Oy.

If it seems like I missed a two-week update, it’s because I did. Well, I didn’t miss it per se, I just didn’t have anything to update.

After the nine-mile run from my last update, Katie and I took off to Las Vegas for KBIS. While there, we toured the trade show for three days, caught a Shakira light show and a poseur Gwen on Fremont Street, spent $88 on two rounds of rum and Diet Cokes at XS Nightclub, was weirdly hit on (as a couple) by a guy cosplaying as Bumblebee from Transformers, had cocktails under a series of chandeliers, was inspired by the art gallery at Recycled Propaganda in the Arts District, enjoyed a delightful French dinner at the Paris and set a few hundred bucks on fire at various casinos.

What I didn’t do: Workout or run.

What I also did: Came back with the flu.

This means I missed two full weeks of training, then had a half-ass week of training beginning March 10. My strength training was okay, though I no longer care for my programming. I also set out for a slow 5K on that Tuesday to shake the dust off, but I only found that my lungs were not quite ready for that amount of pressure. It was a shitty 5k, but I did it.

I went on to skip my Thursday run and my Friday workout at the gym. My plan to hit that 10-miler on Saturday didn’t materialize either because I forgot to charge my watch, rendering me unable to track. I think the universe was trying to do me a favor because when I finally sucked it up and hit the trail on Sunday with a fully charged watch, I ended up having what may be the worst training run I’ve ever had in my entire life.

Ten miles is further than I’ve ran in over seven years, so that was a challenge in and of itself, but my lungs were still struggling to catch up. Still, I pushed through the rain and wind to knock out the first five miles, hit my turnaround point and was filled with encouragement that I was officially on the “downhill.”

Truth is, however, that I had a good amount of “uphills” on my return route and my hamstrings had almost given out. When I started this program, I said I was going to stay strict with my stretching and mobility but after the first half or so, I started falling off. Needless to say, I didn’t stretch, foam roll or anything during our trip to Vegas and certainly didn’t do anything but lay in bed and on the couch when I was sick. This in addition to me biting off a bit more than I was ready to chew so soon after recovering from illness resulted in my left hamstring screaming for mercy on mile eight.

Tight hamstrings can cause a lot of weird stuff to happen in your body that you wouldn’t normally consider, including lower-back pain, pelvis tilting and knee pain. That tight left hammy started altering my range of motion and I eventually couldn’t run without feeling sharp pains in my left knee. I said a few choice words (every other minute) and spent the next 2+ miles doing run/walk intervals to finish.

Oh well, 10 miles is 10 miles is 10 miles.

I decided to spend the next week focusing on mobility with a strict focus on my hamstrings. I put together a stretch routine that hit the hams in a variety of ways and I did it twice a day for the whole week. By the time the weekend came about again, I was able to finish a 10-mile redo run, and while it wasn’t pretty, it was without knee pain. The stretching made a big difference.

Still, when I got home, I spent the next half hour sitting on the couch after popping some Ibuprofen and tying an ice pack to the top of my left foot. I may have finished with no knee pain, but I seem to have developed what I’m hoping is extensor tendinitis and not a stress fracture. I’m also flirting with some arch pain in my right foot, so that’s fun.

Fortunately for me, we’ve finally reached taper week which is then followed by race week, meaning I’ll spend much of my run days doing shorter distances, a lot of walking and even more stretching. I’ve got my pace figured out, I have my day-of nutrition figured out, now I just need my feet to stick with me.

I recently told my bro Aaron that I’m really excited for this race, really nervous about it and … REALLY ready for it to be over. I’ve trimmed down physically, which is fine, but I’m feeling really small. I’m planning to get back into my bodybuilding programming after the race, which also includes the nutritional aspect, while simultaneously maintaining 5K conditioning.

I don’t mean to rush it, I’m enjoying the process overall, but I’m already prepared to say “I’m never doing this again” again (for the third time).

Anyway, here’s the chart. The next update will be after the race is over but I won’t quite be in Roros. Won’t be long after!

Road Trip Tracker
Road Trip Mileage	Total Mileage	Percentage Complete
1,284.37	221.118	17.22%
Miles to Roros	Leg Mileage	Percentage Complete
164.042	96.358	58.74%
Date	Type	Distance (Miles)
3/10/2025	Strength Day Cycle	3
3/11/2025	Weekday Run	3.1
3/12/2025	Strength Day Cycle	5
3/15/2025	Long Run	10
3/17/2025	Strength Day Cycle	3
3/18/2025	Weekday Run	3.1
3/19/2025	Strength Day Cycle	3
3/20/2025	Weekday Run	3.1
3/21/2025	Strength Day Cycle	5
3/22/2025	Long Run	10

14 days until race day!

Alltid Videre!

-JTF