The Little Chemist That Could: Reassessment

Ok, so I've decided the Clemson Tri is not happening. It's not that I can't make it work (I *hate* that word), it's that I am not willing to sacrifice the family time and the sleep that would be necessary to make it work. I am 100% ok with that and I accept that my priorities are different now than they would have been a couple of years ago.

For now, I'm eye-balling the Cradle to Grave 30k trail race in May. Will re-assess the triathlon situation as I go.

Monday - strength
Had to get this one done lickety-split before an all-day meeting. Warmed up with 1mi on the treadmill, then did lifting of 8-10 reps / 3 sets:

bench press
tri cable pull-down
deadlift
-----
pull-up
hammer curls
squats
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standing cable row
overhead press
side-step resistance band
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Finished with a set of core:
20x mason twist, 20x toe-touch, 20x heels-to-heaven, 10x pushups

Tuesday - #10kTuesday
HOT. It was hot. It was in the mid-80s when I ran at lunch and boy I felt it. Still miraculously managed to hold a 9-min pace.

Wednesday - bike
Bike ride with Megan at lunch. It was much cooler than Tuesday! We rode the Sherman College loop and held a good steady pace. Felt great to be out on the bike and it was a lovely day.

Thursday - ~~run~~
~~Run is going to be this afternoon~~, so while I'm at work, I'm contemplating... I think I want to make this the Year of the Trail Run, and Year of the Ultra. !!!
I've already done the Croft Half (well, that was late 2016, but whatever) and the Yeti or Not 25k. So I'm thinking Cradle to Grave 30k in May then working up to the FATS 50k in October. Maybe. MAYBE.
More on this later as I continue to contemplate.
Saving this for later http://running.competitor.com/files/2012/11/46_nat_r1.pdf

Car shopping ended up taking longer than planned, so no afternoon run. But D & I had a nice evening walk around the neighborhood!

Friday - ~~yoga~~ run
Yesterday's run didn't work out, and I know tomorrow's "race" is going to be very casual since I'll have D with me, I decided to get out today at lunch for a run. Did a nice 4.5 miles around the campus, partially on the XC trails. Sub-9 pace! Felt really nice out.

Saturday - Milliken Earth Run 5k
D and I had a great time at the Earth Run 5k this morning! We had to leave the house about regular weekday morning time and stopped at Tommy's Country Ham House to grab breakfast (biscuits!). Got to the race location a bit after 7 due to an almost-puke incident, and proceeded to "help" with the race set-up and packet pick-up. I loaded him into the stroller about 8:45 and we headed to the back of the start area with the rest of the walkers. There was only one other stroller that I saw on the course, which isn't surprising since strollers aren't really recommended on the cross-country course. It's mostly hard packed dirt or very short grass, which isn't bad to run on, but there are a few rooty spots where it gets a little rough. I'd planned to walk the entire thing and maybe jog to the finish, but I quickly got tired of weaving around other walkers and decided I needed to get ahead of the pack. I ended up running pretty much the entire race, except a few really rooty/rocky sections and a couple of uphills. Every time I would pass someone I'd hear a gasp of exasperation. :P
We ended up finishing in just over 30 minutes, and D had a great time on the run, shouting "wheeeee" on every single downhill. I loved running this race with him! Such a great running buddy, and a beautiful day to be out in general.

Sunday - hill run
I went into Sunday not knowing what exercise options would be possible due to prediction of rain all day. Mid-afternoon, the clouds parted and the forecast was no more rain until close to dinner time, so I headed out for a run from the house up to the top of Paris Mountain via Altamont Road.

'Run Happy'

Starting out from the house, I immediately realized my legs were more tired than I'd anticipated from Saturday's 5k. Yes, it was "just a 5k" but the challenge of pushing the stroller over grass/dirt terrain and actually running a pretty hard race took its toll!