Getting Funkified, and not in a good way...

For absolutely no reason that I can pinpoint, I am stuck in a ridiculous funk. Everything I'm about to say, I recognize, is an excuse. I know better than to let excuses run my life but here I am - writing them all down to try to banish them from my life.

Last Wednesday (thankfully after my 4 mile run in the morning) I was struck down with a miserable cold. Thursday I didn't go to spin class - I was a snotty miserable mess. I needed rest. Friday was a scheduled rest day anyway and I took it off work because I was still pretty miserable and the kids were snotty so I couldn't send them to my regular sitter anyway. The weekend was incredibly lazy with the exception of our long run on Saturday. I literally did next to nothing except lounge around, eat, nap, and hang out with my family. Saturday afternoon the temps got up in the low 40s and the sun was out in the afternoon - Joe and I ran my first 10k - finishing in about 64 minutes and some change. It felt good - I wasn't pushing the pace and my legs never hurt. Sunday I my knees were sore but shins were fine. I got up Monday to return to the bitter cold early morning hours (God how I hate the time change that stole my morning sunlight!!!) for my regularly scheduled run. I pushed the pace and finished my 4 miles with my best time to date (can't recall the time but the pace was 10:13min/mi) and I felt fantastic! The fog of illness seemed to have lifted and I was fully mentally READY to go back to work after 4 days in a row off. However, in my first appointment of the day, I crouched down to greet a patient and I couldn't bend my left knee normally. There wasn't pain, but I believe I had significant effusion. Looking down at my knee from above, I saw "pooches" of tissue sticking out to the left and right of my patellar tendon that felt fluid-y. Let's just say if it were a dog knee I would have called it significant effusion. I took some NSAIDs and basically worried all day. Thankfully my PT appointment was the next day. By that time, it was 90% resolved. The physical therapist examined me and said it was probably just wear and tear, which doesn't surprise me at all. Appropriately enough, this week is a rest week for me with both the mileage and the cross training significantly reduced, so while I was a little nervous about going on to my next run, I was glad to know that my body seemed to be following the plan - showing signs of excessive wear and tear just when the plan calls for rest. The PT also commented that the plan seems to be just right for me and my preparation has been adequate.

Then it snowed six inches Tuesday night into Wednesday. My cold dark morning was spent sleeping in because... Why the hell not? My mom came over to watch the kids (SNOW DAY!) which meant I didn't have to leave an hour earlier than usual to drive them to my dad's in the bad weather. I rolled out of bed at 7:45 - a full 2 hours later than usual, showered and headed out. Another fatal mistake - stopped at McDonald's. See it's not just my training that I'm completely blowing, it's my nutrition as well. How is it that you can know something is SO BAD FOR YOU and yet you absolutely positively cannot stop doing it? It's no wonder I continue to feel like crap, because I'm feeding my body absolute garbage this week. By the time I got to work Wednesday my sinuses were throbbing and it felt like my cold was making a full on resurgence. I took some Dayquil to get through what turned out to be a really slow day at work and went to bed early. I slept in again today. I had plans to go to spin class even though my schedule said no cross training this week. I had skipped a run, and I figured the low impact spin class would be just the ticket for my pissed off knee. No such luck - got a text this morning that my daughter's fundraiser candy pick up was tonight right in the middle of spin class. Daddy was busy getting a much needed hair cut with Cami. Brady and I retrieved the candy and of course ate far too much of it.

So now I sit in bed hoping that getting all this crap off my chest might help me to start working it out of my mind and my body. I've got 5 weeks behind me and 6 ahead until the half. Is this just a mid-season slump???

Breaking New Ground!

That's me and my honey on a five mile run today!! Hang on though, let me go back and catch us up.

The last time I posted was the first time I ran outside since the fall. My pace has improved significantly with the adjustments to my mechanics and I was so stoked to get away from the treadmill. Surprisingly, I haven't had to get back on the treadmill since then. The cold set back in but I discovered that I actually kind of like running in the cold!

To be fair, that day was my coldest run ever. It gets quite a lot colder around here, but blessedly it's nearing spring. I've changed up my routine a bit to include runs on Mondays and Wednesdays before work, physical therapy on Tuesday, and spin class with my PT strength exercises on Thursday. Rest Friday and a long run over the weekend. I've been following a Hal Higdon half marathon training plan that is ramping up my mileage every couple of weeks.

I had to back off last week when my shins were hurting a bit but this week they've been quiet and I followed the plan all the way to five miles! Actually, I had a bit of a false start with Runkeeper and had an additional 0.3 miles logged separately at the start so actually today's run was closer to 5.4 miles. Joe came along with me and we did intervals of 2:15 runs with 30 second walk breaks. It was nice to have someone to talk to and the run went by really quickly. I was surprised to note that after the first couple of miles (which felt oddly difficult) I was able to carry on a normal conversation with him without panting or having to pause. I've finally found that mythical place where I can talk to someone while I'm running!! Coming back into our neighborhood I was still feeling plenty darn good. It's funny because just a couple of weeks ago after running 3 miles on the treadmill at physical therapy I blustered in exasperation to my physical therapist, "WHEN IS THIS GOING TO START GETTING EASIER??"

Good news: I didn't have to wait long!

Ten days ago after a 3 mile run I was literally having that panic moment. You know the one: "Oh my God what did I get myself into?? I can barely run three miles, how the HELL am I going to run 13???" I'm sure that one will pop up again, but for now I feel like I've shut it down. For the moment.

In other news, beyond the half marathon in May, Joe and I are taking our first trip together without the kids to the Florida Gulf Coast in June. I. Cannot. Wait.

For real - I'll be able to sit on the beach and read without having to worry about keeping an eye on both of my small children simultaneously! Beyond that, we have sent the deposit on our beach house in Myrtle Beach this year for August! We are going to stay in the same house as last year with all the same group. I'm looking forward to more early morning work outs beneath the house as well as some long runs on the beach in both places!  I'm strongly considering taking a stab at 80 Day Obsession after seeing the how happy my Beachbody family is with the program. My biggest hang up there is the nutrition. I'm terrible at eating correctly :( I think getting my nutrition under control would help me go from pudgy-skinny to toned, though.

I'm still thoroughly enjoying my job and the additional hours I've gained to spend with the kids - they are taking swim lessons and both starting soccer this spring!

We are about to get very busy. Thanks for sharing in the journey!