Hi friends. If you follow me on Instagram, or actually know me in real life, you know this was a rough week. My grandfather passed away a week ago and I traveled this weekend for the funeral. On top of that, I had oral surgery on Thursday afternoon and that really took me out of commission. My dentist warned me that I should not run for at least 3 days but I brushed that off and thought I’d be fine. Turns out…I felt like crap for a couple of days and just starting feeling like myself on Sunday. So. It was a week. But – life goes on and so will my training. As you know, each week during this training cycle (I’m training for the B&A Trail Half Marathon – a relatively small, rails to trail half in March), I will share how my training went and what the week looked like. I do this because: 1) I love reading about how other folks train and 2) it’s great for me to have a record of what I did each week. Also, honestly, it helps keep me accountable when I know I’ll be writing about it. I also post almost all of my runs on Instagram as well. I’ve started a weekly link up for Training Recaps – let’s support each other as we train this winter! Please do link up!
Monday: 3.5 easy miles to start the week.
Tuesday: A great workout – 2×3 mile repeats. Every single mile was a hair under my goal pace, which was awesome. I ended up running 8.31 miles at an average 8:40 pace including my warm up and cool down.
Wednesday: My first Barre3 class in awhile.
Thursday: This run was nuts. My friend Shelly was in town and we met up to run some tempo miles. Thursday was incredibly windy and wow, that was tough. 6.6 miles with an average 8:54 pace. Solid.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: no runs. As I mentioned, I felt pretty crappy Friday after my surgery Thursday afternoon. I thought I’d wake up Friday and be able to run. Turns out, when a medical professional tells you to not do any vigorous excerise for three days, they mean it. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t run for three days in a row, but I’m not very concerned. I physically could not run Friday, I was at a funeral Saturday and honestly, by the time I got home Sunday, I was wiped out. I could’ve definitely run Sunday but to be frank, I didn’t feel like it. Like I said, it has been an exceedingly rough week.
Total mileage for the week: 18.41 miles
Total mileage for the year: 280.44 miles
Total mileage for this training cycle: 403.99 miles
Have you ever thought you’d be fine to run when you clearly were NOT?

Cheers to listening to your doc and body and taking time off. I just did that this week – didn’t run for 7(!!!) days but am looking forward to going back to it tomorrow. You’re killing he training cycle, and just trust the training you have. Sorry to hear about your grandfather! *hugs*
Thank you – and I hope you have a good return to running 🙂
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had such a rough week and especially sad to hear that your grandfather passed away. I’ve learned that when the doctor says to take it easy, it really is best to let the body rest as it recovers from whatever stressful procedure it just had. It’s hard to do, but it’s for the best. You’re in such good shape that three days off won’t have any effect on your training. Hope this week is much better!
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Thank you Debbie – I very much appreciate it.
I’m so sorry to hear about your grandpa. It’s good you decided to take it light during the latter part of the week. Sometimes, the mind needs it even if the body can go on. Hope you feel better and you’re back to being a beast next week.
Thank you for the kind words.
So sorry to hear about your grandfather. What a tough week! You have such a strong base that a few days off won’t affect your training. Here’s to a better week!
Thank you Jennifer – I really appreciate it!
Aww Courtney I am so sorry for your loss.
I too am now finding the value in keeping recording my workouts on the blog consistently. I post some run pics on IG but wish I would have been more consistent because it makes it nice to look back on.
Hope your mouth feels better this week. -M
Thank you so much. I do really value having previous training cycles to look back on – and race recaps! 🙂
I was so sorry to hear about your grandfather. It sounds like he was such a great man. Oral surgery is no joke! And the winds were wicked on Thursday. I’m glad you’re feeling better now.
He was wonderful and it was a great service honoring him. Thank you for the kind words, Coco – it means a lot!
I didn’t know about the oral surgery – definitely a rough week, woman! I’m glad you took a few days off.
It was not a great week – but I’m happy to be back running as of this morning!
Pretty much all the time now! Yesterday I was wiped out. I don’t even know why. Today I ran 10 and was a bundle of energy. Welcome to life with RA, I guess…
I’m so sorry about your grandfather. That would be tough enough, much less having oral surgery!
Thank you Wendy – I love your positive attitude towards your diagnosis – you are amazing!
So sorry for your loss Courtney. I lost my grandma not too long ago it’s really tough and I still miss her. Oral surgery too yes I would say you did have a rough week. xoxo
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Thank you Deborah – I appreciate that so much 🙂
Prayers for your family. <3 and yes, I just had one of those runs this past weekend. Slept it off and tried again. Although, post wisdom tooth extraction I couldn't run for a good week!
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Yeah – I felt pretty out of it for a few days but feeling better now!
I ran last Sunday when I SHOULD NOT HAVE RUN!! I think I set my ankle recovery back by doing that and a little part of me deep down inside thinks that if I hadn’t run early and just waited one more day then maybe I could have run the 5K at the MB marathon. But hindsight is 20/20 and no one regrets a run until it’s over.
Very sorry about your grandfather. I didn’t realize he passed away but my heart breaks for you. I’d be very upset if mine (well, actually Clay’s) passed away because he’s the only grandfather I have ever known. Oral surgery too is no joke and you did the right thing by not running and even extra time off will probably help. When I had oral surgery a few years ago, I could not run for a week and when I started again, I was run down because I was basically on a liquid diet or eating only potato soup. Not much nutrition there for a workout. Take care of yourself and running will be there when you are healthy :).
Thank you – it is very hard to lose a great man but I’m comforted because he lived a really long and full life. I appreciate your kind words!
Well if you can run this week, I can certainly get my butt out of the house tomorrow. Also, if I ever make it to DC, I guess I’ll need to be able to (try to) keep up with you.. You’re an inspiration. I’m so glad you were able to make it to celebrate your grandfather’s life with the family. Love you lots!
I may try to make it to Atlanta to do the peachtree 10k this summer 🙂 Want to sign up and run together??
That sounds fabulous. You’ll leave me in the dust, but it would be so much fun! We missed last year and broke the streak but could figure out something for this year!
I’m so sorry to hear about your grandfather. I’m sure that alone would have made for a rough week!
Hope the coming week is kinder to you.
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Thank you – you are right, that alone was enough. The surgery was an added layer of stress + discomfort but I’m feeling better now!
So sorry to hear about your grandfather, Courtney, and I hope you’re feeling better from your surgery. One not so great week in the grand scheme of training would have a negative impact. I have no doubt that you’ll bounce right back this week.
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Thank you – still a bit of discomfort but I can run and work out, so that’s a win! 🙂
Gosh! That was a tough week. So sorry about your grandfather. Hope you are recovering nicely after the oral surgery too. Hope this week is a bit better x
I was so sad to read about your loss on IG 🙁 I’m definitely keeping you and your family in my prayers.
I’m glad that you listened to your body when it came to running this week. i hope that you are feeling much better now!
Thank you so much for the kind words – truly appreciated!
With all that happened last week, I’m so glad that you listened to your body and took care of yourself. I hope that the trip went well and that this week allows some recovery time. Big hugs!
Thank you, friend! This week is already better than the last, so that’s a win!
So sorry to hear about your granddad and then orgal surgery on top of that UGH, no wonder you had a rough week.
Thank you – it was a tough week but things are looking up!
Courtney I sorry you had such a tough week, and am especially sorry to hear about the loss of your grandfather. Hoping this week is kinder to you.
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Thank you Michelle. This week is already better than the last!
I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I’ve definitely had runs where I thought I’d be okay and realized it was a bad idea…hopefully you’re recovering well for your surgery too. You still had some great workouts for the week!
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Thanks Janelle. Doing better than last week, for sure!
Sorry to hear about your grandfather! Oral surgery is no fun. Awesome job on your 2×3 mile repeats!
Thanks – those 3 mi repeats were tough but I felt accomplished afterwards!
I am so very sorry for your loss. What a tough week. Here’s hoping this week is much better!
Thank you very much for your kind words.
I”m sorry for your loss. 🙁 And then oral surgery which meant you couldn’t run to help you emotionally. I hope this week is much better for you.
(I’m getting much bette about this, but usually I run in denial about potential injuries when it prob would be best not to run)
Yeah I really had no choice but to not run. I felt awful Friday and Saturday I was attending services. So it was in a way easier to not run. Thanks for the kind words!
I am sorry to hear about your grandfather passing away. It’s never easy dealing with a death in the family. I think you still did a great job getting in quality workouts this week despite the rough week and oral surgery!! I learned the hard way this weekend that I should have listened to my body and not tried to run at all ( let alone race) I slowed down after mile 3 and had the most miserable race experience ever☹️
I’m so, so sorry for your loss–what a tough week! I have to get my wisdom teeth out soon and I’m 100% procrastinating until after my marathon. I hope that running can be a source of solace for you in the weeks ahead. Good for you for listening to your body and giving yourself a break!!
So sorry to hear about your grandfather!! And I feel your pain about oral surgery. I had TWO in the last three years and each one took me out of running for a week. I was training for a half during the first one–totally caught me by surprise. But was a good lesson. Sometimes you just need a few days–for whatever reason.
I’m sorry about your grandfather. And then oral surgery? That is not a good week at all. I has gum grafting oral surgery and I couldn’t run for a month! I had a very bad recovery so I can say it truly sucks a lot!! I ended up biking a lot. Needed something to get rid of my stress! Hang in there – I hope your recovery is speedy and pain free!
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I’m very sorry for your loss. You’re one tough women to go through that, a surgery and still find time to get some runs in.