Monday, June 22, 2020

Week 7: Training for the Hawk 50


Monday:  Rest day + rehab exercises.  I had to cancel my chiro appointment because I was still covered in welts/red rash.  I still didn't feel like it was poison ivy as it didn't itch or ooze.  I sent pictures to my chiro and she said let's cancel until we figure out what it is.  I didn't feel like I needed to go to the DR since it didn't itch, but I did do some asking around of ultra friends and once again, I guess it's pretty common to get this kind of rash during the hotter part of the year.  I don't know why it hasn't bothered me till now (I've been running in the KS heat and humidity since 2009), but oh well.  If it gets worse I will be going to the DR, but for now I am just going to watch it and get some cream and some allergy meds to take.  


Tuesday:  4 miles.  I know i have said this before, but boy does my brain and body need this lower mileage start to the week.  Took boom since it was manageable outside temperature and humidity wise. Of course the killdeers all have their nests right now so they were ALL out over the roads trying to entice our dogs, making much pulling and gnashing of teeth.  If you don't know what a killdeer bird is, find a video and watch it.  They are SUPER annoying and i don't know how they have evolved as a species.  They basically lay their eggs on the ground and then have to defend them by acting like they are dying away from the nest so you are drawn away from the babies.   They are great at doing pitiful acts of being hurt and dying and the dogs eat it up.  My stomach also revolted not once but twice, but I did drink 2 beers the night before, and I am not sorry because they were amazing.  If you can get Shiner Sea Salt and Lime GET IT NOW!  It is going to be my summer jam this year for sure.  


Wednesday: Had to take stella ella on the 6 miler no matter what.  Humidity was in the high 80s and the temp was in the low 90s, but there was a cool breeze blowing.  Apparently she howled like a banshee the entire time we were gone Tuesday, waking the entire family.  I really do not want to run with both her and boom as they get competitive and try to kill each other to be in the lead, plus I let Stella be loose most of the run as she stays right with me, but boomy still need work in that department.  We stopped for two potty stops for me (dang wonderful summer beers) and several water stops for her.  If the sun would just stay low for just another hour, we would be golden. No calf or Achilles or hammy pain. Knocking on a HUGE piece of wood that this continues.  


Thursday:  8 miles.  I was kind of dreading this run just because I have been SO tired lately, but we got up and got it done and honestly we both had so much on our minds that we just talked the miles away.  Please do keep my running buddy Rockin Robin in your thoughts and prayers.  Her brother in law is missing under very strange circumstances and we are all sending prayers up that he is found safe and sound.  

Friday:  Rest + Rehab. Kind of slacked of my desire to log and get my exercises done so trying to be better. I know one or two days missed isn't big but I want to keep up at least 6 days a week with 2 days of just exercises.  I also got to finally go to Target!  My hubby had been the one doing all of the outside shopping to protect Andrew and I but we felt like as long as we took lots of precautions, that we could venture out and be part of the real world once again.  I was kind of shocked that they only had one cashier open and that the self service was booming (are they cleaning anything between people ????).  Granted there weren't a TON of people there like normal but there were a fair amount and the line to the one register was pretty dang long.  People were for the most part doing a great job of distancing themselves and there was hand sanitizer everywhere.  Most of the shelves however were pretty bare, even the toy aisle where my kiddo wanted to purchase some Legos.  I knew things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies were low but Legos????  We did wear our masks as well as we are trying lots of different styles to see what works for when Andrew hopefully goes back to school.  So far our Boco masks are the favorite!


Saturday:  20 miles.  The weather played tricks on us.  According to every weather man and EVERY weather app, we were suppose to get rain all day Friday, all Friday night, and all day Saturday.  We decided to adjust our times of running since we were worried about morning storms.  Instead of our usual 5 am start time, we decided a 6 am would be okay as it would be cloudy/rainy and lower temps.  We also decided to forgo trails due to bad muddy conditions.  Sigh.  I should have know when I woke up at 3 am and it was not raining that we had made a mistake.  


Oh well, got 2 more hours of sleep before getting up and fueling, which I probably needed.  It was cool but humid and the clouds came and went pretty quickly.  Our group decided to do two 10 mile jaunts and use the houses as our aid stations.  Stella started with me, but I decided since we were in full sun to not take her back out for the rest of the run, and I am so glad we did.  It quickly heated up and seriously if it weren't for a slight breeze and an occasional cloud, I would have been in trouble.  My newly acquired heat rash came back with a vengeance, I was sweating buckets, and I kept having to ask for an additional minute of walking with our 1 minute we were already doing on that final 10.  We finally finished in 4 hours and some change and I spent much time on the porch just sitting trying to exist.  Finally got up and got my day started, but a few hours later I laid down and took a 2 hour nap. I am NOT a napper so this was big for me.  


Sunday:  10 mile and RACE DAY.  I was SO excited for Andrew to finally get back to racing season but I was not excited to do 10 post 20.  My nap the day before, as expected totally threw off my sleep and even though we were in bed by 9 pm, I was in and out of sleep until I finally got up at 10 something and took some melatonin.  Once again we were suppose to have cooler temperatures, but it was 69 with 88% humidity at 4 am, making it a hard choice on taking the dogs.  I decided to take Stella with the understanding that we may have to go back at some point and drop the dogs.  Once again, no rain, no clouds, but we have the cover of darkness for long enough to keep the dogs safe.  Post running I immediately got showered and headed to Topeka.  We had a long day of racing ahead with the first race, dues due, new rules, and new people.  We had several families come down from Tulsa as well to join us so it was extra fun!  


I could write a whole post just on this race but I will try and just summarize.  We voted to eliminate one of the heat races, so now we just do one longer heat race and one longer main.  Other than the first day, it will make things move along so much better.  Anyway, Andrew's race was third up and he had 9 cars in his field, one of the biggest fields.  Right before Andrew was suppose to go out, he had a HUGE panic attack in the car.  

Of course I was in the tower, so I was of no help and couldn't tell what was going on in the hot chute.  Apparently several parents tried to calm him down and it ended with him being pushed on the track.  He went out and raced his HEART out and got a third place.  He lead several laps and passed several cars and I couldn't be prouder.  This was his nemesis last year, as he would get behind a slower car and get stuck.  Main did not go as well, he started 3rd again and they had lots of cautions due to new rules about passing on the beginning and staying above the passing line.  


He had gotten stuck behind a slow car and several cars passed him, but he was coming back when a kid hit him and his chain came off.  The dads tried valiantly to get the chain back on in the 5 courtesy laps but they couldn't get it back on in time, so we didn't get to finish the race.  


He ended up 8th out of 9 in the points for the day, but we ended with a smile on our face and I will take it.  I think his hard work in practice is paying off and his confidence is slowly getting there.  As for the panic attack, my mom heart hurts, but we are seeing anxiety in all areas of his life and are not sure what is going on.  We are working with my BRF who is a school counselor to develop techniques to help him get through this.  I will of course keep you posted.



SO excited to have a big mileage week and be on the back side of it!  Have a great week y'all!

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