Shamrock Training: Week 7

I said at the start not all weeks would be winners ... this was the opposite of a winner. Let's get to business, or lack thereof!

Run #1 was a cold one. VERY cold. Pants. Ear covers. Gloves. TWO long sleeve shirts. This is unheard of for me. Sure I got warm, but that is a given with a run, but I never felt too warm. With two long sleeved shirts on??!!! Apparently Winter decided to arrive in Oregon for a couple of days. I did this run at my mom's house and actually this run was a pretty good one. The one downside was that I left my Garmin at home. If you know me, you know I can't function without my Garmin. So I ended up download some app on my phone to use for this one run, and then had to quickly import that data into Garmin Connect so I could feel "normal" again.

Run number two for this week will be covered with this adorable photo of a little girl. How does that work? Well, run number two didn't happen, thanks to snow and slippery roads. And also my lower retainer coming un-glued on one side and an unexpected trip to the dentist to bond it back down. My opening for a run just never really happened. It was only a 3 mile one, so I'm not worried in the least about missing it. I'd rather miss it than try to run and slip on ice in the shady spots of my route.

Finally, as if missing a run wasn't a fail, this final run of the week really made sure this wasn't a successful week - at least on paper. It was soooo cold and the rain was coming down harder than it has in a long time. But once it paused I was quickly out the door - again in two long sleeved shirts, knee socks this time, the ear warmers and gloves, and then this time a hat in case it rained again. My first loop out and back was pretty alright! The weather was gorgeous, and warmed up nearly to my favorite temperature of 43 degrees. I actually ended up too hot. At the turn around I had to shed the gloves, hat and top shirt. Back out I went, but then I had to pause. I was not feeling well. I started up again, and before I got too far I realized I HAD to turn and get home. I pretty much lost feeling of my body and couldn't focus enough to be sure I wouldn't fall and get hurt. Thank you, Meniere's Disease. So this was my scheduled "easy" rest week, and this run was only supposed to be 4 miles. I got in 2.5. I'm not at all worried about it in the long run. While I could run I was doing awesome, so I'm confident I will pick right back up with this next week of increasing distances. 

With regard to the race, I am so excited that my friend and I have decided to race it together. Years of friendship and doing the same races, but we have never even started one together. She might leave me in the dust, or she might have to hold me upright, who knows!?! But I am so excited and it is helping me keep my outlook positive when I have hard runs like the one I had today. Also, I have most of my race outfit ready. One piece is coming in the mail soon, and then I will find the last one - hopefully - before I get to Portland. Things are coming together!

Countdown to Race Day: 21 days 14 hours 12 minutes