You’re coming with me to LAX Monday foo.
Talk about a hectic start to the week. With a large portion of our family coming from Tulsa, my cousin and I would be responsible for picking them up from LAX in the days leading up to my grandmother’s funeral. Seven would be arriving Monday, a couple more Tuesday night, and some stragglers would trickle in Wednesday ahead of the wake.
I would be working for about half of the week so this would mean early work mornings and trying to fit running as well as I could. Thankfully for me, Monday went without a hitch. Aside from the craziness that is LAX, this went better than expected.
In all that craziness, Shelby was able to get flights to come support during this week. Booking flights to California one day in advance wasn’t ideal but somehow it ended up working out. With one cousin landing late Tuesday, this would actually fit work out perfect.
Tuesday would be a day of front loading mileage. Knowing full well that I needed to account for disruption, anything that could fit in this free time would help.
You’re on your own foo
My cousin’s flight was cancelled due to the storms. I’d be on my own heading to LAX Tuesday night. Thankfully my brother and neighbor were happy to join me for a late drive to LAX. We arrived home safe and sound just past midnight. Knowing we both had workouts in the morning, a late night dinner was not the worst idea. The bright side of California? Taco places open at wee hours of the night. Shelby was introduced to the time old tradition of Alberto’s Carne Asada Fries past midnight. It wasn’t the best fuel but considering we both had big sessions in the AM, this was necessary.
The morning brought a new meaning to “Fatigued Miles”. I was able to sleep in a little bit since I was fortunate enough to have some bereavement time to use. I’ve done this workout enough at this point where it didn’t really scare me too much. Paces across the board were much slower but I was also still fairly banged up. Goal was 5 miles between 5:50-6:00, half mile jog, then 3x 1 mile at 5:10 pace with 2 minute jog recovery.
The five out would be on an out and back that I used to do in my college days. It’s funny revisiting these old routes in the days where you have GAP information and such. The out felt fairly easy but the way back was a lesson as to why we always ran so fast heading back to campus. Turns out it’s a slight uphill back to Claremont. No matter, the paces were hit pretty much where I wanted it.
6:00, 5:57, 5:55, 5:53, 5:47
It was a brisk morning to be on the track with the overnight rain making things a little slippery. I can’t say the miles were comfortable here but aerobically I felt fine. Still so much lingering tightness to worry about but I was happy to hit all of the paces. Where last week I felt like there was just a fog hanging over me, this felt like a normal workout day.
3x 1mile: 5:10, 5:09, 5:09
Now that the workout was out of the way, the focus was on being present. I can’t say that I’ve been very good at that, especially over the last year. Knowing what was to come over the last week didn’t make things any easier but having family around was a comfort that we all needed.
I’ve been fortunate enough to not have experienced much immediate loss in my life. The thought of it is often something that tends to keep me up at night. The idea of my own mortality scares the shit out of me. Even weeks later, I still find a lot of trouble putting to words those two days. It was a realization of a lot of things, a lot of missed opportunities but also a reminder of the opportunities presented.
The following day after the Funeral procession we welcomed over sixty people in our home to celebrate the life of my grandmother. This was the largest get together of our family since her 90th birthday celebration and I was taken aback by the feeling of love that we all had for each other. I grew up with about 25 or so cousins that were within about 10 years of me. All of us were around each other so often growing up that we were more akin to brothers and sisters than cousins. I was fortunate enough to meet the next generation, the children of my cousins and it was just a great experience to see everyone grown up. We were all the same kids, we just had a couple more responsibilities now.
That celebration definitely made those Friday miles a bit tougher. Shelby and I were able to knock out some miles before the sun came down and enjoyed a relaxing night with some good friends and some wine. Nothing crazy, we had a busy Saturday ahead of us.
A 1PM flight out of Long Beach for Shelby meant we needed to knock out our respective workouts early. I had 16 with 12x 1K with 200 jog recovery ahead of me. Shelby had a long run. We’d have to be right on if we were gonna make this happen.
I made my way back up to Claremont for this session. My left side was fairly tight over much of the workout but once again, the paces weren’t much of an issue. It felt muggy out but I’d happily take 45 degrees over the 20ish degrees we had at home.
I was pleasantly surprised with how this went. I was still pretty exhausted emotionally from the days prior but this wasn’t a hard enough session to put me in the ground. After the pathetic attempt at a workout last weekend, I needed this.
Reps:
3:22-21-20-22
3:17-18-17-17
3:14-13-14-13
Thankfully we had no issues getting to the airport and I was able to have a great day in Orange County for my last day in California. A pour of Pliny the Younger and a beer with some college pals made for a good last day there.
In typical Cris fashion I procrastinated on my run on a travel day. Flight takes off at 10:55? How bout starting a 7.61 mile run at 7:59. I was going to run earlier but I decided to catch my mom before she went to LAX first. I overdressed for the run and paid for it dearly over the first 3.5. But after ditching the fleece, it was smooth sailing.
Made it to the airport in time for breakfast and a beer. 70 miles on the week. We did it.
I was pretty proud of this week. While staying consistent with the mileage goal was one thing, my running schedule did not take away from me being there with my family. Running was a priority, yes, but it wasn’t THE priority. I did what I could and made it a point to just be there, present. Those two weeks in California, and well just the overall trip away was an emotional rollercoaster than I was not expecting or really ready for. Even weeks later I’m still trying to get back into rhythm. But there is a strength built through experiences like this. Some I hope to take advantage of later.
Beers and Miles 