Weekend rewind. (mostly pics)

This weekend wiped me out!

Here are just a few highlights. Mostly pics today.

Long run- 20 miles. Not the best I have ever done, legs not feeling fantastic.

It was a week of touch-and-go running with a set of hill repeats that made me wonder if I had strained a calf.  It seems OK now, but I could use a visit with my LMT.

Also, I need to work on NOT eating lots of snacks after dinner if I run early. Long run stomach issues came up any time I tried to push my pace. Still, I am pleased to have been able to get out and run for a few hours on a dry day.

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We went crabbing with my boys, my dad and his friend after my long run. I am so proud of him for quitting smoking after picking up the habit as a youngster. I think he's trying to keep distracted with lots of activity. He picked a good one for all of us!

My dad manned the boat and his friend hauled in the traps. The boys and I just tried to have fun and keep warm. Despite the sun, it was in the 40's.

Docks in Coos Bay, OR

 "Skinny" loves anything regarding fishing...

"Spud" was hoping to drive the boat. Didn't happen. (Year is wrong on the pics...I have no idea how to fix that!)

Ray hauled in the crab cages, and helped me make sure the little one didn't fall out of the boat. Tough job!

Danger boy: "Wing-nut"

A little last minute fishing off the dock..no luck.

An incredible feast afterwards, thanks to Ray's wife!

All in all, we came home with a great outing, one damaged prop, and one legal crab. I am sure in a week, we'll be ready to do it all again!

***

For believers: Ecclesiastes 1:7

All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.

***

If you get a chance to, go read Tasha's feature on me today. Thanks Tasha!

How did your weekend go? 

We interrupt this training cycle for...

...a break.

I have no problem handing out advice to running friends when they are dealing with injury or illness.

"Take a week off if you need it. In the end, it probably won't hurt your training,but make you stronger. If you don't do it now it might turn into something where you need several weeks to recover from."

Famous words. So easy to say, but so hard to follow!

I have been fighting off a nasty bug for a few weeks. Took an unscheduled rest day last week- by stacking my week early on with high miles...

Then I hit it hard on Sunday.

• Great run. 
• God gave me a glorious window to run 17 miles with 12 at my Vdot Marathon pace. I might be paying for it a bit now.

I try not to whine, so I will spare all the details, but with less than ten weeks to go to the Eugene Marathon, I am prepared to draw a big question mark...maybe an X over this week.

Why?
At some point you just have to ask yourself:

• Will running right now help me toward my goal, or hurt me?
• If I continue trying to push the envelope right now, is it going to be worth it?

I decided not to wait until I was forced to rest. Maybe I am actually starting to listen to my body or to God's whispers, saying, "Be Still." 

Anyhow, I am putting on my blog so I can celebrate my small victory over hard-headedness this week! Celebrate with me!! I am not the same Raina I was a year ago.

If I only finish the week with 22 miles, but feel 100% better, it will be TOTALLY worth it. [Sidenote: this might be a bit of me convincing myself here :) ]

So if you miss me out on the road- Fear Not. I am sleeping in.

We took an afternoon trip to the coast Sunday. The weather was BEAUTIFUL and we were all too infectious for church! Photo by Nathan

Budding castle designer.

Slightly bent out of shape he was forbidden to search for hermit crabs in the water..

Cool kite- wind was not too high that day. Photo by Matthew.

Fort designers, Nathan and Levi

Oops! Not sure how that made it in :)

Someone at the beach has a serious addiction.

We stopped at the Dean Creek elk reserve and Jon snapped this photo.

Have a great week!
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Is it easy for you to take rest days?

How do you decide when is the right time to take unscheduled time off, or reduce mileage?