Bring your baby to work day

It finally happened - I had to bring the baby to work. I know many parents have been doing this for months, but somehow I escaped. This time, we had no choice. The daycare abruptly closed the infant room when an infant tested positive for COVID, and all babies were quarantined for fourteen days since the last day the sick baby was in the center.

The sick baby, by the way, is fine and was only tested because his grandma tested positive. But anyway, my baby was suddenly without care! Baby sitters are a no-no because he was in quarantine: because of his risk of exposure, we couldn't allow someone else into our circle. I couldn't get any time off on short notice, so I dragged him along with me to work. We - well, David! - had done "work from home" with the baby before, but it's a little more complicated to bring a baby to your busy pharmacy. But he's over 6 months now, so I figured he would be able to handle it. I dragged a little travel bed and some toys with me, and we gave it a go.

My counseling room/nursery

I handled naps by putting him down in my separate counseling room. I could turn off the lights, but light streams in through glass windows in two doors, plus it's adjacent to our lobby, with people walking in and out (and the chime that rings whenever the door opens!). So his naps weren't great. He goes to sleep on his own, but he needs his nap routine to recognize it's nap time. I was worried about recreating that at work, but I read him a book, sang him his song, and he went right to sleep.He did wake up early, though, but he got in two solid naps both days I kept him, plus a third in the morning before, so I felt good about that.

Entertaining him was another kettle of fish. He is mobile, I had no playpen or way to restrict him, and the pharmacy is nothing but wires, outlets, heavy shelving, and toxic chemicals. Somehow I managed to keep him occupied, but he did interrupt a few calls with loud talking! He's a chatty one these days! Day two was tougher, as he was getting really bored, but we survived. He was a big hit with my coworkers, but he was happy to go home.
Ways I entertained him:

• Making silly faces while discussing very serious things with patients over the phone
• Allowing him phone cord privileges
• Stretching his lunch out over an entire hour...very slowly flying roast beef toward his mouth. His "airplane" was clearly a prop plane instead of a jet.
• Putting him in an empty box. This occupied him for almost an hour, until I realized he was eating the paper tape off one flap.
• Taping his toys to the wall and letting him pick at the tape with his teeny little fingers until he finally succeeded in tearing them off
• Playing music on my phone and dancing with him while on a conference call
• Giving him wrapped plastic utensils and letting him figure that out

Luckily, I only had to cover two days at work: David kept him two other days, and next week I took off until he gets to go back to daycare. I'm really hoping this is a rare occurrence. For one thing, we have a department of defense childcare subsidy, but they only reimburse for days he actually attends. For another, daycare does NOT reduce our rates for time they are closed. And most importantly, figuring out the childcare solution is hard! 

Mile race: it's August 25th

We finally scheduled our mile time trial! End of August. So you know, likely to be hurricaned-out and also about 98 degrees. But it's good to know when the big day will roll around. August 25th!

Not cool, Saucony. 

Monday: Easy run. 6.5 miles.
Tuesday: Morning: took the baby for a 3-mile jog. I never do doubles, but we had a tiny amount of time and he needed to get out of the house, so we went for it. Evening: 12x400. I didn't have a big group like the last time we did this workout; it was just Ivy and I. Van and Sal started with our group but were about 5-7 seconds behind. Ivy ended up stopping after 8, so I was alone for the last four - really alone. I looked around the empty track and marveled at how quickly all the fast guys finished the workout, until I realized they'd only done 8-10! Given the extreme heat and the lonely workout, I was very pleased with my splits. The workout was "2-mi pace" but I was closer to 1-mile for many of them, but didn't feel like I was straining. Laps were 82, 81, 81, 83, 82, 81, 83, 82, 82, 82, 84, 81. 12.9 miles for the day.
Wednesday: Stroller recover run. 6.65 miles. 
Thursday: Easy run. 7.2 miles.
Friday: Tempo intervals. This is a really easy workout: three 3-minute tempo intervals with 1 minute aerobic float in between. I ran (6:24/7:07), (6:20/6:57), and (6:09/7:51). I ran into David and the baby during that last aerobic minute, hence the slow pace :)  5.77 miles - crazy short workout! 
Saturday: Easy stroller run. It was overcast, so I hit the shadeless levee. I heard a train coming up behind us and got to a good vantage point with the baby in time to get him out of his stroller to wave to the train. They blew the horn for him and he was very interested! I always like seeing (not getting caught by!) the train - I have a soft spot for train graffiti! 8 miles.
Sunday: It POURED on us. We had to modify our route to avoid flooding streets! We ran the bayou loop, which includes a lovely route along Bayou St. John, and finished up with some laps in Audubon Park. The rain was thanks to a tropical storm, and the wind and rain were lashing us for part of it! We survived with a waterlogged 7:47 pace for 14.12 miles. I finally replaced my insoles for this run: the last pair of Kinvaras I bought were unwearable after the insoles scrunched up immediately after I started wearing them. I called Saucony, and they sent me the cheapest, most generic, rock-hard, awful insoles ever. But they were an improvement over 14 miles with wrinkled insoles!

61.2 miles for the week. 

Last week's power mile training - no fun!

Last week was NO FUN. I got mastitis and had a few rough days, including one day when I cut my run short. Luckily it was a cut back week anyway. 

St Charles Ave running

Monday: Easy run plus strides. 6.9 miles.
Tuesday: Super short workout, which was nice considering the weather (basically on fire): Just four sets of 300 at mile pace, 200 jog, 200 hard sprint, 500 jog. I was a little cocky with this one - only four sets? Ha, until my legs were completely dead for the last two! My paces were (300/200): (5:21/4:47), (5:04/4:43), (5:11/4:57), (5:05/5:10). Got to love that last rep...my "all out spring" was slower than my "one mile pace"! Ha! Dead legs indeed. 6.8 miles total with warm up and cool down.
Wednesday: I headed out the door for this run with some misgivings, since I woke up with a hot, painful, red spot that was probably early mastitis. Sure enough, halfway through the run I suddenly felt terrible - fever, nausea, weakness, pain. I managed to make it home, but cut the run short to 5 miles. I was really scared that my fever would make daycare kick the baby out (our temperatures are checked daily), so I took a tylenol before drop off. I'm not trying to cheat the system, but I knew the source, and it wasn't COVID! I managed to get the infection under control with aggressive hydration, but Wednesday and Thursday were really unpleasant!
Thursday: Glad this was a cutback week, and we had easy miles on the schedule for Thursday. 7 miles.
Friday: No workout, just an aerobic run with strides. 7.5 miles at 7:10 pace and an extra 0.7 for strides. 
Saturday: Lost the baby to sleep early on, so I shrugged and ran long with him rather than wake him up when we got home. He must have really needed his sleep, though, because he went back to bed when we finally made it home and slept for four hours! 8.5 miles.
Sunday: Another hot one. Ran 7:41 pace for 14.27 miles. 

Kind of a boring week! And since we don't have this mile "race" scheduled with so much up in the air, we might be in a holding pattern for a bit longer! 

Power mile training

Surprise! First week back to daycare and I far exceeded my own expectations, running my highest mileage since baby was born (and I'm sure for many months before that). I ran 64.6 miles this week!

Monday: Easy run plus strides. 7.7 miles.
Tuesday: A track classic: 12x400 at 2 mile pace with 400 jog. I went a little fast in order to group up with others, which was worth it to me, even if I was closer to mile pace than two mile pace. 1:22 (lol), 27, 24, 23, 23, 25, 23, 23, 23, 24, 25, 25, 23.
Wednesday: Recovery stroller miles. Here is where daycare is working in my favor: before, I had been running with the baby at about 7 am, trying the whole run to keep him awake. Then, I'd put him to bed when we got home around 8 am. He'd nap until about ten. The nanny would show up at 9:30 in case of an early wake up and to get situated, but that first nap was so important to allow David to start his workday. But now, with my commute starting at 8:25 (thank you, pandemic traffic!), his first nap is interrupted. So I allowed him to sleep in the stroller, which meant that I could run farther without battling an impending nap. Win-win: he got a catnap in before daycare, and I got a longer run! 7.25 miles. 
Thursday: Standard aerobic run on the levee, followed by strides. 9.5 miles.
Friday: It was a repeat: 16x30 seconds WAO with 1:30 rest. Strides to start, then 16 repeats: paces 4:46, 5:06, 4:57, 4:43, 5:23, 5:58, 5:08, 5:41, 5:10, 5:04, 5:36, 5:19, 5:05, 5:07, 5:13, 5:46. The slowest and fastest reps are probably inaccurate. I was slower than last time, but it was MUCH hotter this time. We had a really hot and humid week! 8.8 miles. 
Saturday: Stroller recovery run. 6.6 miles.
Sunday: It was a really hot morning, with the heat index at 100 by the start of the run, with a projected heat index of 117 later. And we beat that, hitting 120. It was definitely warm, but we didn't do any workout as part of the long run, making sure to take it easy and avoid heat exhaustion. I went out fast to talk to speedy Michelle - who actually ran in the Olympic trials marathon this February, and PR'd! - then settled down for the middle of the run, before slightly speeding up at the finish. Pace was 7:44 for 14.9 miles. 

64.6 miles for the week. I just hunted the info down and the last time I ran this much in a week was the middle of June 2019, where I ran 69 miles in a week (including 15 miles at 7:34). Wonder what I thought I was training for? I was 3 months pregnant...but then again, what am I training for now?!

Return to track

With group-size restrictions in place through phase one, the Powermilers took a long break from track workouts to allow us to subdivide into smaller groups. These sub-groups met at different locations for road workouts (mostly fartleks, some tempo). Now that we're in phase two...for now, cases are sky-rocketing across the state!...we got back on the track. We're generally spaced out on the track anyway; it was really more about all meeting in the same place that created concern.

Last night was our second track workout. After the first workout I realized:

Track makes me sore. 

Regardless of the work I have consistently put in off the track, running around that little oval does something to make my muscles scream! Our first workout back was a short one: six repeats of 300m with 2 minutes jog rest. Naturally, with such a brief workout, we hammered those 300s, and I woke up the next morning SO stiff. I had to do some light plyometrics just to get out the door. It doesn't help that I run with the stroller on Wednesday mornings, which gives me awkward form. I was thrilled that we have a new girl running with us who just graduated from Tulane. She ran for Tulane, and she and I are close in pace, so it's great to have someone else to run with on the track.

The next workout - last night - was a staple, 12x400 at 2 mile pace with 400m jog. It seemed easy on paper, if you ignored the 100% humidity. But we survived. We actually had a great group on the track: myself, Mary Catherine, Jeff, Ivy, and Sal; Casey, who is much faster than us, paced us for a bit since he's coming off injury. The pack has impact: we all ran well, with my laps 1:27, 22, 24, 23, 23, 25, 23, 23, 23, 24, 25, 23. I didn't feel like a trillion bucks, but I got it done.

And yep, super sore after! Maybe it's the surface, or maybe it's the lighter shoes (I did the 300s in the incredibly uncomfortable Saucony Type A flat, and the 400s in the New Balance 1400). Or maybe it's the squats and lunges I did after (hard days hard!). Whatever it is, I know two things: I'm very happy to be back on the track, and I'm very sore, too!

Power Mile training

This was the last week of easy mornings before we go back to daycare. With the nanny coming to the house, I had a little extra time before I had to be out the door; plus, getting ready was easy because the baby was down for a nap around 8am. Whoever took him for a run would come back from the run and put him in his bed for his morning nap; I'd get ready and go to work, and the nanny would arrive at 9:30 for his typical 10am wake up. The new schedule is still up in the air, because my commute is smack-dab in the middle of nap time, but I know it will require a more rigid, tightly-scheduled morning, and an earlier time out the door. I'm hoping it won't impact my running too much, but we may have some shorter runs now! 

This week was a down week for us, and I was quite glad, because work was super busy and stressful. 

Back when mornings were easy. 

Monday: I turned off my alarm, and the baby slept in, too, so I barely fit in an easy run of 6 miles.
Tuesday: Back on the track for the first time since March! An easy six repeats of 300m at mile pace with 2 minute recovery jogs. Times were: 55, 53, 53, 55, 54, 54. With strides, warm up, and cool down, 6.46 miles. 
Wednesday: Recovery stroller miles. 6.65 miles. 
Thursday: Yikes, glad I actually read the workout. We do aerobic runs so much on Thursday that I almost headed out to do nine miles at aerobic, but luckily I read the workout right as I was walking out the door. It was just an hour easy plus hill sprints! 9.21 miles
Friday: Tempo intervals for a change of pace! We've been doing really fast repeats on Friday, but this week we just had 3x3 minutes at tempo with 1 minute aerobic "rest". My paces were: 6:21(7:10 pace for the rest), 6:24 (7:14), and 6:03 (7:04). I could easily have done another 2 or 3 reps. With warm up and cool down, 6.09 miles. 
Saturday: Stroller recovery run. 7.05 miles.
Sunday: I kept the long run easy and short in the spirit of recovery. Pace was 7:55 for 14.29 miles. 

55.7 miles for a nice recovery week.

Still training for a Power Mile

So this is super late because I have been SLAMMED at work this week! But training continues, despite the outrageous heat. We have had heat advisories almost every day last week and this week! 

Monday: I usually do easy solo miles on Monday, but David woke up sick, so I took the baby. That meant I couldn't do the prescribed strides or hill sprints (I supposed I could have picked the "accelerations" option, which would be doable with a stroller, but I didn't think of it). 6.1 miles.
Tuesday: Here's a workout I hadn't done in a while: Bridge repeats! We met at the Lakefront and did fast up - coast down in the broiling sun. Somehow I got this workout wrong and did 20 reps instead of 12-16. I swore it said 16-20. Nope. We had a new girl joining our group for the first time, I former collegiate runner and recent graduate, and she and I are similar pace, so I really enjoyed having company! And no, I didn't lead her astray: she stopped at twelve reps like a smart girl. 8.9 miles. 
Wednesday: Recovery stroller miles. 6.65 miles. 

Long run on the streetcar tracks

Thursday: Nine miles aerobic (7:17 pace) plus 6xstrides. This was one of the most intolerably humid days I have ever experienced. It was 98% humidity PLUS the air was thick with dust from a saharan dust cloud hanging over the city. When I finished this run I felt so trashed I couldn't even do all 8 strides. I was running out of time anyway! 9.45 miles
Friday: More mile pace repeats: eight strides, 6x1 minute at mile pace (2 minute rest), eight more strides, plus warm up and cool down. Paces were 5:18, :25, :05, :28, :07, :13. Take those with a grain of salt: different corners of the park have varying levels of Garmin accuracy, and when the repeats are that short, it makes a difference. I don't believe the 5:28 pace or the 5:05 pace are really correct! Taking a look at the last time we did this workout - June 5th - my average paces were faster, and I also reduced rest between. I took 3 minutes recovery last time and only two this time. I was glad to see myself improving after a worrisome slowdown trend. 7.6 miles. 
Saturday: Stroller recovery run. 6.2 miles.
Sunday: We agreed to knock off the fast finish this week for our group long run, as it was dangerously warm out. I have been doing 12 or 14 for my long runs, but the rest of the group was doing 15, so I joined them. Why not? David keeps the baby and I milk that free time! Since I run to and from the park, this gave me 16.25 miles. 

60.6 miles for the week and no longer slowing down!