Week in Review (January 31 - February 6)

Tuesday (11,761 steps) - Work in the office. Walk at lunch. Took Olive for a walk when I got home, then I did lower body (glutes/legs), upper body and a band core class on Peloton.

Wednesday (24,225 steps) - Work in the office. I had another big vert day on schedule. Same goal as last week, 3,000'. It was a bit warmer (I think) than last week, but this time there was a decent amount of wind on my way up.

I did manage to hit the summit (the first time) without needing to use my headlamp. Woo!!

It was definitely muddier and harder to spot the trail on the way down than I had remembered.

I wasn't sure initially if I wanted to do full loops, but I do like the "easy" jog down. Headed up for my second summit and this one seemed so hard. My legs were dead. I had to force myself to go up for a third time, and thankfully I didn't have to go all the way to the top, just 2/3 of the way. Ugh. The way down this side is not as "easy" but it wasn't too bad. It was late when I got home.

Thursday (29,402 steps) - Work from home. I had another long run on schedule. (I swear, I am running more during the week than I did last year. I hate running less, and it doesn't feel as hard, but with time goals it's just a "lot") I was supposed to do 1:45, but I cut it a bit short since I still had plans to go to run club with Olive. We are still doing C25K with Paula, this week's run seemed a lot shorter to me. 

Olive is getting so good at running and we are still working on commands. Saucony rep was at the store and he had a fun groundhog day snack we all got to make. Nutter Butter decorated and then put in a pudding cup. I dunno, it was fun.

Friday (16,517 steps) - Wash Park and coffee. Small group again! Work in the office. Took Olive for a walk when I got home from work.

Had to finish packing since I hadn't gotten around to doing it on my work from home day. Had dinner solo at home because A had plans.

Saturday (14,399 steps) - Up early to go to the airport! I got to Union Station a bit earlier than I planned, and arrived at the airport with plenty of time. There was ZERO line at security, so technically I was there more than 2 hours early. I used my time to get  my steps in.

The flight to Houston was a bit delayed, which was really only a big deal because Tyler and Terri were picking me up and we wanted to get back to the race to see Larry and being late was going to cut everything short. Ugh. I watched a Marie Kondo and two episodes of Black Summer on the flight. 

Luckily, I found them pretty easily and we headed out. Terri drove mildly like a maniac and we did miss Larry at the start/finish, but we saw him at the road crossing and since it's by an aid station we were able to give him aid. He looked great and was moving very well! We had some time before we had to get Tyler back for pacing, so we went to get lunch at Whattaburger. We got back to the start/finish in plenty of time. Terri and I decided that we would just hang out there until they came through after doing their 10 miles. We had a great seat on course. It was a bit chilly, but a nice night.

After they came through we decided to get dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant near Terri's hotel. I got a big plate of food (and finished all of it) and a top shelf margarita. Goodbye, dry January!

I had high hopes of getting in a nap. I set an alarm for 12:15, hoping to be out the door by 12:30. 

Sunday (41,826 steps) - I tossed and turned on the couch and finally looked at my watch. HOLY SHIT, MY ALARM DIDN'T GO OFF. It was 12:56!!! Luckily we were able to get out the door in about 3 minutes and we hauled ass to the race. Thankfully, we beat them there. I had time to fill up my bottles and use the bathroom. We left the start at 2:07 am. Larry had done the first 80 miles in just over 20 hours! He was on track for a PR. Within about two miles I could tell something was wrong. Larry had been having minor back pain on and off, and by the time I was with him he had a severe lean. From my experience, it's usually caused by an electrolyte issue. 

We tried EVERYTHING, but it got worse and worse over time. Water, electrolytes, physical massage on his back, Biofreeze, food, stretching, etc. NOTHING made him feel better. His pace went from 12-15 minutes to well over 30 minute pace. Initially, I'd figured he would have 10 hours to finish, which is a 30 minute pace. However, as time went on, even THAT was coming into question. To Larry's credit, he was still in a really good mood. He just could not get the pain he was experiencing out of his head.

I found a few sticks on the side of the trail for him to use as poles, thinking that might help. Not too long after, a couple passed us a mile or so from the aid station and offered their poles to Larry until we got to the aid station. Terri and Tyler met us at mile 90 at the Nature Center aid station.

We sat Larry down and got him some food, put some CBD cream on his back. Got him rehydrated. Personally, I was thinking he shouldn't even be leaving the aid station. After a few pancakes, he said he was feeling better, so we headed back out for the last 10 miles. This was the longest section of my LIFE.

Within a mile of leaving the aid station things deteriorated rapidly. We were now doing closer to 40 minute miles. I looked at the website and realized the cutoff for Rocky was now 32 hours (it was 30 when I had run it). But at 40 minute miles, he wasn't going to make it. Moving was so slow. Has stopping every few minutes to stretch or lean against a tree. Finally, somewhere about 4 miles into this section, he said he thought something was very wrong and that although he really wanted a finish (and his 500 mile jacket), that he was going to need to drop at the next aid station. 

I pulled out Gaia and compared the trails to the course map and realized we had over 2 miles until the aid station. A very kind man had given Larry his poles to use until the finish, but even with them he could only go a few feet at a time. I was on the phone with Larry and Terri, as well as texting with Lesley to see if there was anywhere we could get picked up. I did determine we needed to take a bit of a shortcut to cut off some time, and it looked like there was an access point. The race was able to get some people out to us and after a bit of time a 4 wheeler came and picked us up. He had completed 95.73 miles. The 14.8 miles I did with him took just over 9 hours. Goes to show how quick (and badly) things can go downhill :(

We got dropped off at medical and it was determined he just needed to rehydrate and take care of himself, it didn't appear anything "major" was wrong.

Ugh. We headed north back to Huntsville. Larry still had his hotel room and needed to shower/pack. After all that, we were on the road to back to Houston. I remember enjoying the brewery that we had gone to last time we had run this race, and we went back.

They had a Mardi Gras themed food truck and I had the most insanely delicious King Cake Monte Cristo. I ate every single bite of this.  

Since I hadn't been able to check in online (flying basic economy), I wasn't paying attention to what time it was or when we needed to get to the airport, because I actually wasn't sure. Terri, Larry and I were on the same United flight, and Tyler's Southwest flight was a bit later. By the time we dropped the car off and got inside the airport, it was about 6:00. Problem with that is our flight was at like 6:35. We rush to the self-service kiosk, and are too late to check in because it's too close to departure. After talking to an agent, I was able to get my boarding pass, but it was less than 20 minutes to departure and I hadn't even gone through security yet. 

The line wasn't long, but it was slow. I get to TSA (about 15 minutes to departure) and my ID won't scan. She tries over and over and is basically staring at me like I need to figure out why it isn't working. I don't know, I just flew yesterday?! I'm finally waved through, but still need to go through security, and that is moving even slower. I have about 6 minutes now. As I'm waiting for my bag, I figure it'll get flagged. It does. I forgot to dump my water bottle and she says I have to leave and go back through?? I tell her boarding closed just now so I probably missed my flight anyway. She shakes my bottle and says, sounds like there is less than 4 ounces in here and waves me through. I grab everything and RUN. Just my luck, the gates are NOT close. Sure enough, I get to the gate, doors are closed. I missed the flight. Terri texts to tell me they are STILL not through, but that they got rebooked on a flight in an hour and that I should try to get on that.

Gate agents tell me they cannot help and I have to go to United customer service. I run over there. Wait in line. The flight they are booked on is full, they got the last seats, but they can get me on standby at one that leaves at like 9:30. Ugh. I decide to take the standby on the earlier flight and try to head to the gate. It's in a completely different concourse, and I need to take a train to get there. I miss the first one because people are so slow getting off. Make the second train. I get a text saying I now have a confirmed seat for the standby flight. Wooo!!

Arrive at the gate and reunite with Larry and Terri. As we are waiting to board, I hear my name called. The agent tells me I'm likely bumped because they oversold the flight - yes, even though I have a seat. I just have to wait and see. Finally, though, they say someone didn't check in and I had a seat. WOOO!!

The flight was fine, I watched a few episodes of House of the Dragon. Tyler had landed shortly before we did and he waited for me and then gave me a ride to Union Station. Made it home by 11:15. LONGEST DAY EVER. 

Monday (28,646 steps) - Work from home. Between working I had to unpack, do laundry, and make mini breakfast quiches. Yum!

I was supposed to do a two hour run (ugh, why do I have such long runs during the week? I think I need to talk to my coach and see about making at 90 minutes, especially in winter). I started the run thinking I had possibly overdressed in a skirt and hoodie, but after about 45 minutes it got cloudy and windy and I was almost cold! Overall, the run was really good and I ran a lot faster than I planned. Didn't get two hours, but close enough. It was also Olive's first day of dog training!

Dog training was a bit "ruff." The instructor pulled me aside after a brief time there and said maybe group training wasn't for Olive because she was too anxious. We have five classes left, give us time. Sheesh. We have some stuff to work on, but excited to work with her.

I dropped Olive off and met Ben at Westminster Brewery for a few beers. It's been a while since we were able to hang out and have fun. It was nice!

Stats:

• 166,776 steps
• 41.95 miles run
• 0 minutes of cardio
• 50 minutes of strength training