This Grrrl Runs: Happy Hump Day

I've had a rough up-&-down week. Saturday I did a practice 10-K to prepare for this weekend's race. Coty & I had a nice run, 8-minute running intervals with 1-minute walk breaks and a couple of long walk / water stops. I don't think we've gone that far in months! So that was great, but it left me so wiped out I was incapable to doing anything else the rest of the day. Sunday I got my son to walk the dog for me and got some much-needed yard work done.

So, great weekend, right? Then Monday... I just could NOT stop noshing, grazed all afternoon and evening. But I got a really nice, long walk in with the dog. Didn't feel up to any running, I think the 10K on Saturday really wore me out. I decided that was OK since normally the last week of training before a big race, you really want to take it easy. Tuesday (coincidence?) I was completely lethargic, unmotivated, exhausted all day. It was like I hadn't slept at all the night before. By the end of the work day, I just prayed Justin had already taken care of the dog because I was ready to go to bed and it was only 5:30pm! The dog was relaxed & happy, already taken care of, so no exercise for me. I just helped make dinner, and couched all night.

Thank goodness! Today I woke up feeling much, MUCH better! Motivation was restored, I felt rested and ready to take on tonight's training run. On tap for tonight was a Catch The Wave group practice run of the Lake Run Inner Loop - 4.37-mile route we'll race on May 7. Tonight's plan was 9-minute intervals with 1-minute walk breaks. Coty went with me and we had a terrific time!

The best part: I conquered The Hill. The Lake Run route goes out the first mile, then makes a lollipop and you come back for the end of the race along the same mile. Heading out, you go uphill a bit, then a long, not-too-steep decline. The whole route is lots of rolling hills, most quicker than that, but coming back on the last mile going UP that long slow incline is a real challenge. The only saving grace is that there is a water stop at that one-mile-to-go marker. I've run this route countless times over the past several years, and each time I spend 5 minutes swearing, cussing like a sailor, cursing the man who designed that road and all his children. NOT TODAY. Coty needed some water, and they did have a water stop set up for the practice run tonight, so we took a longish break there and she had two cups of water. I told Coty it was time to run another interval and we weren't going to stop till our 9 minutes were up. We headed out fresh and mentally ready for that long incline. That couple of minutes at the water stop really made a difference, because that interval was one of the best, most relaxed intervals we ran on the course today - 9 minutes took us to the top of the hill plus another 50 yards or so, and we took a short walk break and finished the remaining 1/4-mile strong.