Rested and Rejuvenated

I was supposed to run the half at the Salt Lake Marathon this weekend. It didn’t happen and I couldn’t have been happier about it. This training cycle has gone pretty well, and I didn’t experience exhaustion until last week, after the 21-miler.

Since then, the exhaustion, coupled with my terrible sleep patterns had me feeling worn out. A drama-free weekend at home was just what I needed.

I actually slept in till past 7 am on Friday morning (I was so excited about this), and since it was a scheduled rest day, I leisurely lounged around and spent the morning reading. Can’t remember when the last time was that I did that!

Later, I met my cousin for brunch (she had the day off too), then headed off to spend some long overdue time with friends. We had a pretty chill day, finishing it off with a heaping dinner of pizza and pasta.

I woke up on Saturday morning, fully rested on 8 hours of semi-interrupted sleep! I felt like a new person!

I had 13-miles scheduled and it looked like the East Bay weather was going to cooperate with me. That is, if I had actually left when I had intended to.

Lounging in bed on Friday morning spoiled me, and so I didn’t actually get out the door until after 8 am.

I ran a course that was used for a half-marathon a couple years ago. It ran down long streets, which made it very easy to follow, but there were a couple of tough hills thrown in there.

Like this one up Old Ranch Road:

Or the 2-mile climb on Crow Canyon Road:

The fog had burned off by the time I got to the last few miles, making it pretty tough to run in minimal shade. I hadn’t passed by any water fountains and had to make my 2 itty bitty water bottles in my fuel belt last the whole way. The thought of the ice-cold Gatorade waiting for me in the fridge was the only thing that motivated me to finish.

This run honestly felt harder than the 21-miler I did the previous week, but I finished and that’s all that matters.

Not only did I pig out on Mexican food at lunch, I also treated myself to a piezookie that evening at dinner!

My Sunday’s are usually pretty structured where I like to get up early to get my workout in (usually done by 9 am), then go through a whole list of errands and chores. But today, I didn’t get out of bed till 11 am. I managed to get some laundry done, then went out and spent the afternoon with family. I usually “don’t do Sundays” so this was a nice little break to my routine.

This weekend was exactly what I needed; a chance to rest and reconnect. I feel very much rejuvenated and ready for another week! Only 14 days till race day!

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