Back to our regularly scheduled programming: yes, I have been running lately. Not as much or as regularly as I’d like to, but better than what I did in January. It’s been frustrating though – it seems that as soon as I get into some semblance of a running routine, something pops up – whether it’s work, a small niggle, or an impending cold. But that’s life, right? The real problem is when I don’t have a massive goal hanging over my head, I tend to err on the side of caution and go into self-care mode.
After a satisfying race at Kaiser, a weird, intense pain on the outside of my left foot (below my ankle) popped up during my walk to work. I don’t ever recall having pain like this, though I did experience something similar when I landed weird while jumping off the bouldering wall a few years ago. Despite the pain, I managed my best week of 2017 yet with 4 runs totaling almost 20 miles. This included two treadmill runs (kill me now) and a quad- and lung-busting climb up Mission Peak with Cathryn and D. (You can read Cat’s recap here.) We finally got a break in the rain and it was great to spend a couple of hours sweating and chatting away with these two ladies.
Quite steep near the summit!
We made it!
I woke up Monday with painfully sore quads, which continued for the next couple of days. Clearly, I haven’t run hills in quite some time! Despite the soreness, I ran on Tuesday and enjoying the first outdoor weekday run in weeks, thanks to clear skies. Unfortunately, I woke up Wednesday feeling oddly fatigued. I didn’t have any other symptoms besides feeling run down, but I decided to skip the planned (and new to me) circuit training class and come home early from work. Was I being smart, or just lazy? No way of knowing for sure. I do know that I woke up Thursday feeling similarly tired, in spite of sleeping 10 hours. So, another rest day it was!
By Saturday, I was feeling better so I went for a short run around the neighborhood. I ran at what should’ve felt like a very easy pace, but in truth, it was a struggle. I definitely think I’m fighting something, but I still don’t have any obvious symptoms so I’m at a loss. (And for those who might be wondering, I’m not pregnant!)
With Badger Cove 4 weeks away, I was determined to do a 9 mile trail run this morning, regardless of how long it took me. We’ve gotten a ton of rain lately, so many of my favorite trails at Lake Chabot are actually closed or under water. I planned a route that was mostly on pavement, but had to take a detour once I realized the unpaved portions were too muddy to run. I mean, I could’ve pressed on, but it would’ve been a long slog that wouldn’t have been very fun. All things considered, I think I made the best of circumstances. Hopefully the trails will dry out soon… so many parks and trails are closed because of flooding, it’s been crazy.
Saddest two words to any trail runner: “Trail Closed”.
Although I haven’t logged a lot of miles recently, I’m proud to say that I’ve managed to do a lot more cross training than I have in a while. I’m averaging one session a week, and this past week was the first time I skipped a session. I’m hopefully on my way to becoming a more well-rounded athlete!
Howdy! My name is Jen and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like to eat, run, and blog, but not usually at the same time.
Running Tangents 
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