A crazy few weeks

Well! The past couple weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind. 

I assumed, after "managing to run through Covid" last year, that it would be a breeze to continue on, as such, this year. You know what I forgot about? How the (very relative) lack of Covid (closures, anyway) makes TONS more work for me! Good, good, good for the business. Bad, bad, BAD for training. Insanely bad!

Two weeks ago I headed off to the first equine competition in 22 months. It was a big deal, was amazing to be back out, and was INSANE as I had a ton on my plate. Running was entirely out of the question, and I did not fret one bit. 

The following week, I was flying solo at home, as Eric was enjoying his first camping trip in at least two years. All of this would hardly have affected me, had I not managed to put up 90% of my yearly hay during that time. Thankfully, the weather was pretty cool, but it was ROUGH. I am a strong woman, but that sort of thing is not really a one woman job. 

Interestingly enough, lugging 700 plus bales of hay immediately triggered shin pain. I felt a little panic, knowing that for the past TWO years, shin pain has seriously messed up my summer plans. I was then forced to take several MORE days off, as I really know better than to run on angry shins. But WTF? Has it been hay lugging all along that has triggered the shin pain of death? I really have to wonder..... The timing makes it highly suspect, and I will be paying close attention to this in the future. 

Thankfully, at this point, the shins are feeling 100% better. The weather, which has been TERRIBLE (legit WELL over 90 for many days) is about to moderate. AND during this shit show, I was able to get in a 10 mile hike. (with my cousins! who got to visit!!!!!!)

I'm really not where I wanted to be mileage wise at this point. Life is certainly managing to get in the way, and I'm being flexible because I know this time won't last. 

And the thing is, after last year of having so few things to do EXCEPT run, I'm not complaining that I have things on my schedule! 

I know my super stupid busy days are going to continue to the weekend, and then we have hiking on the schedule. Next week looks promising to get in a few runs, and try to hit the restart button for the 167th time this year..... 

Chugging along

While neither my mileage or speed were impressive in the least last week, the good news was I did get out to run 5 times! MIRACLE.

The weather was unseasonably cold at the beginning of the week (legit yuck- low 50's, drizzle, wind) and then ABSURDLY hot for the weekend (WTF??? 92! Humid! Pollen! GROSS.)

Honestly, I'll take the cold and damp over the blistering heat. It's a bit much. 

Look closely for falling pollen.....

No hiking which was a bummer, it's been a little dry spell here after such a strong winter and Spring season. I'm dealing with a real lack of qualified help at work right now which makes everything a greater challenge. I am hoping that once my newest person is more trained things will even out a bit (and not to be harsh, but they have been in my barn now for some months. I'm questioning if the job is the right fit for them, but time will tell.....)

I'm hoping to get in 4 runs this week and a decent size hike. Fingers CROSSED (I'm not sure at all why I think this is going to happen since I am the lone person working this weekend. #dreams)

Oh, I ended up finishing 7th in the last challenge that I was working on. Not the 1st place that I held onto for a while, but not terrible considering that my running took a sharp nosedive in May. 

I did sign up for a couple more to take me through the summer. It seems people aren't really on the bandwagon anymore (understandably) so this will be the final one for me. (I'm actually doing 2 at the same time because I had a discount code...) 

Anyway. Summer is here, if only in the weather. Hope it cools down!

Miles run: 19.3! I'm actually really pleased with this! 

Hottest day: 92 WTF

Coldest Day: Gross and 50

Hikes? None this week.... 

Longest run: 5

Placement in challenges:

750 miler- 18/33

400 miler- 3/7