At the beginning of this week I felt exactly as the bear did in this image.

I knew I was going to have a tough time getting all of our scheduled training runs in this week due to my colonoscopy on Wednesday. We were scheduled to run 5 miles on Tuesday, 4 on Thursday and the long run on Saturday was a new distance of 9 miles. Since I was required to fast all day on Tuesday for the prep of the procedure on Wednesday, I wanted to move the 5 mile run to Monday. I did not count on my knees and lower back still aching from the long, 8 mile run the previous Saturday (and some tough rock climbing in the gym). It did not seem like a smart move to push my lower extremities that hard for just a short training run, especially when I know I can handle a 5 mile run fairly easily. If I injured myself at this point I would have been quite irritated at my choice to move up the run and stress old injuries. So, I decided to skip the Tuesday training all together-not something I do very often!

The colonoscopy went well and I took the rest of Wednesday night to recover. Then, I hit the rest of the week HARD! Thursday morning was my first run in 4 days! I was still dehydrated and a little weak so I took the 4 miles slower than usual, running an average pace of 9:48, but that was ok. It felt great to get back out there!

Friday I went rock climbing with my son!

We went to Leavenworth Washington, about 2 hours east of our home in Redmond. It was sunny on the other side of the mountain pass and no one was on our routes, so we could take our time. We trad climbed on February Buttress, two routes, three pitches each. This shot was taken on our third pitch as we were topping out on Ground Hog Day.

Ryan snapped a second shot while I was belaying him up the second pitch of Aquarius. Both climbs were only 300 to 400 feet up, but it looks so high in some of these pictures!

We hung out at the top and took in the view of the river and snow covered peaks around us.

And, had a snack and some water. This is my son’s idea of a healthy snack! I love him but he is a garbage can!

Of course, what goes up must come down. We simultaneously rappelled both routes. And, even though we both had a couple twists and spins into the rock, there were only minor abrasions.

I did not get hurt until the hike down. The descent was extremely steep and full of loose rocks (as many rock paths happen to be) and I fell hard, flat on my back, onto a pointed rock! I have no doubt that I cracked my tailbone-the bruise and pain make that obvious! Walking  and sitting were tough, and I was very concerned about the long run the next day. I would have to wait and see if that would happen. But it was all worth it!

It was a great day hanging (literally!) out with my son, who recently turned 21. Since he had to spend the whole day with his mom, I took him to dinner where we sat at the bar and he was carded for the first time. He even let me buy him a drink even though he has not acquired the taste for it yet. It was a fun milestone for me!

Then, I got up this morning with my nasty butt bruise and made the decision to try for the 9 miles today. It took the first 3 or 4 miles to get the old body through the pain, but eventually I got used to it and finished with a respectable 10 minute average.

The rain held off until the second half of the day which was much appericated, and I will take Sunday off from running. Just some light indoor climbing tomorrow will cap off the week. Not everything I did this week was super fun (referencing the colonoscopy here), but I am grateful that my body was able to function and allow me to do all the activities I truly enjoy!  I am feeling very blessed tonight, albeit sore!

Next week is another repeat of the 5, 4 & 9 mile schedule, and the start of the May calendar!

May 2017 Half Marathon Training Schedule
This is a blank and printable May Calendar. Courtesy of WinCalendar.com

◄ April 2017	May     2017					June 2017 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
week 10	1	2 5miles	3	4 4miles	5	6 9miles
7 week 11	8	9 6miles	10	11 5miles	12	13 10miles
14 week 12	15	16 6miles	17	18 5miles	19	20 10miles
21 week 13	22	23 5miles	24	25 4 miles	26	27 11miles
28 week 14	29	30 5miles	31

The weeks are flying by now and race day will be here in no time!