Monday, August 3, 2009

Umm, Let's Call it Vacation

Yeah. Yeah. That' the ticket. We'll just call last week "vacation." That's it. Sounds good to me? What about you?

Well - after getting back from Philadelphia on Thursday night it has been one thing after another. Here' the way things stacked up:

Friday: Cancel AM 9 mile run due to client issues. Client is on the East Coast, so the phone calls start rolling in at 5:30 AM. Couldn't run in the PM because of a family commitment. KC and the Sunshine Band at the Orange County Fair! Yup - all you 20 and 30 somethings probably have no idea who I'm talking about. Let me say this though - KC was the Kevin Federline for all us 50 somethings (Sorry for the lousy quality. Recorded on my iPhone 3Gs):



Disco still lives! And judging by the way all us old folks were dancing, it lives in our memories more than in our bodies.

Saturday: About ready to head out the door for a 16 miler. Then the phone rings. Same client as Friday calling. By the time I was done, it is nearing 9AM. 16 miles in the sun and heat wasn't going to cut it. Saturday PM out as it's my turn to prepare dinner (I try to give my wife Saturday and Sunday off from cooking detail). On the menu - chicken kebabs on the grill. Man. Grill. Man in his element (except maybe for the lack of a certain carbohydrate refreshment).

Sunday: What the hell. So far the week has been a write off. I figured I'd just keep it perfect and sleep in. The long days and travel was catching up to me. The one exciting thing - I went shopping at a local Japanese store and noted some Engrish:

(By the way - I'm half Japanese, but I still chuckle when I see these signs in Asian markets. Hey folks - aren't we fourth of fifth generation here in the U.S.?)

Bottom line - last week was a big zero. Zilch. But I'm feeling really good. No more tweaks. No more niggles. And I put in a new record for me - 172 miles in July. I think this old body is still trying to get used to the 50 mile week.

Not to worry though. I'll be back at it tomorrow. The plan for the week:

Monday: One last rest day. Might erg in the afternoon.
Tuesday: 5 mile recovery. To the gym for stretching and core work.
Wednesday: Intervals. 3.25 mile warm up. 5 X 800 with 400 rest. One mile warm down.
Thursday: 11 mile general aerobic run.
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: 13 mile medium long run.
Sunday: 7 mile recovery run. To the gym for stretching and core work.

Total planned: 44 miles.

Whew. Back to it......

12 comments:

  1. Your body needed time off to rest. Anytime I plan time off, I end up with a different week of it actually happening.

    I see the same sign issues all over LA. I blame the print shops. Shouldn't a good print shop also have at least one person who's really good with language? Most native English speakers wouldn't qualify.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hilarious Glenn. Love your Engrish and old bodies doin' the disco!

    Life happens and you can't always pick run over life. Hope you have a great week. 50 miles here you come.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the well wishes on grad school! I'm glad you said it was more fun than undergrad, too. Definitely something to look forward to!

    Sounds like your body needed a rest, esp. with that crazy work schedule....5:30 a.m. work calls?? Yikes. I'm sure what that's really like, but I freelance and sometimes a bar manager will call me back at 10 p.m....like I'm still working at 10 p.m.! Crazy crazy.

    Hope this week is a good running week for you!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you obviously needed the "vacation".....I hope you enjoyed it! Sleep is GOOD!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your vacation sounds just like mine. You take it where you can! Nothing wrong with a bit of a respite. You obviously needed it.

    My kids (21 and 25) know who KC and the Sunshine band are. Is that wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have actually seen them in concert when I went with my dad to a work function. I just sat and stared. Also, you obviously needed the rest. Way to allow rest and get back after it this week! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. K.C. and the Sunshine band rock!!!

    I hate when work gets in the way too! It sounded like you needed the rest anwyay.

    Good luck this week!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I always say unplanned rest does the body good. Now, why don't you do a little dance, make a little love and get down tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's not a homemade sign. I'm wondering if they did it on purpose to get people talking (and a little free advertising...I put NOTHING past marketing people these days...)

    Gotta wonder how many times KC has sang "get down tonight, get down tonight." Sadly, for us, it never gets old.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glenn- this post was hysterical! Yeah...let's call it vacation is kinda my LIFE motto! I always feel like stuff is coming up and getting in the way of my training. But you'll get back to it and none for the worse.

    So you like Montana too eh? But a no on FL!! Hmmm....was that for just living in FL or even for vacationing in FL??? ; - ) Have a great day! Christine

    ReplyDelete
  11. haha. no biggie. i'm glad you didn't put any stress/pressure on yourself over it! get back in the game this week and attack it hard. your legs should be raring to go!

    i've heard of kc and the sunshine band but i don't know if i could name one of their songs... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey now! Im 19 and I know who KC and the Sunshine Band are! =]

    Dont beat yourself up over the 'vacation'. lifes what happens when you're busy making plans to run :)

    you asked a super duper long time ago what my training plan is for disney. honestly, at this point, i havent the slightest clue. I have talked to a few people who i will be working at disney with who are training for marathons/5ks, and an ironman and i have made plans to run with them while im down there...but its mostly going to depend on my work schedule (which is kinda going to suck, because the park i am going to work at opens the earliest - meaning, ill have to get up REALLY early to run, and then shower, and go to work) and it also depends on how well i adjust to the florida heat and humidity *sigh* overall, im not really too worried about it - ive kind of decided to forgo the 13k..but i may do the two 5ks and those dont take too much out of me. so we shall se!

    ReplyDelete