After a short hiatus from running and spending a few days sleeping more, I am feeling better. I still have a little sinus pressure and I am queen of the snot rocket, but I am back to training! Woohoo! Although the week did have a bit of a rough start with two rest days on Monday and Tuesday, I managed to pick it up and have a great week of training and high mileage as we start to get into my peak weeks for Colfax. I was unable to do much yoga because of the sinus infection (yoga made my face feel like it was going to explode). The nice thing about a few days off is that my legs felt so fresh and light. Without the cumulative mileage, I really felt strong and easily hit paces (even though I was sick). This certainly gave me a lot of hope for Colfax. I imagine that although training is hard right now, after the taper, Colfax might actually feel pretty good.
Monday and Tuesday: Rest days where I stayed in bed as much as I could and tried not to snot all over everything.
Wednesday: 6.1 miles on trail
I went out to the Konza Prairie, a preserve about 10 minutes from my house. It was a beautiful, but slightly cold day. I was still not feeling quite well, but I wanted to get back to training. The trail takes you 6 miles through rolling prairie with some pretty awesome views of town. The run was tough. I struggled to make it up the hills, and I had to stop every 2 miles or so to blow my nose and breath a little deeper. By the time I was done, I was crazy tired, but I really think it helped get me back on track, so it was worth it!
Thursday: 5 miles easy
This was supposed to be an easy run. I went out, hoping to hit paces close to 9:45-10:00/mile range. Well, my legs felt light and easy so I was hitting paces around 9:00/mi, which is my goal marathon pace. It felt so natural and chill to be out there and although my sinus infection was still giving me trouble, I just felt like I could go forever. I attribute this feeling to having very fresh legs from a few days off.
Friday: 8 miles Tempo HMP
I went out for a fast 8 miles with one of my friends in town. He tends to push the pace a little, so I do like to go on tempo runs with him. I was still having some trouble from my sinus infection, but it didn’t seem to make running my difficult… it just made me a little gross with lots of snot.
Saturday: Lots of hiking, no running though!
Sunday: 16 miles LSD
I was a little nervous about this run. The 16-mile distance is the first one where I really start to feel like I am training for a marathon. It’s long, slow, and at times, brutal. I started the run feeling a little icky, but as it went on, I started to feel stronger. Frank came along on his bike and we just went around exploring Lawrence, KS. The wind was incredible with gusts of up to 35 mph, but I still managed to hit goal pace. After the run, I basically went on an eating rampage and then hiked for a bit with a few friends. It was a great day!!
Total Mileage: 35.1
Despite the tough start, I had a great week with some quality runs. I was honestly a little concerned that getting sick would derail my training, but it really hasn’t. If anything, a few days off kind of gave my legs a nice rest. This next week will be a tough one. I will be hitting my highest mileage ever and I am taking a backpacking trip out to the Ozark Mountains. This means that my long run (18 miles) will be on Thursday and not on the weekend.
This week:
M: 4 miles recovery
T: 8 miles goal MP
W: Rest
T: 18 miles LSD
F: 4 miles recovery
S: Rest
S: 8 miles Trail
I know that I missed out on so much last week. How was your week? Any fun or exciting stories?
She Runs the Wasatch 
Great job this week! It’s so difficult to train when you aren’t feeling well, and you really powered through. Nice job listening to your body and getting the work done! And awesome job on that tempo run and 16 miler, you are awesome!
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Thanks! Yeah, the beginning of the week was real icky. I was glad that things kind of settled down as the week end on.
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Great week for someone who doesn’t feel that great. You are amazing and I would say that even if I wasn’t your mom. ❤
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Haha! Thanks! Running while sick is definitely hard.
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Solid bounce back week even with residual sickness. I always feel like I feel better when I sweat it out. When I feel a cold coming on I go out for a run to cough, sneeze, and whatever else all that sickness out of my body.
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I have a lot of trouble running while sick… especially if I feel it starting to come on. I’m just glad to be feeling mostly ok.
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Glad to hear that you are starting to feel better!
That hill at mile 11 looks brutal – way to get up and after it!!!
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It was so brutal! I kept asking myself why I was doing that while I ran up. The view at the top was great though!
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Good work getting back into the swing of things! 🙂 Runners are tough, I don’t think getting knocked down with sickness for a week is enough to derail marathon training. Well, not for someone like you at least!!!!
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Haha! Thanks. After Chicago not going as planned, I worry about everything derailing me. I feel like I’ve been training for a marathon for like a year and I have yet to run one. I was pretty glad that this was just a small blip in my training, though.
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I’m glad you’re feeling better! I love when an easy run feels so easy you can go faster…I am DREAMING of holding a 9 minute pace for a marathon haha. It sounds like recovery from your sinus infection left you strong than ever 🙂 I should remember that next time I stubbornly try to train through a serious illness!
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