Not-So-Fab 40s 5K

Well, ugh.

I ran the Fab 40s 5K today. I ran this one last year, and it's a great race--a lovely, shady, flat course through the Fab 40s in Sacramento. This is a neighborhood of gorgeous older homes, lovingly tended, set back from the streets and graced by perfect lawns, huge old trees that shade the streets...it's a lovely part of Sacramento.

The race is well-organized, too, so no complaints there. Last year, I even PR'd in this one, so I went out there this morning hoping to PR again.

Alas, it was not meant to be. I felt sluggish the whole way.

I was using Jeff Galloway's run-walk method, and I got to a point where I was praying for those one-minute walk intervals because my right leg was inexplicably hurting (it's fine, it was just being a jerk), my sides were cramping, and I just couldn't do more than flop along the road like a wet noodle when I ran. I use that term loosely.

It wasn't pretty.

I have to remind myself that I've been pushing it lately. I ran nine miles last Sunday, then turned around and did a fierce kettlebell workout on Monday. I mean, compound exercises like a deep squat with a bicep curl at the bottom, then pushing up to standing while doing an overhead press. Brutal? Oh, yes.

The rest of the week, I continued getting good workouts in, as well as teaching my last three hectic days of EF for this summer (with any luck, ever, but that's another blog post).

I suppose I was just tired today. Still, it was profoundly frustrating to slog along. I feel like with all the running I've been doing, I should be feeling stronger, faster.

Tomorrow is Long Run Day, and I'm going to set the timer for 2 minute run/1 minute walk. I figure I've earned a slightly easier long run, and I'm not actively trying to run myself into the ground, here.

And with that, it's 9:00 and I want to get up insanely early to get that run in before it's twelve hundred degrees out there, so...signing off.