WHAT A WEEK! Holy crap, last week was busy as hell!
Monday
I started off with a rest day on Monday. I had five miles on the schedule, but I wanted to give my knee an extra rest day after 29 miles across the previous three days. The plan was to get back to my training plan on Tuesday, but without the speed work, which I would start back up with again this week.
Tuesday
Because of a bonkers schedule for the rest of the week, this was going to be the last night my wife and I were going to see each other until Sunday so we decided to get up early before work and run so we could have a date night for sushi. I got myself out of bed at 5am, somehow, and knocked out an easy-ish eight miles. With it taking me an hour and a half to go from having run to being ready to leave the house for work, this is seems to be the maximum number of pre-work miles I can do.
Wednesday
This is when things really started to get out of control. I worked from home and knocked out an eleven-mile run during (an extended) lunch. Then I made my way into NYC after work to meet my friend Zoey for Thai and the Lawrence Arms/The Copyrights show at Gramercy Theatre. Of course, this ended up being a pretty late night and I didn’t get to bed until about 1:30am.
Thursday
I woke up at 6:30am like normal and worked from home again. Lunch was another RUNch with seven speedy miles miles on a tired body. After work, it was time to head on down to South Jersey to meet up with one of my oldest friends, Joe, for pizza and my second of three straight nights seeing The Lawrence Arms and The Copyrights. This time, the show was in Philly at the TLA where I had to deal with this little exchange while being patted down before entering the venue:
Female bouncer: I can take you over here ma’am!
Female bouncer: pats me down, above the waist only
Female bouncer: YOU’RE NOT A MA’AM!
Me: Um…yes…I am.
…15 minutes go by and I go back to say something…
Me (extremely angry): I just want to let you know that was really fucking embarrassing and upsetting before.
Female bouncer: I’m so sorry!! I should have known better! I can’t believe I said that! I feel horrible!
Me: You really need to think before you talk next time.
Female bouncer: Two of my friends are trans, I know how hard it is. I should have known better! I went up to my boss right after that and said “I need to have my guts ripped out of me.” I’m so sorry! Is there anything I can do?
Me: Just fucking think time.
Female bouncer: Again, I’m so sorry. You’re doing a great job! Can I give you a hug?
I forgave her and agreed to “hug it out.” It was obvious it was a mistake and she knew that, there wasn’t anything else to do here. I don’t think it’s healthy to hold onto unnecessary anger.
Though, one interesting thing I was left with was feeling a bit uncomfortable with being told I’m “doing a great job.” When people say this, I know their intentions are the absolute best and it’s sincere. I know they’re trying to compliment me and say either I’m (close to) “passing” or maybe even pretty, but it doesn’t really feel like a compliment. The thing is, unless you know me somewhat well, you probably don’t know what exactly it is I’m going for. I’m not trying to “pass,” I’m trying to be myself. That’s really about it. I just want to be true to who I am. This isn’t really something anyone else is in a position to be able to evaluate. It just doesn’t feel like a compliment to be told this. It feels like they’re actually saying “You’re not quite a woman, but you’re almost there!!” It feels like they see me as different from other women.
Anyway! The show was awesome other than that. On the way out, I ran into my friend Kendall whom I haven’t seen in years and lives in Canada now. She mentioned she was at the NYC show as well and was going to the Friday show. Since I was going to that one alone, we made plans to meetup.
After the show, I crashed at Joe’s house since there was actually a bed there for me, unlike at my parents’ house. Still, it was another late night.
Friday
I woke up around 7 and just got right to work from my friend’s guest bed. Once everyone (The Copyrights crashed at my friend’s house too) woke up, I moved myself out to the living room to be social, but I kept on working. Sometimes being able to work remotely is really great. Then I met Hollie for lunch at the Silver Diner. I got the huevos rancheros and they were awesome! From there, I drove over to my parents’ house to work from there for the afternoon. My mom greeted me with an awesome red velvet cupcake as soon as I walked in the door. Then we had this little exchange:
Mom: I just can’t believe you’re mine.
Me: Um?
Mom: I was always happy with you and you brother, but I always wanted a daughter.
Me: I know, you told me that every day growing up. Turns out, you had one the damn time!
Mom: Well, either way, you just keep getting more beautiful!
Oh geez, mom! Still, this made my smile and reminded me how lucky I am to have an awesome family that completely accepts and loves me. That can be rare for transgender people. And it was a nice departure from the previous night’s trans-induced conversation.
Finally, it was time to drive up to Asbury Park for the final Lawrence Arms show. I met up with Kendall and her husband for some great pizza from Porta’s and then it was time for the show! This time, the show was at a smaller, more intimate venue so it was a whole different vibe. And, I got to bring my camera in with me so I’ve got a few photos to post tomorrow. Fucking great time!
Walking back to my car, my phone battery died thanks to a group Google Hangout that kept lighting up the screen all night with notifications while my phone was in my pocket. I ended up having to sit there for fifteen minutes before my phone charged up enough to turn on and give me directions home.
I think it was about 2:30 by the time I got to close my eyes. Oof!
Saturday
I was pretty beat from the intensity of the last few days so I just hung out on the couch all morning and then knocked out a quick four-miler in the afternoon. I told myself to take it easy since my whole body was exhausted and I had an 18-miler the next day. Instead, I ran an 8:08 pace. Oops.
Dinner was the Man vs Food Boli from Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick. Delicious!
Sunday
I procrastinated for a bit before finally giving into this run. I just didn’t feel like moving, let alone doing eighteen miles. I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and ran out the door, but I had to swing back after a half mile for some arm warmers and to pee. I felt dead most of this run and really couldn’t see myself continuing it as I finished my first nine-mile lap, but I was determined to push on. As I was coming up on thirteen miles, I tripped coming off of a curb while stepping into the street. I ended up going down…all the way down. It was hard too. I scraped up the heels of my hands a little and banged my shoulder and hip. Luckily, it was mostly, it was my ego that was bruised. In six years of distance running, this was the first time I’ve ever fallen. After yelling “fuck” pretty loudly, I quickly got up and continued my run in shame, but I guess the adrenaline of the fall gave me an added boost because I picked up the pace a bit after that.
Overall, I ended up running an 8:34 average with my last mile at 7:43 (whoa!). I haven’t seen a 7:43 mile in training in…a year?
Now, for the important question, how does my knee feel? Well, not great. It felt mostly okay yesterday while running, but it hurts now. I was hoping this would be the week I return to running six days a week and start doing speed work again, but I’m thinking I need to make today a rest day. Ugh
I hit 48 miles last week which I was pretty happy with. I had 53 scheduled, but I was at least pretty close to that.
- Mon: rest
- Tue: 8 miles in 1:14:03 (9:14 pace)
- Wed: 11 miles in 1:37:21 (8:50 pace)
- Thu: 7 miles in 1:01:04 (8:42 pace)
- Fri: rest
- Sat: 4 miles in 33:01 (8:08 pace)
- Sun: 18 miles in 2:34:20 (8:33 pace)
Well, this got long! Longest training update ever? Did I even really talk much about training?
How was your week? What’s your training looking like?