The Weekend of Fails

I failed all over the place this weekend and those fails can be broken down into four main categories: sleep, shellfish, sweat, and studying.

Goal: Get up early and get things done FAIL

I have been so freaking tired the last week or so. I attribute it to the stress of the end of the semester, so hopefully as I finish my finals this week things will go back to normal. I really hope so because it's making me sleep through all of my morning workouts and that I feel like a piece of crap.

Goal: Don't have anything to do with shellfish FAIL

I've never been a big shellfish eater, having never enjoyed the taste or texture. That's a good thing, because about 5 or 6 years ago I discovered I had developed an allergy to it. That day I had some swelling and hives. Three years ago, when I accidentally ingested some, I had trouble breathing and my throat felt like it was closing up.  On Friday night I believe I had a reaction again. Except this time I didn't eat any shellfish. This time I kissed Mike, who, hours earlier at a department holiday party, had eaten two cocktail shrimp and some ceviche. I started feeling it come on during dinner and I thought maybe I just ate too fast. But then I started spitting up globs of mucus on the way home. I didn't even make the connection until I actually verbalized to Mike that I thought it felt like an allergic reaction and that's when he remembered what he ate earlier that evening. I took an antihistamine, but all day Saturday my chest still felt tight and there was a lump in my throat. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was seriously uncomfortable.

My Saturday after Friday night's reaction

The scary part about it is that if that is what now happens when I just get a transfer of shellfish from someone, what the hell would happen if I actually ingested one?! I've read that allergies can get more severe as one ages, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Goal: Get my sweat on with the first weekend of my new training plan FAIL


Remember when I said last week that I was going to do Saturday long runs this time around instead of Sundays? Apparently that's a lot harder to do than I thought. I read somewhere recently that it takes 3 weeks to make something a habit and 6 months to make something feel like second nature. If that's true then, after 50 weeks of being on a training plan in the last year, Sunday long runs have become my second nature.

That aside, there's multiple other reasons why I didn't get in my 16 miles on Saturday like I planned. For one, I slept until 10 am and didn't feel like finishing my run in the PM hours. For two, I was still experiencing an allergic reaction. And lastly, I was a little overly concerned with studying for finals.

Sometimes things don't go according to plan. So, instead, I decided to switch up my days and do Sunday's 8 miles on Saturday morning. Apparently December has finally decided to show up because it was super cold out.

I had a nice run over to a historical cemetery near Penn.

I was really happy I decided to switch up the mileage because I wanted to spend some time with Mike before studying.

Sunday morning I was meant to make up my 16 miles, but, alas, that didn't happen. Silly me starting a new training plan the week before finals. The stress of finals is already a lot, but the added stress of feeling like I have to run is making me go crazy. A few months ago I would have tried to squeeze it all in, probably injuring myself in the process, but this time around I'm letting myself off the hook.

Goal: Split studying between Saturday and Sunday FAIL


Yay finals! But not really. I had every intention of splitting my studying between Saturday and Sunday, but since I felt like crap all day Saturday, I didn't actually start until Sunday, the day before my Middle Egyptian final. Awesome Kristin. Way to go. I'll be doing this all day in lieu of running or anything else.