Coming Back from the Wooziness

Ever read one of those blogs where they haven’t posted for a while, and the blogger says stuff like “I’ve been sooooo busy” and the like.  Well, go back and read those and that’ll fit this one, too!  I have been terribly busy, but through it all I’ve been able to keep up with running.

The week before last I added in some new weight training.  Up to this point, I’ve stuck with machines, but I decided to switch over to free weights to make my workouts more effective and efficient.  Among the exercises was the highly recommended squat.  Well, the squats really thrashed my legs.  This derailed my running a bit, and I wasn’t able to put in the miles I had previously while my legs recovered.  I still got a long run of 11 miles in despite the damage.

Then on Sunday softball season started.  We had our first practice, and the first ball thrown my way I misjudged or lost in the sun or something; I don’t really know!  Anyway, it smacked me in the face, causing a nasty little cut and some pretty good bleeding.  I patched it up the best I could and got back out there.  Unfortunately, there was a little more to it than that.

My next run went okay, but not quite up to par as I seemed to be very lethargic.  This general feeling of being tired, and also feeling out of it, continued through the week.  I went back to the gym and the free weights, cut out one set (I’ll add it back in as I progress), and my body responded great without pain.  I still felt quite tired, though.  Also, loud noises really bothered my head, and I would get headaches from time to time.  The culprit?  A mild concussion!  I’m feeling better, but still not completely rid of the ailment. 

This morning, though, I had a great run.  The weather was outstanding, and I’m motivated to do the North Face Endurance Challenge 10k this weekend.  Saturday will be an off day and then the 6.2 miles the day after.  I’m not doing a long run this week because of this race.  I’ll pick them up again next week.  Might do the body some good anyway.

At packet pickup, I snapped this shot of the starting line:

This is in Kansas City, and that's the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in the background.  This is a picturesque part of the city, so it should be nice.  They are calling for mid-60's weather, too...I hope the forecast stays true!

Seems like a well-run event so far.  Nice North Face Tech t-shirt to entrants.  Dean Karnazes is the headliner; he’s running in the marathon on Saturday, but I’m not sure if he’ll still be around on Sunday when I run. 

I feel like I’m getting back into the swing of things.  Next weekend I’m going to Vegas, and while there I’m going to enjoy myself.  I might (repeat, might) do a three-miler on the Strip on Sunday; that’d be kind of fun.  I’ll be sure to do my long run on the Friday before I leave.  I’ll keep on track…still have my half to worry about!

Enjoy your progress,

Travis