Easy Week

Wow. Now, I remember why I don't taper, and you can't even call what I did tapering. I tried to take it easy this week, but it only lasted until Thursday. I took Monday off of running but had to get some exercise, so I went right to Tin Mountain after work to do some recon on my Dirty Girl Trail Race Course. I walked the whole thing, still wearing my uniform so I wouldn't be tempted to run.

Race Director Selfie

The course looks great since my Tin Mt contact blew the leaves off the trail. It saves me a lot of work. I still have two very short sections I need to clear, but that will take me no time at all. I have over 120 women signed up for the race. I'm floored. I didn't expect the numbers to be so high, but I guess I found a niche.

Tuesday, I hit the Bolles Preserve by Chocorua lake for an easy 5.7 mile trail run. Way too short and easy, but I was still feeling Sleepy Hollow in my lower legs, so easy was good. The afternoon was a wash with a dentist appointment mix-up with John. We ended up having the time wrong and were too late for them to see him. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but his dentist is an hour away, so it kind of killed the day. We still got in a short walk in a park in Meredith.

Wednesday, I was considering a treadmill run before work but talked myself out of it. Convinced myself to take another zero. My horoscope confirmed this.

Haha

Probably a good thing because the quiet day at work did turn into a sleepless night. Not a single call, then, boom, right at 8pm, 3 back-to-back-to-back. I teched 2/3 so as soon as we got back, I had to write up two reports. By the time I was in bed, it was almost midnight. About an hour and 45 minutes later, I was woken up by dispatch to let us know we had a paramedic transfer to Maine Med. I was struggling to wake up, so I made a to-go cup of coffee while we waited for the stipend crew to come in. Then we hit the road. Surprisingly, I was wide awake for the whole drive there. After we left our patient, who was a bundle of joy (not), we hit the EMS room hoping for a sweet spread of snacks for EMS week. Last year, we had gourmet pizza and fruit, but I guess middle of the night losers are only left with one rotten strawberry and a cheap plastic frisbee.

Yay!

I was pretty freakin' tired, but I had no problem driving back to North Conway. The sun was rising, and my partner kept up conversation to keep me awake. Plus, I was on coffee #2. As soon as we got back, I managed a 30-minute cat nap before heading home.

There was no way I was taking another zero, even in my delirious state. I had coffee #3, visited the chiropractor (yes, Fryeburg) and then jumped on the Mountain Division Trail for a run. I was SO antsy after taking it so easy that I went out all crazy. Way too fast. No reason for it other than I just wanted to run and run hard. Half way through I felt like I was going to die. I had spotted a car key on the ground along the way but didn't pick it up, since I thought it might make it harder for whoever dropped it to find it, but just before I turned around, I saw a woman walking and obviously looking for something. I asked if she had dropped a key. She had, so I told her I would pick it up for her on my way back and then run it back to her. It was farther than I remembered, though, and the extra mileage hurt a little. I stopped to talk to her for a minute then continued on, but I had killed my momentum and ran back to the car much slower than the way out. Just a stupid ass run. Not smart. Still 6:27/mile pace for 8.3 miles, but it was just dumb and then got me worried about Vermont City. If I struggled at that pace for 8.3, how the hell am I going to do the marathon?!

I was super busy the rest of the day, so instead of catching up on sleep, I was on my feet all day prepping for my parents' arrival Thursday evening. I picked John up at his aerial class at Saco Valley Gymnastics and then picked my parents up at the bus stop in Conway a few hours later. We caught up for awhile, and I finally made it to bed by 11pm.

Friday, I slept in until 7:30am. I dropped John off at his homeschool group at Tin Mountain, then headed over to Hemlock Lane for an easy trail run with all 3 of my dogs. I ran Side hill over near Thompson Rd then back on the Pillar-to-Pond Trail for an easy, slow 5 miles. It's weird for this to be my easy, short run now. Just last year, this was one of my routine runs. Now, it seems way too short and easy. But as far as this week goes, it was the perfect choice.

I picked up John at Tin Mt, then went home. I still had to shower, eat and pack, so we weren't on the road to Burlington until after 3pm. 

Once in Burlington, we checked into the hotel, then hit Church St for dinner at Sweetwaters. We were starving! Awesome place. They even had poutine!

Poutine

Big day tomorrow with the Expo and all of the other stuff I have to do, so it will be a day to get serious and start thinking about the race. I don't wear the serious hat too often, but I guess I can pull it off for a day and a half. There's no messing around on Sunday if I want to meet my goal, so I have to cut my usual shit and get with it mentally. I'm nervous but looking forward to it.