Runcrastination, #Stravaproblems, Did I really just sign up for that?!

Last week I ran 45 miles for no good reason.  Stress played a big part in my semi high volume week.... I had two term papers to write, and I also had a few days off from work.   So I guess I'll tell you how last week went....

The weather was pretty freaky last week too.  One day it would rain and be chilly, then the next day it would be hot.  I've also felt a little bored of my usual locations that I run at.  The traffic at lunchtime can be dangerous, so I was motivated to drive out to different neighborhoods for the change of scenery.

Monday 4/25 7 miles.  In the morning, I did a little bit of circuit training and at noon, I ran 7 miles.
At lunchtime I drove to a park, that is near Black Mountain, and I ran a mile to get to the trails.  The first few miles were on an uphill grade, and during the second mile, I was running through dirt that was as soft and thick as sand.   I decided to scramble up a trail that was well marked because I wanted to climb.  I got to the top of the landing, and then I almost couldn't figure out how to get down...

It was pretty windy so I didn't wear a hat.
The trail that I climbed up is on the other side of the hill behind me.

The rock face I had scaled up hid the trail that I had climbed up.  So  I had to slide down the other side of the hill.  This run was fun but, I always feel a little paranoid when I'm out in the boonies by myself.  I then headed back into the residential neighborhood for a few more miles. During the last mile, the rain began to come down... I was happy I didn't get soaked.   Here's the data.

Tuesday 4/26  6 Miles.  I made another attempt at particular Strava course record.  This is a hilly segment that is about a half mile, and it climbs 80 feet.  I have tried a few times to break the course record, and I'm slowly chipping away at my time.  I missed the course record by 3 seconds.  I really focused on driving up the hill by using my upper body.  It was strange because I felt like I was working hard but I mostly felt my upper body doing all of the work, and that my legs were just along for the ride.

After that segment was over, I continued uphill and then flipped a u-turn back down the hill three miles in.

When I got back I almost had a freak out when my Garmin data wouldn't sync.  I know it's dumb to care so much about your run stats...  I think I might be a little compulsive now because of Strava.

Wednesday 4/27-  4.3 miles  I left work at 4pm because it was Administrative professionals day, and we were allowed to leave early.   The weather was nice.  It was  a little windy, but not hot.  I was feeling kind of anxious too. I knew that I had a long night of brainstorming and writing ahead of me.  So I went for a short tempo run before I went to pick up my kids.  I ran along the Pittman Wash Trail, the first half was uphill, and the second half was downhill.  Here's the data

That night the rain came into valley

Thursday 4/28-  6.2 Miles.  I had the day off from work, and  I had two papers to write, and I knew that trying to write them at home would be hard (too many distractions).  I dropped my kids off at school, and then I headed to Sunset Park to run loops around their dirt track.

This picture is from a nice spring day, on the day I went it was
gray and cloudy.

 I  went to the park, because I figured the roads would be really gross, and people in Las Vegas don't know how to drive in the rain.

I wore my trail shoes, and it didn't rain while I was out running, it was just super humid.

Friday 4/29- 9.5 Miles.   This was my long run for the week.  I dropped my kids off, and I headed out to Lake Las Vegas for a change of scenery.  In the past, I have run through the Wetlands Recreation Area.

 and I have run along the River Moutain Trail Loop.

Well, it turns out that these trails intersect at Lake Las Vegas.  I parked my car about a mile away from Lake Las Vegas, and I hopped on a connector trail that leads towards Lake Las Vegas. I was a little worried about getting lost, but there were great markers and plenty of other cyclists or hikers out on the trails.

The first two miles were downhill, and then the rollers began.

I started at 9am and finished around 10:30, and it was pretty warm when I was done.  For fuel, I threw a few dried apricots into my waist pack.  This run ended up climbing a little over 800 feet.  Here's the data:

 
Saturday 4/30-  Two a day The rain came back again early Saturday morning.

In the morning, I worked out with my husband in our garage.  I did a hodge-podge of weight lifting exercises.
Overhead shoulder presses 
Weight assisted chin ups 
Good mornings with light weight 
Squats with light weight 
Bicep curls 
Dead Lifts- 95lbs for reps ( I had never attempted to go heavy before, and I was surprised that I could lift 95lbs for reps) 
Front shoulder raises with bar. 
Situps 
Pushups 
And then I walked my kids to the park pulling them in their radio flyer wagon. (It had stopped raining by then.)
 Once The kids were down for a nap, I decided to go for another sloppy run in the mud.

Sunday 5/1-  7.5 Miles I wanted to finish off the week with some more miles.  I was probably dehydrated, from not drinking enough water the day before, and with Friday's hilly run, I just felt tired.   This run was nothing to write home about.

Last week totaled 44.8 Miles and I climbed 2,388 feet.

Strava Climbing Challenges (#Stravaproblems)

For the last two months, I have been climbing quite a bit.  I'm not a serious trail runner, I only hit the trails a few times a month, so I can't really compare my climbing to some of the serious elevation trail runners tackle.  However, Strava provides distance and elevation challenges each month.  And these challenges have been really motivating for me.   In both March and April, I had climbed over 2200 meteres or around 7,216 feet,

The badge on the far left is the April Climbing badge, and
 the one on the far right is the March climbing badge

I stopped doing the distance challenges because I don't want the pressure of hitting a certain # of miles each week.  But, the climbing challenges have been my jam lately.  However, during the month of May Strava has set the bar really  high with a Mt. Everest Climbing challenge.

To earn this baby I would have to climb 3,489 meters or 11,444 feet in the month of May.  I love a good challenge, but I think I would be a real dumbass trying to tackle this sucker.  I would have to average 2584 feet of climbing per week ... The only way I would be able to accomplish this is if I ran mostly trails, and put some serious mileage in...  A part of me is thinking "Come on you can do it!" But, I have to listen to reason....

The snakes are waking up from hibernation, and it is just going to be way too hot to attempt this. Plus I don't want to run my legs and feet ragged.   FWIW 45 miles a week is high volume for me, I can't imagine running 60 miles per week, and I admire the cats that can put in that kind of mileage.  

 So I'm going to back off on the climbing challenge for this month.  Since the weather is getting hotter. I will probably be spending more time on the treadmill. But, I also want to spend more time building up my core and upper body in the gym.

Did I really just sign up for that?!

Because I'm impulsive sometimes..... I have been thinking of running the marathon for fun.  But, I know once we get closer to the date I will start trying to get my ducks in a row.  I know I said earlier this year that I wasn't going to run a marathon in the fall....  But, I just can't seem to quit you RNRLV.

As always Thank you for reading. :)