my speedwork on Saturday so I didn’t have to get it in before helping in the nursery tomorrow. Based on how I felt, I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t much in the mood for walking let alone speedwork. The pups and I had a slow morning, and I hoped I would feel better by the afternoon.

Sure enough, I didn’t feel so bad later and did the long bike ride I planned for Sunday that afternoon. I took my bike to the greenway for some shade and to ride without stressing about cars. When it’s really humid out, a bike is nice because it creates an automatic breeze.

Because it was so hot and humid, I brought a water bottle with a Nuun sport tab. Part of the issues I have with hydration have to be related to electrolytes. Despite the Salt Tab label listing it includes all 5 electrolytes, my running group said you still have to drink electrolytes; Salt Sticks are not a substitution.

I was about 4 miles into my ride when I stopped to take a drink. I didn’t want to slow my ride, so I went to pause my watch and I stopped the workout instead! The agony! Has anyone done this? I just hate it because now the workout will look shorter, and you wonder if you should just redo it. Sigh. I told myself that is dumb and to get over it. Therefore, by the end, I did a 3.77 mile and 7.22 mile bike ride back to back. Not quite 11 miles, but I could have done 11 miles if it was showing on my watch. The dumb things technology makes you do…

Pelotonia is in two weekends! I’m really excited to do this event and am feeling comfortable that I will be able to complete the 20-mile ride. My fundraising goal is complete, but if you’re interested in helping support cancer research, please feel free to donate here. Any size donation is meaningful!

Sunday

Speed workout day was finally here. I tried going to bed earlier and planned on waking at 4 am, but I was still so tired. It was 4:45 am before I woke up and finally got out the door around 5:30 am. I forced myself to eat a Honey Stinger waffle and brought a Ucann gel with me. I wasn’t sure I was going to use it, but I probably should to practice and because it would total 8 miles when I finished.

The dew point was around 67 degrees. I don’t know a lot about the dew point, but it has been mentioned in several running blogs and podcasts since it relates temperature to humidity. All I knew was that I just needed to do the workout. I walked a lot of my warm-up and then busted the 800-meter speed portions. Unfortunately, while I thought I was sprinting (which you shouldn’t do), I didn’t meet my goal times. My 800-meter time should be 5:05, which I only surprassed on my fifth round. All my other times were higher, which is very upsetting.

But survive I did. That was my second time completing a speed workout, and I can see how this can help you improve. I would still like to find a track to use, but this setup is working okay.

Takeaways

This was not a great week, but I did the workouts I needed to. I hope to start feeling better so I can embrace these workouts more and add in more strength/flexibility exercises. Next week, I need to watch my diet and eat more energy-rich foods. It’s still going to be hot, and next weekend has a 16-mile run on the calendar. Whew!