Tues, Wed

Yesterday was tough: good doc appointment, but she is sure that (not just for now, for lifelong) I should only run 2x week and use swimming, biking etc. for the other days. That's OK but I have been so thoroughly enjoying being a daily runner! Went to the gym later (had to get over the hump) and had a stressful reentry, they're not doing powerlifting at powerlifting any more (I had expected upper body day - but they are not even scheduling it like that any more), did some stretching and foam rolling, took subway home but it was so crowded and with so many delays that I was pretty near total meltdown...

ANYWAY, today is better. Rode bike to and from gym (GOSH that seat is intolerably uncomfortable), did 1hr hot vinyasa class in the fancy new studio, all good.

Sorta on tenterhooks re: various family members' health issues, still finding it hard to concentrate on real stuff I need to do here (may need to do an Ottawa trip sooner than planned), but I think I've found my real subletter, I've got all the student work for end of term and can start grading (won't take long, I have been putting it off needlessly), things should be coming back into normal focus....

Catch-up

Austin stay turned out to be more conducive to morning exercise than I feared. Had nice 50 as 1:1 on Saturday and 1hr alternating 1:1 and 2:1 Sunday (Brent had very early cab to airport, I went out then, my flight was 5 hrs later than his and it didn't make sense to go to airport together). Good to be home, I need to recreate a solid routine! Just did 30 as 1:1, very beautiful in the park, bits and bobs to clear (my subletter for next year is coming at 11 for instance) and doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, after that I will sit down and figure things out properly.

Friday run!

OK, did figure out how to get to river path, will do a longer one tomorrow (and I think I can do something Sunday am as well, as my flight doesn't leave till 2 - Brent's is at 9 and he will want to leave from here c. 6:30 or so, doesn't make sense for me to go with himm then and have such a very long time hanging out at the airport).

c. 35 mins as 2:1

Thursday in Austin

7am car for airport yesterday, as Coach David points out it's a CHOICE that I don't run before that rather than that I truly CAN'T - but I do not envisage a future self doing differently! First morning with Brent in a hotel after a separation makes it hard to get out early, I want to chat with him and have downtime, but I did get out midmorning (it's hot here, but not as humid as Cayman) for just 20 as 1:1. Slept badly, sore hip and glute and I think the AC going on and off was making me restless, but got helpful run map from front desk and am looking forward to doing proper ones tomorrow and the next day!

Bad Tuesday!

I will just post in my training log entry, it's one of THOSE days:

Ugh, that was a minor disaster. Right away everything from hip to outer ankle/foot was really unpleasantly lit up (hip I blame on sitting very still for 2 hrs yesterday evening at my colleague's funeral). I hobbled for 12 minutes as 2:1 but as clock rolled into thirteenth minute I realized I just didn't have it today. (I note that allergies are still SO AWFUL and are contributing to my baseline feeling of health being much lower than it usually is, ugh.) I was hiking up left shoulder and sorta leaning over right hip in a way that had by then activated sharp discomfort in right lower back. I walked the rest of the circuit, so about 45 mins total but with only some short stints of jogging in the first bit. I am anxious for this doctor's appointment next week, I really feel like everything is a regrettable mess!

Catch-up

Last week just went crazy on me - I was out too late Thursday at the Fordham eighteenth-century seminar - (very interesting talk, but it went on way too long - moderator didn't seem to notice - it was esp costly as schedule there is drinks at 6, talk at 7, dinner at 8 - we didn't get dinner till close to 9! - NOooooooooooooooo!). so:

Thursday: 1hr as 1:1, 3:1, 1:1 (rinse and repeat) (causing me to muse on how I would have written it as 2 x 4 alternating 3:1, 1:1!)
Friday: ZERO (cost of making the attempt at this #metoo editorial - I had to send it out Friday and our grad student conference started midday)
Saturday: ZERO (still tidying and shopping all morning for evening hosting duties, it was just impossible)
Sunday: YES. Realized that I was desperate for the full hour I'd not had the day before. Did 60 as 3:1 in full awareness that it meant I would probably then need to spend $$$$ on an Uber to get me to my brother's house in NJ in a timely fashion. It all worked well.
Monday: 30 as 1:1. Very nice to be back at it, trip to Austen this week is going to be disruptive but after that I am hoping things are a bit quieter and I can settle back in...

Wednesday short run

Woke up way too early, couldn't sleep, too many things going on - allergies continue to make me feel awful - yes, one of THOSE days! But my new laptop is all set up now and it is GORGEOUS - with a smooth huge keyboard that is like night and day after broken old one. And I did get in 30 as 2:1 and now must shower and scamper downtown for my dear friend Amy's unusual birthday gathering - due to a major donation to a charity, her husband had a whole table of seats at the gala for Seeds of Piece, with 8 seats, and Amy realized that it would be fun and funny to have a bunch of us use that as an occasion to celebrate! We will see - I am relieved that it's "business attire" rather than "black tie" (and comically it's at Chelsea Piers)...

Short and easy, better late than never

Almost didn't get out - state of collapse after getting cats back from Phila and having an afternoon with troubles coming (not directly at me, more at nearest and dearest!) from many directions! Got an invitation yesterday to write an op-ed for the Outlook section of the WaPo, thought I might decline but having Tanya's story come out last night reminded me that I do have things to say, and shouldn't turn down the invitation to a big platform - long phone chat with editor this afternoon, and I'll try and get her a messy draft by the weekend. (Nice change from writing newspaper book reviews where the word count is hard and fast and SHORT - this will be short and sweet in the end, if I can write something that can be made to work, but editor likes to see all ideas sooner rather than leaving me entirely to my own devices.) Anyway, 30 easy as 1:1, weather GORGEOUS (onnly way too much pollen making me miserable), will hope to do the longer one that was on today's schedule tomorrow. All the life stuff that mounted up while I was away still needs to be attended to - lots and lots of people to see, both work colleagues and non-work friends, and normal end-of-term stuff is intense, and I got my long-overdue new laptop and have to meet with faculty desktop support tomorrow to get everything transferred from old and properly secured (and hopefully old one can be made more functional, but its lifespan may be over, we will see what the verdict is...)

30 easy as 1:1

Miserable Saturday 8

I think I will just post in the entry in my training log:

Ugh, that was miserable. I should have paid attention to my initial reservations, but I decided I was just being defeatist and should give Coach's advice a try! My Garmin is still buried in not-yet-unpacked Paris luggage (didn't use it at all there anyway since I was running on time and prefer minimalist regular Timex watch that I wear all the time - it has stopwatch function which is really all I need). Picked 8mi route (some local distances I know well from various prior training stints) - the "long" way to the Little Red Lighthouse, i.e. down from 116th to 96th and then uptown along the river. It's about 5 from here to lighthouse on that route, then about 3 directly back as crow flies if you depart from river path at 125th when it splits. So: I did 2:1 from start to lighthouse (it is admittedly a really good destination!). That took about 1:20. It was miserable - my right foot was very sore from the start, back/hip OK initially but gait starts t o get affected and it was clearly jamming up left knee. I'd d ecided in last stretch of that bit that I would then walk t he remaining miles (it's not s traightforward getting from park to public transit up there), that was a bout another 1:10 (so total time on feet for 8mi was 2:30, split 1:20 jog-walk/1:10 straight walk), but my foot was just really sore (it's kind of along outside of foot from ankle, more on top of foot than sole, no idea what this might be except that it sure "feels" like it's connected to the messed-up stuff higher up on that side), and post-any kind of run my back and hip f eel awful, so I was just hobbling home feeling overheated and grumpy. I am not usually in such a bad mood, and got initial mild mood boost because of it not being 90 degrees, but the cyclists are SO OBNOXIOUS on the shared-use path - it is worst as you move north on foot on the stretch between 96th and 125th (I am actually going to write a letter to city/parks people to complain - markings could be clearer, tho honestly it really is clear what you are SUPPOSED to do, the cyclists just don't WANT to do it that way) - and my mood never really recovered, esp since lots of different areas were so sore. I think we should cap longest run at 80 minutes till I've seen this doctor and got some kind of fuller diagnosis and PT r ecommendations - it just can't be good to d something that makes eveyrthing so unpleasantly sore, and I think the foot soreness is a direct result of semi-ignoring the hip/thigh/backc stufff....

Fri end of day easy

30 easy end of day as 1:1. Weather was so awful, allergies killing me, did feel mildly better (despite eyes, nose and face feeling like they were all about to explode into pollen-shaped confetti) after I got it done. It was a good example of a day when I was glad to have a running coach to whom I am accountable, I am pretty sure I would not have gotten out if I didn't know that David would be sorry if I didn't!

Wed, Thurs

Wed: 1hr alternating 1:1 and 3:1.

Thurs: 1hr with 20 as 1:1, 20 as 4:1, 20 as 1:1 (I like this better, the first 20 lets things loosen up a little).

IT IS TOO HOT IN NYC!

End of day Tues

30 easy as 1:1, will leave the longer one written for today for tomorrow morning. Needed to spend the day just digging in on this task, it was worthwhile, but in general I should run first!