Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
03/01/22 :::: 3.0 :::: 3.0
03/02/22 :::: 4.0 :::: 7.0
03/03/22 :::: 1.5 :::: 8.5
03/04/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 8.5
03/05/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 11.7
03/06/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 14.8
03/07/22 :::: 2.8 :::: 17.6
03/08/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 20.7
03/09/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 23.8
03/10/22 :::: 2.0 :::: 25.8
03/11/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 25.8
03/12/22 :::: 3.1 :::: 29.0
03/13/22 :::: 5.0 :::: 34.0
03/14/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 34.0
03/15/22 :::: 0.0 :::: 34.0
03/16/22 :::: 3.2 :::: 37.1
03/17/22 :::: 2.0 :::: 39.1


Thanks for the kind thoughts and suggestions all! I have been trying to take some time off and do some self-care this week. Tuesday I went out for a lovely breakfast and Wednesday I went for a massage. Today I did not go into work at all, and I took Stella out for a long walk and run. We walked around 3 miles and then I decided I should get a little attempt at running in, and I wanted to get home a little sooner, so we picked up the pace and ran the 2 remaining miles home. It was a little stop and go but it went okay. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside on the trails at nearly 70 degrees and sunny. We saw a LOT of people. Stella was wiped out after we got home, which is hard to do.

Updates are that my back is doing better. The massage was nice and I have been doing heat and sauna a couple of times. It's still a little tender but much improved. The massage person was a new guy that is a brother of a runner in my group, and I was happy with him. He spent a lot of time on my upper back/shoulders, while my issue is lower back, but I didn't complain too much because he worked on some major tight spots I didn't even know were there. He suggested next time I book for 90 minutes because he could have spent 70 just on my tight leg muscles alone. True.

And my BF has a new referral for an interventional cardiologist (I didn't know that was a distinct field) and a better sense of why the treatment plan changed and what the timeline is for seeing if meds work. He's still wiped out but hopefully things will be improving with the meds in a couple of week or the new dr will recommend alternative intervention.

Still not the spring break I had planned but looking up a little bit at least. The (temporary) gorgeous weather is helping for sure. I will not dwell on the weekend forecast

Yesterday was my first time returning to the Greenline since having to go to the ER after my bad run there. I felt stupid for being so nervous but I really had bad associations with the place! Everything was fine, though, and it should be easier next time.

First 5 miler on roads since having heart issues, trying to only use meds on hard runs so trying to keep my heart rate low the whole time. Interesting reading about everyone else’s heart zones, I was trying to stay under 138 which according to Apple Watch is where my “moderate” pace becomes “tempo.” Also I have noticed my heart so far behaves fine if I stay under 140, so that’s convenient that the two are so close. Well… by running easy I can keep it under 138 for a mile, but then it wants to bob up to 141. And after three miles it starts climbing until by the end of five it was hanging out around 151 no matter how slowly I ran. Also I get super bored and my form is hard to maintain running that slowly! Anyway my heart did not do the SVT thing so that was a success overall, even though I really have mental issues running slowly. At one point we passed a walking family with kids and one of the boys, about ten or so, broke into a run so we ended up racing him and laughing for about a third of a mile until he gave up cause kids have no stamina. Fun but my heart rate never did go back down after that! So, I think the moral of the story is I have no self control.

Re: daylight savings time. It has mixed benefits for us, being nocturnal. On the one hand it’s easier to get a run in before sundown. On the other hand, it’s even harder to do things like banking that have to be done during certain official hours. And in the high summer when pre-dawn is the only tolerable temperatures for running, it becomes downright obnoxious because Memphis and Germantown make it illegal to use a park before 6 am. In August it’s already over 90 F by the time it’s legal to run!

@shanaber re: raccoons. My observation based on previous years is that at this time of year all the exiled boys are forming small bands of two or three and seeking out new territories. Supposedly racccons are solitary, but that has never been my observation! Of course no one has really studied them since 1984 so who knows. At that time it became illegal to own them in most parts of the US, so researchers stopped using them, and for some reason there has never been a real study of them in the wild - or more accurately, in urban environments. I do know from reading that male raccoons travel up to 18 miles in search of food and mates, so they probably shift around quite a bit.

On that note, we saw something alarming on our run yesterday - a raccoon by the side of the trail dying of distemper. Canine distemper is a major cause of death in raccoons and it’s a really horrifying way to go. Since it’s a result of bad owners failing to get their dogs vaccinated it makes me angry. It can go through whole populations like wildfire, and it takes out 75% of the community when it strikes. So I am praying we are far enough away. And I feel so bad for the poor coon we saw yesterday - it was blind and having a seizure and kept making little “help me” noises. It if had been during business hours we could have called animal control to put it down, but after hours there was nothing to be done for it. I’m sure everyone here is a good dog owner but if you know anyone who might not be, spread the word, get those vaccines!

@rheddmobile That is sad to hear about the raccoon. I hope he doesn’t suffer too long.

@kgirlhart Enjoy your visit with your daughter!

I did another “test” easy run today for 3 miles, trying to do it by feel and then look at zones after before starting the 80/20 plan. I managed better today, staying in zone 2 half the time and zone 3 the other half. This weekend I will make a spreadsheet with the 5k 80/20 plan and will start it Monday. I can tell it is going to be such a major adjustment!

I took today off work, so I picked up my race packet for tomorrow. It is about to storm here, but I’m glad it is coming through today and not in the morning! Hubby and I are going to spend the day in Atlanta on a date day with lunch, the immersive Picasso exhibit, and a concert tonight. I’ll have to sleep on the way home to get enough rest before tomorrow.

March Goal: 100 Miles

3/1: 5.15 miles
3/2: 5.16 miles
3/3: 5.16 miles
3/4: 2.02 miles
3/5: 1.61 miles
3/6: 8.10 miles
3/7: 2.02 miles
3/8: 5.60 miles
3/9: 5.15 miles
3/10: 5.15 miles
3/11: 1.51 miles
3/12: 2.03 miles
3/13: 10.10 miles
3/14: 2.02 miles
3/15: 5.05 miles
3/16: 6.02 miles
3/17: 5.30 miles
7/18: 5.03 miles

82.18/100 miles completed for March

I took a vacation day today to go to Austin to visit my daughter, but I got up and ran this morning before we left. It was awesome. I slept in until I just woke up and then I went out for a run thinking I would run about 3 miles or 30ish minutes. It was a little windy, but otherwise nice. I looped around to see Sunny the Donkey and then headed back home. I ended up being pretty speedy and almost had negative splits. When got to the house I was at 4.3 miles and since my husband wasn't up yet I went back out and ran another .7 miles to make an even 5 miles. I do hope to get a short run in tomorrow, but at least I think I will get a walk in.