Training Log: November. WUT

November, oh, November.

It started well, then quickly came crashing down with a fall and a black eye. I did get one good race out of the month so hoorah!

Miles Run: 235

Rest Days: 7

Range of Paces: 6:39-11:30-untimed

Swimming: 6 X

Biking: 1 X

Races:

Revel Big Bear Half Marathon (1:30.04)

Mojave Run The Runway 5K (22:04)

Thoughts:

Well, the good news is I had a decent race in November. Revel Big Bear dropped 3000 feet during the race. I was literally winded walking uphill to the start line. But the time wasn’t really why it went well. I actually ran the race smartly and negative split even as the race flattened out.I felt strong at the end versus barely hanging on. I’ll hang on to that memory for the month.

I also ran the Mojave Space Port 5k, but with 30 mph winds, I can’t say it was my fastest. It was so windy I was just in survival mode. The desert is home to one of the largest and most powerful wind farms in the world, so needless to say, the wind here is *something*. I was happy to survive and have “some” fun.

I likely picked up a minor sickness at Revel Big Bear/Los Angeles. The day after Revel Big Bear, I felt sick…sore… (and slept for 20 hours). The next day after my deep sleep, I woke up, probably got up too fast, and fell on my head. This led to a rather traumatizing bump I went to the emergency room and got medical attention.

Luckily, my CT scan was fine and showed no damage. The head injury did worry me and I didn’t run for a week. IDK I worried what happens if I fell in the middle of the desert and no one knew I was out there? Plus, I just didn’t want to jostle things up. I didn’t miss running either which was a sign a desperately needed a break. So I did. Nothing bad happened and I moved on. The head lump dissolved into my head, which also caused a black eye. Even 2.5 weeks later, I still have a black eye, but my head feels fine. Now as I’m getting back into running, I haven’t done any speed workouts. I mostly just trot along.

The day before Thanksgiving, my blood results from last month finally came back. I’ve explained more times than I like, but I haven’t been the same since getting the flu in May. Breathing during strenuous runs/efforts sometimes feels impossible and not in a “not normal/this is hard” way. Sometimes it’s not even a “fast” run, and I’ve had to stop and walk during 10-minute mile runs. Or I was walking up the stairs.

Running (and life) hasn’t felt normal since. That isn’t to say every day is a struggle because it’s not. But I’ve had a lot more times I’ve had to stop and walk. Since my blood work was routine, including iron, my doctor prescribed me a steroid: prednisone. She thought it might clear up some residual junk from my lungs. It’s tough to say, “did it work.” I can say that the five days on it were miserable. The first day I felt like I drank too much coffee and was way too “hyped,” followed by four days of general sadness and tiredness. Then 48 hours later, I feel like I’ve become a mucus machine, and my body produces way more mucus than I knew it could. I guess that’s what the steroid is “supposed to do” I just figured it would do it when I was taking it.

Back to running and working out: Not much happened in November. If anything, I became “less fit.” 2023 has not been my year for working out, so I’m hoping I can somehow get over whatever lingering sickness I have from May.

In December, I plan to build up miles, hopefully. I don’t have anything significant going on; hey, the Holidays are stressful enough. I’ll do some localish races but nothing crazy or long. I planned to do a fun half marathon this weekend in Nevada, but life happened…maybe next year (which I also said last year, LOL).

On the blogging front, I’ve been blogging a lot less and social media posting a lot less. IDK, WordPress tells me this is one of the lowest blogging months in my ten years of blogging. I’ve been trying to figure out the best balance for me and what makes blogging feel like “not work.”

I guess that’s mostly it for a running, fitness, and life update. As I’ve said no less than 100 times, 2022 has not been my year. I’m not exactly sure what I expect to change once the clock strikes 2023, but I am excited for a change of pace.