run

Week Five, Day 3

Thursday, August 12th, 2023

This is going to be short and sweet today because I am fighting off a migraine that is a breath away from fully descending onto my brain and body, but I think I can get this run in, and who knows, maybe it’ll help it? Hold please. 

Ok, yes, Google tells me that exercise can help with migraines, but this one feels like she is going to bloom and take me down, so I want to get out there quickly. 

I am writing this mostly to grant myself grace because I doubt I’ll hit 2.6 today. I don’t even know if I’ll clear 2, so I am holding myself accountable and saying that I  do not feel 100%, and that is ok, and to let go of any kind of perfectionism I typically cling to. I’m also eating before this run – potentially a literal first for this blog – and have stretched a bit. So, oddly, on a day where I don’t feel great, I have taken the best care of myself. Is there a greater lesson in there? I don’t know. Don’t yell at me. I have a migraine. 

Also, this week was an emotional juggernaut, in excellent ways, but an emotional juggernaut nonetheless, and I think my body is going into overdrive and recovery mode. 

Alright. 

Ending this week a little wobblier than I would like, but still ending it on a strong-ish note. 

Oh hi. Me again. 

It started raining. 

So now I’m just waiting for that to stop. 

Ok. 

It stopped. 

Wow, this is thrilling writing, I know. You’re enamored and engaged. 

POST-RUN MORTUM

Running Time: 30 minutes

Distance Achieved: 2.1 miles 

Tunage: Coldplay and Summer Playlist 

Running Milestone Unlocked: No walking intervals 

Yes, friends, that is correct. There were no walking intervals in today’s run. Meaning that we ran for 20 minutes without a break. Because on the day when I was like, let’s have an easy run, let’s just vibe with the flow, my boy Runicorn hit me with this when I opened the app: 

Runicorn. My guy. You keep doing this to me. Still, I’m glad to be with you and not Sgt. Block or Billie. I think I would have quit by now. Johnny Dead for sure would have bitten me, and I think Constance and I would have just reverted to watching those YA Dystopian NovelMovies. Novies. Movels. Movels feels right…or like some sort of venereal disease. 

Sorry, this migraine is working its magic on me. 

So, yeah, today I ran for 20 minutes without any walking intervals. Looking ahead in the app, it looks like Day 1 and Day 2 of next week, we have the walking intervals back in, and then Day 3 is a full run between the warmup and cool down. We’re getting into the meat of the training, it feels like. Or, at least, the part where we are trying to build my endurance, which isn’t the worst thing. I had a feeling that my mileage would be lower than Thursday, and I’m really glad to have broken 2 miles at all with how my head, particularly the space right behind my right eye, feels. But this is good. I didn’t know if I could do the full 20 minutes without stopping, but I did. There were three times when I almost brought it back down to a walk, but then I focused on the rhythm of the song. 

Which brings me to my final point before I dunk my head into a bowl filled with ice water: I want to build a kickass playlist for this 5K, and will likely reach out to y’all for your ideas and song suggestions. When I have the right kind of rhythm pumping in my ears, it’s like I get transported into this zone, fuck it all, like a runner, and it’s easy to concentrate on the pace because all I have to do is follow the beats. I switched over from Coldplay because it wasn’t the right tempo and then bopped around through my summer playlist, hitting the songs that felt good for my stride. I think this will be huge for the actual race day. 

Alright. That’s all I have for you beauts today. Pray this literal brain fog lifts before Colby, and I go out for a celebratory dinner at our favorite joint, Rosa Mexicano. 

Why celebratory, you ask? Like I said; it’s been a good week.