Return to Running Recap : Week 18 (and giveaway winners)

I totally forgot to take a post-run selfie after my runs this week, so this picture of Joey will have to do ;)  This is the look he was giving me as I was getting ready for the treadmill. I really should start running outside more (and of course, he gets to come with me).

Well, there is no beating around the bush... like I said yesterday, this week was just kind of crappy in all aspects. Including running.

I'm being very careful not to make excuses. I gained weight this week because of my food choices--regardless of why I made them. I do have a reason why my running was "off" this week, too--but I am sure I could have adjusted better.

Last week, I said that my plan was to start running every other day. I even ended my post with: "Okay, so I am stating here that I am committing to run on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday for Week 18!"

That didn't happen. In fact, I only ran twice this week!

My first run wasn't until Saturday morning. I had planned to run Friday evening but I was super full from dinner (see? Bad food choices fall over into the running category as well) so I decided to put it off to Saturday morning.

Well, I had to babysit Luke and Riley early Saturday morning and I had to leave no later than 6:00 AM. Since running 3 miles now takes 36 minutes, I knew I was going to have to get up super early so I could run, shower, and get together the stuff I'd need for crafts with the kids. I haven't been getting any sleep at all lately, despite getting in bed early and doing all the "right" things to sleep. My body just doesn't let me!

Anyway, I got out of bed at 4:45 AM and slugged onto the treadmill. I had been planning to try to run at a faster pace and count it as speed work (which would also help me to get done faster and give me a little more time in the morning) but it was hard just to run the usual 5.0 mph. I thought for sure my heart rate was going to be sky high, but surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all.

After that, I intended to run Monday and Wednesday to continue with the every-other-day plan.

While at Luke and Riley's, I found myself going up and down the stairs a LOT. I don't have stairs in my house, so this has never been an issue. And normally, if I go up or down stairs, it's only a flight or two. Well, I was going up and down over and over again at Luke and Riley's (their bedrooms and toy room are upstairs).

My knee has been making some serious noises lately and it's actually been getting pretty stiff. It usually happens out of nowhere. But I found that each time I went up or down the stairs at Luke and Riley's, my knee was getting stiffer and it was making a terribly loud clicking and/or crunching sound. (This is the knee that I injured when I accidentally knelt on a screwdriver early this year.)

Luke asked me, "What's that noise?" And I was all, "Hey kids, want to see a party trick?" Haha. They were pretty fascinated.

After a few hours, I was trying not to bend that leg while going up or down the stairs and started relying on the hand railing to use as a sort of crutch while I hopped. Still, by the time I left, my knee was swollen and I couldn't straighten it at all. It felt like it was going to collapse under me.

I took Sunday off, which was my original plan. By Monday, my knee seemed back to normal but I was scared of testing it. The last thing I want is an injury to prevent me from running at all. So I decided I'd run on Tuesday instead. This is where I have no excuse to have skipped it. I just didn't want to do it, and that's the truth. So I skipped Tuesday as well.

Yesterday, I felt the same. I was totally dreading it for some reason. I think that it's because it takes so long (and I know that 36 minutes is NOT long out of a 24 hour day, but it feels like it at the time). I got a new tool in the garage that I've been playing with and I wanted to do that much more than I wanted to run.

I started thinking about switching things up to doing 2 miles at a time more frequently--say, 5 days a week. I would much rather choose 2 miles at a time, 5 days a week, than 3 miles, 3 days a week. I know that sounds odd, but running 2 miles feels so simple now. If it doesn't work out, I can always go back to doing 3 miles, 3 days a week since that worked for so long.

Anyway, yesterday I decided to do 2 miles at a 5.5 mph pace (so like a tempo run). I felt really good for the first mile but during the second, I started to get pretty winded. I kept going and I knew I could finish, but it just didn't feel as easy as the first mile.

I was sure my heart rate was going to be on the low side, considering how easy the first mile felt, but that wasn't the case.

My anxiety has been really bad lately (usually a change in routine will kick it up a few notches) so I've been trying to deal with that. I'm just hoping for a better week! I've been doing great so far, and I hope I can keep at it.

I want to make this week extra-great to boost my mood!

Oh! I forgot to announce the book giveaway winners. I am notorious for forgetting these things--please remind me if I haven't posted them in a timely manner!

The winner of the paperback copy is: Brie R.
The winner of the Kindle copy is: Rachel M.

I've emailed you about it, so make sure you look for that. Thanks for playing! I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. Have a whole box of tissues handy as you read it ;)

Just a reminder, the book is called 'The Running Dream' by Wendelin Van Draanen (Amazon affiliate link). Here is a link to my review.