Diving Back into Reality

I'm considering writing this recap the last part in "Operation Catch-up from Vacation." Not because this piled up during my trip, but because this sat on the back burner while I was working on everything that did pile up while I was away. That's one thing I hate about traveling. However, one thing that I love about traveling is that I get a chance to catch up on all of my magazines. During my flight home, I read this article by Dimity McDowell titled "How to be Epic." It's about McDowell's decision to do an Ironman, and the training that she did for it. While reading it, I couldn't help but wonder what'll come next after I accomplish my marathon goals. But that topic merits a post unto itself. After two posts (one and two) in as many days, I'll keep this one relatively short and succinct.

As far as tips of the week, I don't have much for you. BUT I do have something.

-Qdoba's chicken contains dairy. I learned this while traveling through Dallas on my way home, and trying to find something for lunch. Fortunately, they left their allergy menu on the counter, so I was spared any extra gastrointestinal discomfort on my flight home. But still, why do the seasonings for most of their meats contain whey? Oy. One reason why Chipotle ranks higher in my book.

-When traveling, research your dining options BEFORE you leave. The San Juan airport had nothing, except for a tacky airport bar that looked like it was straight out of the 60s (and was equipped with overpriced coffee and mediocre, unappealing breakfast options) and Cinnabon-type places.

-As I might've mentioned in last week's recap, my stomach was all out of whack by the time I left San Juan. So when I got back, I immediately jumped into my usual salad-a-day routine, and also threw in a smoothie-a-day (courtesy of the Nutribullet) in hopes of resetting my GI system. Within a few days, I was feeling better. Long story short, salad + smoothie = great reset button.

And onto the workouts!

Mon
Planned: rest or xt
Actual: hiking in the rainforest and paddle boarding

Tues
Planned: Lactate threshold 10 mi with 5 mi at 15K-HMRP
Actual: 4.05 mi interval work on the treadmill (1 mi warmup, 2 mi of 1 min on and 2 min off, 1 mi cooldown)

A recap of the last few days:
Sat - rest day/my friend's wedding (eat and drink way too much) 
Sun - recover from hangover/post-wedding brunch/walk around Old San Juan/hang out with the newlyweds and co. one last time (eat way too much; drink a little less than Sat)
Mon - hiking and ziplining in the rainforest/1 hour of paddle boarding (during which, a swift wind knocked me off of the board and into the salty lagoon) (eat too much; drink a little less than Sun) Tues (today) - spend 14.5 hours in transit to get back home, and 30 minutes after getting home, leave to go to the gym so I could run and get back into my routine. Today was 4 miles with interval work. 8 min warmup at 7.8-7.9 mph, 1 min at 9.3 mph, 2 min at 8.0 mph (x4), 1 min at 9.4 mph, 1 min at 8.0 mph, 1 min at 9.5 mph, and 6 min cooldown at 7.9-8.1 mph. Happy I did this.

Wed
Planned: Recovery 4
Actual: Recovery 5.02 mi

Meant to drag myself out of the house by 6. Didn't leave until 6:20. Oops. And I can't even use jet lag as an excuse, because the time zone I came from is 3 hours ahead of here. Also, last week I was running in 80º temps, and today, it was 44º. Ugh. Anyway, my legs felt a little tight on this run, which worries me a bit for the Bridge to Brews 10K. Perhaps I should foam roll tonight (and set a reminder in my calendar to do so). Got to run into the sunrise for part of this run -- hues of pink amidst the blue sky. Delightful. Also, my inner fat kid couldn't stop thinking about mofongo. I must find it in Portland. Maybe there's a food cart devoted to Puertorican cuisine?

Splits: 7:54, 8:05, 7:44, 7:21, 7:16, 6:18 (for 0.02)

Thurs
Planned: Medium long run 11 mi
Actual: Rest

I can't remember why I justified using this as a rest day, aside from my happy hour plans with my coworker (that we rescheduled once or twice beforehand).

Fri
Planned: Rest or xt
Actual: 6.03 mi

I waited until after work and picking up my B2B race materials to do this run. I don't know what it was, but I just wasn't feeling this run. It was one of those, "I feel thirsty and want water, and also can't wait to get home and eat everything in my house" kind of runs. I think I was getting over the jet lag too. Argh. On the plus side, I didn't spend any of my time on vacation feeling jet lagged.

Sat
Planned: Recovery 5
Actual: Easy 4.04 mi with PFR

Kept this one fairly easy and relaxed because of tomorrow's race. Ran with my friends Richard and Daniel (Richard's running the Newport half, and Daniel's running the Newport full), and was able to have a conversation with them. Also got a side-five on this run. (Granted, it was a fellow PFR, but a side-five is still a side-five.) Nice, misty weather too -- not too hot or too cold.

Sun:
Planned: 10K race (am); 11 mi (pm)
Actual: 1.09 mi warmup run to the race, 10K race, and 5.01 mi (pm)

Nothing noteworthy to share for the warmup run. Read this for my 10K recap. As far as the afternoon run goes, after I got home, I ate, cleaned my bathroom, and underestimated how much I didn't want to do those extra miles. But I eventually made my way out of the house with the intention of doing two 5M loops. However, my legs just weren't having it, so I ended up only doing one. I saw the ridiculous car with "The Christmas Story" leg sticking up from the roof (I saw this car during one of my long runs in September), and another car blaring rap music. I didn't think my neighborhood was a gangsta's paradise, but clearly, I've been proven wrong.

Planned total: 47 mi
Actual total: 31.52 mi

More miles than week 3, but still significantly off from the plan.

And with that, the Endurance mesocycle of the Pfitz plan has closed. Crazy to think that one whole mesocycle is down. Ahh! Next up: the Lactate Threshold plus Endurance mesocycle. Aka the "meat and potatoes of the Pfitz plan" (IMO). Aka the scarier portion of this whole training cycle. Stay tuned!

How long does it take you to get back into the swing of things after a trip (both for workouts and life)?