Monday, April 20, 2009

Best laid plans: adjust as needed

Well, I was up on Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. But I was awake with an allergy-stricken 3 year old & not to go running.

Poor Luke's allergies were off the charts this weekend & he was awake in the middle of the night (& I was too, of course) 3 different times with itchy, swollen, matted shut eyes & a stuffy/runny nose.

There was no way I was able to wake up & run at 6 a.m. I did run, though it wasn't until 10:30.

I got in my 10 miler, but it was rough. I tried a new route, toward a neighboring town. I thought it would be neat to run to the river, which was about 3 miles away. Turns out it was shadeless, boring, & hot. I started to struggle at mile 4. I walked a lot after mile 6. I finished 10 miles in 2 hours & 10 minutes. Not my best long run, by a long shot.

Part of the problem really is that I just haven't been able to train adequately. I'll have one good week, then I'll have a week when I run once. It's been like that since February, back & forth, good week/bad week/good week/bad week. I haven't noticed the lack of consistency on my 5 miles runs, or even the 8 mile run I did a couple weeks ago.

But 10 miles is a distance that deserves a hefty amount of respect. And I was sure taught that lesson on Saturday.

I also learned that I need to begin to find a way to work up to a consistent weekly cumulative distance of 20 miles if I want to run the marathon next April. Base training is going to be very important. And it needs to start ASAP.

On the family front--Sophie is still feeling well, & hasn't had any adverse reactions to her meds. Mark's appointment with the cardiologist last Wednesday was OK--basically he needs to eat right, exercise, take his statin meds & an aspirin every day, & the rest is up to God. We are going to have some tests run to see what kind of build up he has, but the doctor said a 30% blocked artery can cause a heart attack just as frequently (or more so) as an 80% blocked artery. Luke is better, thanks to the OTC eye drops the doctor told me about.

I'm praying for an uneventful, productive week. Is that too much for a girl to ask?

9 comments:

Mary said...

Hey, you rock on doing the run at all! And give yourself a break on your time and walking -- lack of sleep is probably the issue more than lack of training.

debby said...

Uneventful, Laura--that's my favorite! A bit of heaven here on earth.

You really are one of my main inspirations to challenge myself in exercising. Thank you!

Tish said...

Not too much to ask, Laura. You deserve it. Good going on getting your 10 miles in. Better late than never. You can do this.

Doc Manette said...

Cheers to an uneventful week (clinks your water bottle)!

So glad you were able to get your 10 miler in. And with little sleep the night before!

Lori G. said...

Dang, girl, 10 miles! Whoo whoo!

You deserve the best! You are committed and I know you'll figure out a way. :-)

Annimal said...

Hey, I just happen to work in an allergy office. Strongly recommend (if you haven't), taking yourself and your kid to an allergist and get tested to find out exactly what allergies you have and best recommendations for treatment. We test as young as 6 months.
There are a lot of really good antihistamines over-the-counter. Make sure you find pediatric dosing.
Children's claritin, zyrtec (5mg), and of course keeping the window shut and hepa-filter air cleaner helps. change out pillows/bedding for dust mite control and check showers/toilets for mold.
any questions?

Helen said...

You did the run! You said you would and even better you didn't let something that could have been an excuse NOT to do it stop you!! Yay! :-) Big Sur Marathon, here you come... ;-)

MCM Mama said...

Great job getting out there! Just try to get back in the habit of running more regularly, don't worry about the actual amount you do each time yet. Once you get used to making time to run a certain number of times a week, adding mileage will come easier.

Cindy said...

way to go on the ten miles!!!! Poor Luke. I hope he gets better. I admire your determination on the running. I jogged a teeny bit on my walk today but now my back is sore but at least I got some exercise on my lunch hour! I think it is great that you went out and did after being up with Luke and all. I hope you at least get a less eventful week...