The Rosy Wanderer

This was part of one of the most awful weeks of my life. On Friday 10/28, my little sister, Shadow, passed away unexpectedly when she was getting her teeth cleaned. That was in the midst of Churchill having strokes, from which he passed away on 11/2. I’m absolutely heartbroken.

This week also concluded with my first Mock Dopey. At least it gave me a good amount of time to run my blues away…except I’m still very sad. So here are the details for October 29 – November 6; training week 19.

Monday

I didn’t do much besides work and be with Churchill.

Tuesday

Today was my tempo run. Churchill fell asleep on the couch, so I went off for my 3-mile run and then worked on my computer next to him for the rest of the day. The run helped clear my head a little bit, but I really wanted to get back to him.

 Wednesday

This was a terrible day. I did not do any exercises since Churchill had another stroke after going outside at 4:45 am. I made an appointment at the vet, and unfortunately, had to make the decision to put him down this day. I didn’t think it would be this fast, but he was really hurting and having strokes more often. I miss him so much. I held him almost the whole day, and I wouldn’t have had his last day any other way. I love you and miss you so much, Churchill. You are my best boy.

Thursday

Today was the start of my first Mock Dopey. My very grateful that I had so much running ahead of me. Today I did my normal 30-45 minute run, but I cried a lot. It helped me to get out and run, but I was really sad.

Friday

Today I had 5 miles scheduled. I did a run/walk combination but took it really slow. I did 15:30 intervals which got me around a 13:30 pace for the whole 5 miles. again, it was good for me to get out. Running is really a positive addition to my life, and it helps in a number of different ways.

Saturday

Day 3 of Mock Dopey had me at 10 miles. Coach recommends walking this, so I was back and forth between whether to listen to him or to do a slow run/walk like I did yesterday. Once I got started, power walking was feeling really good, so I just kept going with it. In the end, I finished with a 14:02 pace just walking, which made me very happy. This keeps me well ahead of the balloon ladies at that point!

My focus was on recovery when I got home, so I did a lot of massaging with my Hyperice massage gun. I was very nervous about the marathon tomorrow. Eventually, I left to go to Raleigh. I went to Mellow Mushroom for pizza as a pre-race dinner then to my Airbnb for the night. I was very, very nervous…

Sunday

Of all of the races I’ve signed up for, I’ve never been so scared or nervous for a race. The City of Oaks Marathon takes place in Raleigh, NC. You can read a full race recap here. I won’t go into too many details on this page, but I did finish! Even though it was hot and humid conditions, I even finished under the 6-hour limit by just a couple of minutes. It was a rough day, but I got it done! Finished my first Mock Dopey, and I couldn’t be happier.

Next week is a recovery week except that I have the Charlotte Marathon relay planned. It will make for a fun day. This week was one of the hardest of my life, and I am glad I had some running goals to move me forward and keep me going. I love you so much, Churchill.