Trail running, a 5k, my dog, and big mileage completed for July for me

I've taken a few days off from running. I am feeling wiped out, maybe due to the weather or maybe due to over training or because I just haven’t been feeling good or any combination thereof. Here it is Wednesday and I haven’t run since Saturday night. Here’s a re-cap of last week:

Monday night: I waited until it cooled off and didn't go out running until 8:30pm. My dog Keeli loves going with me, so the later I wait, the better it is on her. She’s a husky, sometimes she pushes me to go faster, and other times, she slows me down. We got in a decent 2.2 mile run/walk in 34 minutes.

Tuesday: In the morning a friend of mine shared on Facebook that a local runner was missing from the night before. He had gone out and didn’t return. It was very sad. Reports state he doesn't run with his phone. Police started their search, even brought in a K-9 to search. Unfortunately, this story did not have the hoped for ending. Chad Rogers’ body was finally found on Friday. Reports so far are that there wasn't fool play involved.

This event did bring up concerns from my mom, my grandma and one of my close friends. I do not go running without my phone and I usually have my running belt/pack on as well. If it’s cool enough and I’m going somewhere I can take Keeli with me, she goes. When I don’t have her with me and I am running alone, I am usually paying closer attention to other people around me, trying to make eye contact, and I tend to have my phone in my hand as well.

Wednesday: I was going to go to a group run with the Trail Nerds group at Shawnee Mission Park, however I had left my bag with my running clothes at home. So I decided to make a stop at the chiropractor’s office. I was really out of place! After putting me back in place, I went home, changed into my running clothes and headed to Parkville Nature Sanctuary.  This was my first time running here. The trail seems to be a work in progress. Part of it is graveled, which made running a little difficult:

Other parts of the trail were more trails like and enjoyable:

I nearly ran into a doe, which I think surprised both of us. She took off before I could snap a picture. Right about the same time, I had a big old flying creature start buzzing around me and I took off at top speed, really I was going as fast as I could go, like sprinting! I just kept thinking to myself, I need to remember to put on bug spray when I go out on the trails and hoping that I didn't trip and fall. I did manage to snap this picture:

Finally it stopped chasing me, probably a good thing since this is what I saw when I slowed down:

Yep, I might have tripped over those rocks and fallen flat on my face, ouch! The rest of the trail was uneventful, oh wait… just beyond the trail in the above picture, I had an 8 point buck jump in front of me about ten yards away. Luckily I didn’t have to deal with anymore gravel, big flying bugs, or deer after this section. Towards the end of my trail run, I got to enjoy this:

Unfortunately, my picture is a little blurry, but you get the idea. There is another part of the waterfall up to the right on the other side of the bridge. It was getting dark, but hard to tell since the flash was used in the picture. In the end, I really enjoyed this short 2.4 mile run, which took me about 50 minutes to complete. Unfortunately, Parkville Nature Sanctuary doesn't allow dogs, so if I run there, Keeli won’t be joining me.

Thursday: I use to do my runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, however, I have class on those nights now. I’m going to school to be a Personal Trainer. This night’s class was Kettlebell training. Pryor to class, I went to visit Fitness First. It’s a fitness supply company that our Tuesday night instructor told us about and it wasn't too far from the school. I was able to pick up two Kettlebells (10lb and 15lb) for a very reasonable price. In class we learned more about the Kettlebell swing, clean and jerk, and practiced some of the moves we learned from the week before. Then we ended up doing a Tabata session using the Kettlebell movements we learned. Burned lots of calories that night and ended up also hitting 10,000 steps just as I left the building after class. Usually I have to walk my dog around the apartment complex after class several times in order to reach that 10,000 step mark.

Friday: I took it easy. I gave blood on Friday at work doing the special donation were they hook you up to the Alyx machine. They take out your blood like normal, but then run it through this machine (Alyx), take what they need and put the rest back inside of you. I did really well until the last time they put back when they didn’t need. I got a little woozy. They just laid me back and gave me something to drink and eat. I was okay for the most part after that. Then I went to get my daughter from camp. We both fell asleep when we got back to my apartment and her dad showed up shortly after that to pick her up. I hadn't gotten a long enough nap, so I tried to lay down again. I laid there for a little bit, but couldn't fall back to sleep and gradually was awake enough to not have a headache. I decided to take myself to see a movie, Wolverine! It was pretty good.  Went home afterwards and went to bed.

Saturday: Had class that morning and a 5k that night. I took my running clothes with me, however we ended up getting out early and I went home and took a nap as I was pretty tired. Got up, felt tired still, and met up with my friend Meghan and we rode together to the event, with her husband and daughter. We got there way early and we were able to find good parking and pick up our race packets quickly. I warmed up a little prior to the start, but that didn't seem to help. It took almost the entire first two miles for my legs to stop hurting, even while walking. They were really hurting and I almost quit, so I ended up walking most of the first two miles. It really upset me too. Once I hit that two mile marker though, I was good to go and was able to do my run/walk pattern.. I finished in 46 minutes, not my fastest, but not my slowest either. Considering my legs, I was satisfied with my time, even if I was upset about my legs hurting. I did feel like I could have probably done another 3-5 more miles at that point as well.  Here's Meghan and me and then the Bling for the 5K:

Sunday: I was planning on doing some bigger miles on this day; however, I was just too wiped out. I ended up going to breakfast with my close friend. After that, I ended up gathering up my laundry in preparation to head to my mom and grandma’s. I also gathered up my 2lb dumbbells and some bands to give to my mom and grandma since I wasn't using them anymore. I was loading up my car and well Keeli was giving me the “come on mom, I wanna go for a ride” look. She also was doing her “husky talk” when I would shut the door when taking something to the car. So here she is:

Keeli loves going for rides. Lately she’s been in the back seat and goes from one side to the other. This day was different, she wanted the front seat. So off we went… I did a short workout with my grandmother. It was a little difficult with mom there, she kept interrupting me.  That’s my mom, it’s what she does.

I forgot to mention that I had ordered some compression sleeves for my legs earlier in the week and I got them on Friday. I wore them on Sunday. My grandma asked me if I was wearing duel colored socks or two pairs of socks. My grandma has a sense of humor and was definitely in full form on Sunday. Anyway, back to the compression sleeves. I wasn't really sure if they would help or not. I didn’t have to wonder for too long. One of the dogs at my mom and grandma’s, Milo, got loose and took off running. Milo has a story, he was my dog for a long while, but first he was my grandma’s, now he’s back to being my grandma’s. Well I took off running after Milo. I didn't warm up; I just took off sprinting after him. He’s a runner. Australian shepherd mix is what he is. He’s beautiful as well. He runs across the road. I was almost to him and he took off again. I was almost to him again and he took off… again. Luckily, someone driving by turned around and helped me catch him. That sprinting wasn't going to keep me going, it’s not what I am trained for. By the time Milo was caught, I was breathing heavily, not horribly, but heavy and I was winded. It didn't take me long to recover though. My mom had gotten in her car and drove down to meet us, so I didn't have to walk back to their house. I got in the car and noticed that my shins were not hurting. So, I guess, maybe I will start wearing them while out running.

Monday:  I didn't go to work. In the middle of the night, my stomach started bothering me and when I got up to get ready for work, I starting throwing up a little. I went back to sleep. I woke up still tired and wiped out, but I didn't go back to sleep. Monday was a lazy day. I almost got in 8,000 steps though.

Tuesday: Made it to work, still feeling yucky, but not as bad. I almost decided to skip class, but glad I didn't. I felt much better by the time we were done, even though we did a seven point body fat check and well, I have some improvement, but I already knew that. Got re-assigned to a new account ability partner and we have to come up with a workout for them for next Tuesday. I did end up having to walk Keeli around after class in order to get my 10,000 steps in, but at least I had the energy to do so.  I didn't track how far I walked her, just a leisurely walk.

Today: My goal is get in at least 3 miles tonight, 6 would be better, but I don’t want to push myself too much. Right now I am sitting at 57 tracked miles for the month of July. My longest run at one time was 4.8 miles, but I also did another run that day for 3.75 miles. I wrote this earlier and wanted to give an update… I did get in my 3 miles… 3.12 to be exact. It wasn't fast (51:51 was my time) and it wasn't pretty, but I got it done and my dog Keeli really enjoyed it.

Now here comes August... I don't think I have any scheduled races coming up this month, but you never know what might pop up. There is a trail race coming up Friday, but I don't know if my daughter will be staying with me yet. Other than that, I am just going to try to keep up with my training for my fall races.