I’ve been diligently using a To-Do list since about December. For the most part, it’s been very helpful. The one downside is that if I forget to write down a task in the list, I’ll forget about it. So, when I forget to write down an item to write up a February Monthly Wrap-Up blog post, I end up with a review of February posted on March 10. Oops.
Every year at work, they offer us a biometric screening. Not only is it free, but they give you a few hundred dollars to spend on medical expenses if you do it, so it’s kind of a no-brainer. They take a blood sample to check your blood glucose and cholesterol, they weight you, measure your height (Yes, I’m still 5′ 8″), and check your blood pressure. I had it done on Thursday. I got my numbers, and I’m going to live. There were no surprises. Everything was normal, except my BMI was just a hair over the limit on that day, and my good cholesterol was a little low. They told me to fix that with more aerobic exercise. I somehow managed to keep a straight face when they told me that. I didn’t bother to mention that I had run 36 miles the previous week and was on track to run at least that many miles this week. Also, I checked my numbers from last year, and my good cholesterol has gone up since then, so there’s that.
As far as the running goes, those miles may have caught up to me, but I managed to finish fairly strong anyway.
Weight Check: 164.6, up exactly 1 pound since last week. Yeah, this was one of those weeks where I feel lucky to have only gained one pound. I was tired all week for some reason, and so I drank lots of Mountain Dew. Sadly, since we lost an hour this weekend, I see more Mountain Dew in my future this week. Stupid time change.
| Day | Total Miles |
|---|---|
| Monday | 7.11 |
| Tuesday | 6.26 |
| Wednesday | 5.26 |
| Thursday | 5.61 |
| Saturday | 12.11 |
Total: 36.35 miles
The week got off to a decent start. I did get over 7 miles, although I only had time for an extra .11. I managed to speed up on each mile, which is kind of nice. Even better, my legs felt OK.
I’m noticing a pattern with my Tuesday runs. My legs tend to be more tired than usual. This week was no exception. Still, I rallied at the end and got up to 6.26.
I also noticed after this run that my mileage for 2017 was 294.3. I was hoping to get over 5 on the treadmill on Wednesday, but 5.7 seemed a little out of reach. (For my mind, anyway, I’m pretty sure my legs would have been OK.) And with Thursday being a planned rest day, I figured I’d be stuck at just under 300 for the year for almost 2 days.
Anyway, on Wednesday, I did indeed get on the treadmill, it was indeed mentally excruciating, and I did indeed get over 5, but it left me at 299.5. Annoying, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
At this point in the week, I wasn’t sure how many miles I’d do on my long run. I kind of wanted to get in a 13.1 mile long run before my race, but I also didn’t want to kill my legs to do it. So I figured I’d see how I felt on Friday, then make the decision.
Sure enough, around the 2nd mile of my Friday run, my legs started to feel a little tired. I decided to stay under 6 on this run, and do maybe a little bit over 12 on my long run. What’s strange is that my legs may have been tired on Friday, but they seemed to be moving at a pretty good pace. Go figure. On the plus side, it did put me over 300 miles for the year, and also put me over my total mileage for 2011 of 301.0 miles. Of course, at this point in my running career, if I can’t get to 301 miles in an entire year, something has gone horribly wrong. But passing that mark on March 10 is kind of cool.
Saturday I made the trip to Freedom Park, and ran a fairly uneventful 12.11 miles. I was curious if that’s the longest distance I’d run leading up to a half marathon, since I usually top out right around 12, but apparently I hit 12.16 on a run just before the Charleston Half Marathon. That one went pretty well. Also, I kept my pace very steady from Mile 2 to Mile 11, outside of the mile where I stopped for Gu and water.
Next week, I taper, then I race on Sunday. I think I’m ready, and *knock on wood* my ankle hasn’t been bothering me at all. It should come as no surprise that my next weekly wrap-up will most likely be delayed.