onepinkfuzzy

Or, How This Weekend Was One Screw-Up After Another

My "Jared from Subway" Picture (I found this skirt when we started packing - it used to be one of my favorites)

Friday night, Johnny and I are going over our plans for the weekend (as stated in an earlier post), when we realized that the TTR run up Wrightson was scheduled on Saturday, instead of the usual Sunday. Oops! By the time we figured it out, it was too late to get prepped for such a daunting trek, plus I didn't want to do the big hills on Saturday followed by flat on Sunday, because I wouldn't do the flat on Sunday; I'd be too sore! Change of plans, then.

Paki joined me for about four of my 10 miles on the River Path on Saturday morning, which was quite enjoyable. I realized that training this time around has not consisted of much flat running - my muscles were defintely not used to that much flat running! The out portion of the out-and-back went well (except for dropping one gel in the dust - dusty gel does not taste good). Just before the turn-around, my gallbladder finally let me know it was unhappy with the previous night's dinner of low-fat S.O.S. (hamburger gravy over rice). Must. Get. To. Bathroom. I had chills and cramps, trying my damndest to get to the restrooms quickly. Once I was finished, I was exhausted, and just wanted to walk. But I didn't. I kept going. A mile later, I whipped out a gel, and promptly spilled it all over myself. Sticky mess! Geez louise. I walked for a bit, but finally realized I just needed to kick in determination, and get home. So I did. I was so proud of staying focused and getting it done!

Rockin' Ash

We did some preliminary packing stuff (mostly sorting through what needed to be donated), and Johnny did some schoolwork, then it was time for bed. I woke up this morning at 4:45 a.m., not because of Ash, but because my allergies were going nuts! The previous night, we had decided that we would both get up when Ash did, and together, go to Sabino Canyon to have a family day (and I would go out for a few additional miles). Well, Johnny didn't want to get up. He mumbled, "I think I need to stay home," as he rolled over. Shoot. Now what?

I got ready to go for a run by myself. Without the family, I could do Phoneline Trail instead of just running the road. So I prepped my camelback and put on a new pair of "hot pant" shorts. The only clean sports bra I had was one that gives me major chafing along my underarms, so I tossed it in the trash and donned a dirty one, yuck! I ate a slice of some awesome strawberry glazed angel food cake for breakfast and skipped the coffee. I made it to Sabino Canyon by 7:20, a little later than I wanted, but I was planning on heat training anyway.

I started running, and within one-tenth (!) of a mile, my new shorts had ridden all the way up my butt, giving new meaning to the term "wedgie," it was as though they were underwear, not shorts! And the bladder in my camelback leaked massive amounts of water all the way through the padded material in the back. ARGH. I turned around, went back to the car, and headed home. I don't live far from Sabino, but I don't live particularly close either!

I refused to give up - I needed those miles, dammit! Three weeks of 30+ miles are crucial!

I stormed inside my house, dropped the camelback to the kitchen floor and went to my closet, where I proceded to try on every single clean shirt with my other "hot pant" shorts (these ones are longer, and have sticky material at the edges of the legs so they stay put). None of my clean, technical shirts were long enough to wear with my low-rise (but so comfy) bike shorts while wearing my Ultimate Direction waist pack. I was so frustrated!!! I lost it, whining and throwing a huge fit. Johnny didn't know what to do, and poor Ash told me, "You need to go in a time-out, Mama." Finally, I grabbed the long cotton tank top I got at my very first race and put it on. It fit comfortably, and was long enough for the pack to fit. I threw everything from the camelback into the waist pack, grabbed another handheld, and took off back to Sabino Canyon.

Exactly one hour later (I had left my watch running), I started again. I was angry and frustrated, but glad I was out there. It was noticably warmer, and I was so worried about how I would fare wearing cotton. I was worried about the amount of water I had, so decided to drink a decent amount in the first .8 mile and refill at the water fountain, which - of course! - was broken. ARGH.

I headed up the trail, and was able to keep a decent pace. Phoneline is a tough, tricky (I kept saying trippy instead of tricky, and it sure is trippy!) trail, so my overall pace was pretty slow. But it felt good, albeit hot. I managed to do just right on the water, so I didn't get dehydrated, whew!

Cotton sucks. The sweat from my underarms never evaporated, so there was chafing, and it hurt. I also got bad chafing on my waist, where the cotton and the waist pack met at my hip bones. It didn't seem to breathe well, and added to my feeling of being hot. It was not fun.

I was supposed to go back on the trail to Sabino Basin for a ways, to up my mileage, but the trail was just right for rattlesnakes, and I got scared. So I turned around early. I thought, "screw the 30 miles, I'd rather be alive!" I made it back to the road, and started my descent into the hellhole. Oh, my god, it was hot. Not too bad, because there was a pretty good head wind, but I was tired. I could barely keep moving. My feet hurt, my chest was hot, my head was hot. I didn't want to put water on my head, because I was afraid that I would soak my cotton tank top and it would never dry. I kept on trucking.

I was also supposed to take a detour out Rattlesnake Canyon to add to my mileage, but I was so exhausted I decided to skip it. It was enough that I kept trucking through the obstacles already presented to me today that I didn't need another mile of rattlesnake territory to scare me. Screw it!

Once I got home, I realized that I didn't need as many miles as I thought to get 30 miles for the week, so even with skipping the extra mileage, I still made 30 miles, WOO HOO!!!!

This weekend was fraught with obstacles and screw-ups, and I still did it. I'm also not nearly as sore as I thought I'd be, and feel great for the upcoming week, yay!

Since I didn't get to do Wrightson, we are going to do it next week. So next week's schedule:
Monday - off
Tuesday - 5.5
Wednesday - 5.5
Thursday - 5.5
Friday - 5.5
Saturday - off
Sunday - 10.5 HILLS!

Rock On!