Eugene Half Training: Week 1

I only did 50% of my runs this week. Not gonna lie. And I'll give the flat out honest truth as to why!

First off, I am now just over a month away from the Eugene Half Marathon, which I have already run 3 or 4 times. So I know what I'm getting into. I know at mile 9 I'm going to be whining to myself about having to be so close that I can see and hear the finish line, yet still have 4.1 more to go. I know my leg is going to hurt on Amazon Parkway when the road is at a terrible slant and my IT band is killing me. I know I'll have the crowd cheer me on as I approach Hayward Field. I know I'll feel that track under my feet, Steve Prefontaine's track!!, and I will fly through the finish line! 

And until all of that happens, I know I have to keep training. But sometimes I just don't freaking feel like it!

Last Sunday I ran 9.3 insane miles of hills, on nearly an empty stomach and dehydrated. But I did it and I loved it!! And it wore me out. That race always does. So was I ready to jump into 4 days of running a week right after that? Eh, not really.

My first run was non-existent. I had it on my radar, but my baby getting the Croup was not part of my plan. Her health, getting her to the doctor and just being home holding her like she wanted was my top priority. Running is not THAT important to just have her needs ignored. So I skipped it. I didn't mind giving my legs a couple days off anyway.

I did get back at it for what would have been the second training run on my schedule. I was so excited to test out my new Adidas. At the Shamrock expo I found the coveted Adidas employee store pass, that gets you into the store and 50% off your purchases. Seriously, you can't just go in. You have to fill out the pass, show your ID to show that they match, and then hand over the pass when you pay. That one pass is the biggest motivator for me to do the Shamrock. I hate paying a ton of money for my running shoes, so if I can get 50% off of my brand, then heck yeah I want that!! 

I tossed on my alternate clothes from race day in case of a cold race, and I was happily out the door for a short run. Well I was soooo wrong about the weather. It ended up much warmer than it felt when I left work. By the time I got home sweat was absolutely dripping all over me. I was gross!! The run itself was already. I just eased into it and enjoyed the weather. But then an all too familiar thing happened. Why are pre-pubescent little boys total assholes? I remember doing a 10 mile run before my first half marathon and this little pipsqueak was using his phone to record me running and laughing at me and just being a dick. What the f did I ever do to him? Oh, I DID flip him off as passing - and I'm sure appropriate words went along with it. On this run I was approaching the house I dread near my turn around. Their annoying, yippy dog always comes running down and chasing me. I almost fell once as it was nipping at my feet. This time instead of the dog I got the girly boys. I legit thought one was a girl in skinny jean capris and a hoodie. But no, that was a boy. With another one. They got off their school bus and apparently I became their joke. While walking up their hill one even turned and came back to the road just to look at me running and laugh again. They kept it up until I was out of sight. WHY?? That ruined my spirits and I just wanted to be done. And I probably will avoid bus time in the future because I'm just not in the mood to have kids make me feel like a lumbering old fat lady that shouldn't be out trying to be healthy.

What would have been the 3rd run on the training plan also didn't happen. Why? I freaking didn't feel like it. I didn't want to be made fun of two days in a row. And it was snowing! Rain was mixed in and coming down ridiculously hard. I just didn't feel like dealing with that. Plus staying in let me relieve Shawn from dad duties so he could get busy in the Man Cave for a little bit. No regrets.

And finally, the 4th scheduled run, and only the 2nd that I actually did.... the long run. As opposed to Shamrock, I actually made sure I had breakfast before running and I left equipped with two bottles of water. I learn from my mistakes! The plan was to leave and go park at one of my go-to start spots, then run 2 laps through this rural area. One bottle of water came with me, the other stayed behind, so I could swap at the half way point. This worked out great! The first lap was full of so many animals. Before I started I was talking to a donkey (shown here)  and a couple horses. I was running in the reverse direction I would normally go, so everything had a new look to me. I loved seeing the cute barn (pictured here) and then deliberately ran down someone's gravel driveway to this massive farm land. Greenery, yellow flowers, purple flowers, and then the mountains dusted in snow. It was so pretty! You can also see that in this collage. Katura and I have our horses we like to look at when we do this area together, but today 2 of them were so close to the road. I actually paused the run, walked over to the fencing and had a chat. It was so quiet out there, all I could hear was the sound of them nibbling on the grass. They were nearly close enough for me to pet them. That would have been awesome. 

On the second lap I was able to finally get mentally in the zone and I was running pretty alright! And then the rain came. Seriously? By the time I finished and was back at my vehicle I was so soaked. Did I have a towel? No. Just a tiny one that I keep for emergencies that is smaller than a dish towel. --  It was a freebie at a race expo years ago, hence the small size and thinness. Lucky for me, I did this run Meniere's free. Not lucky for me was the fact that it hit hard in the car. I shouldn't have driven home, but I didn't really have options. At least it waited for my run to be done???

So that was week 1 of this very short round of race training. I think I get a day off before I am back and starting week 2. I did have a realization today about my running this year... I NEVER know how long these runs take me. I look at my Garmin while running just to know my distance so I can spend too much time doing math in my head for no reason, but when I am done I never actually pay attention. I hit stop and save and call it good. Not knowing overall paces is so freeing! I don't care about pace, so to not even care enough to look just feels awesome. Heck, after Shamrock I realized I had no idea how long it took me to run, and it didn't phase me at all. I love this!!

Race countdown: 1 month 3 days 14 hours 7 minutes