February Fun

OK, I can't be the only one running this winter. Where is everyone? Let's shake things up around here.....

We had single digit weather here yesterday, so like any sensible adults, we layered up and went out to trail run. I believe it was 9 degrees when we started. We had 4 inches of fresh snow the on Saturday so it made for slow going on the trails, but I am still in the post surgical recovery bliss stage so I was happy to be out trudging.

I just moved from the rail trail back onto the trails a week or so ago. Three runs ago. We have a race coming up next month, so I have been anxious to get some actually trail running in. I was feeling it by the time we were done yesterday. The snow made it feel like running in sand. But it was so pretty in the woods. Great day to be out.

OK, your turn.....

RnR, glad you're recovering so well! And great job getting out there in the snow. I just could not do that ... between driving to run which I hate to do anyway, and my Raynaud's, it would be indoor workouts for me if I had to deal with snow.

I'm in the throes of it, nine weeks to race day. Doing a Jack Daniels training plan and feeling really good about it, though I'm not completely sure how much is just because the weather is so much cooler than it was last spring. As much as I'm really glad I trained with Coach Dave last year, I don't think he put enough recovery into my training plan, and I think he had me do some of my fast work much too fast. With this one, it seems like I'm getting stronger just as quickly, but without feeling so beaten down by it both physically and mentally.

I had a really great workout Sunday and I'm still kind of riding a high from that. Objectively tougher but subjectively easier than the workout I did on Wednesday. Lots of factors at work there - some because of the way I've structured my weeks to front-load the mileage and give me more recovery toward the end of the week, some because of improved fitness, some I'm pretty sure was mental. Anyway it made me really happy!

My schedule is a little bit tweaked this week because of houseguests. They'll just have to deal with me being gone on my second big workout of the week tomorrow. :D

The "Jack Daniels" training plan made me giggle for a second:) What are you training for? Boston?

We are very lucky to have a great park about 15 mins up the road. Great trails to run on. The only catch is, that you can only run there Oct- end of March because the chiggers and deer ticks are so bad. So we have to get in while the gettin' is good.

We picked up another 4+ inches of snow last night, so I am pretty sure that will shut the trails down until it melts, which ain't happening this week. It is annoying because it is enough snow to keep up out of the woods and not enough to snow shoe or ski on. So frustrating. Hopefully we will be able to mt bike this w/e.

Did some yoga this morning to stretch out my sore spots and then went and walk on snowy roads for an hour and tightened them back up.

I was running regularly in January until a really awful cold shut me down for nearly three weeks. Last week I finally went out once and walked more than ran, but I did jog slowly about one mile total, alternating walking laps with jogging. I still had a cough so took it easy. The sad thing was, I missed the nice "cold" front we had here for about two weeks where the mornings would have been perfect for running -- temps in the low 60s with lower than usual humidity!

Today, I went out again, but it was much warmer and more humid. I ended up running 2 miles and running 2 (again, alternating). It's amazing how much stamina I've lost. Right before I got sick I had my best two 5K times ever at the track where I run -- finally broke 30 minutes, which is amazing for me. It's gonna take awhile to get back to that level.

I should have been running more because we've had such a warm winter, but somehow I misplaced my willpower. Don't know how you all do it in the snow. But we did sign up for the Run SLC series - a 5K, 10K, and 15K the first Saturday of Feb, Mar, and Apr, respectively. So that, plus some new shoes, did get me running again. Today I broke away from my desk in the middle of a beautiful sunny afternoon to go for a quick run, and it was so nice. Working from home, I often don't leave the house for days, and making myself get out for a run is the perfect antidote. We registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon again this year and that will keep me motivated throughout the summer.

Yep, heading to Boston one more time. I'm still chasing that goal time I missed this year!

Had another good workout today. Run happy might be a corporate slogan but I can do it without wearing any of their stuff :D

So we had an interesting run yesterday. We have had two small rounds of snow since Saturday. The latest on Mon, 4 more inches. And for some reason, I thought heading to the rail trail yesterday seemed like a good idea. NOT! What a mess. We made it less than a mile before we had to bail and run through a neighborhood. Unfortunately the only way back to the car was through the mess we started on. Got in 45 mins. I have no idea how far we ran. But it was a nice day to be out.

Another big Sunday - ride the hybrid to the yoga studio and park there, do my run, aerial yoga class, ride home. Aerial is such a great complement to running, between the upper body strength and the decompression. Just the perfect thing to do after a run. The only trouble is the running workouts are getting long enough that it's starting to cut into my sleep if I want to get it done before class. :p

Seventeen today, eight of them at marathon pace. I'm planning on 20 easy next week, even though my training plan recommends against going over 2.5 hours - on the one hand I know what I gain from going longer and I think it's worth it at least once or twice in a training cycle, and on the other hand I've made so many improvements biomechanically that 20 miles definitely doesn't beat me up as badly as it used to.

I've been getting some killer massages lately - we've finally gotten far enough into the three year old injury that now we've got time to work on some of the really old stuff (and its intersection with the more recent injuries). Yowza owie but wow do I notice the difference in my running and yoga.

Sounds like your training is going great. We got out yesterday after work for a run. All of the trails are covered as is the rail trail so we had to run on the road which I do not care for. It was 22 degrees and windy and my legs were very heavy. So more of a trudge than a run, but I stuck it out.

It is funny, we went out last week in the morning and it was 9 degrees when we started the run, but we were in the woods. 9 degrees in the woods seemed warmer than 22 degrees on the road. Go figure.

Oh well, just keep trudging on. Trainer workout today:(

17 miles, Oak...wow! I can't even imagine!

I finally ran my first 5K on the track today five weeks after my last. I had a really awful cold that just would NOT go away. Lots of coughing, congestion, malaise, and I am still building back speed and endurance, as I have lost a lot. But, I slogged through it and managed a slightly under 10 minute mile pace today. Just glad to be back... Yoga and cycling have been easier to get back to than running.

Emily, running is always the hardest to get back. Sorry it took so long for your cold to clear up.


We had a great run yesterday. Normally we do not workout on Friday afternoon, but we missed our Thursday run so there you have it. We decided in spite of the snow to gear up and head out on the trails with our microspikes on. It was a bit tough going on the trails where people had walked, but once we got further into the woods and lost the foot traffic we had a blast. Tough going, but so fun.

At one point I was running along, the sun the was setting through the trees, lighting up the snow and all I could here was my breathing and the bite of my spikes in the snow. Very zen. Made for an unusual Friday Happy Hour, but I am an unusual girl!

I thought my legs would be trashed this morning, but I just got done doing some gooey yoga ( stretchy vs power ) and I am feeling pretty good.

So fun.

RnR, that sounds wonderful!

Emily, glad you're starting to feel better. That's just miserable when a relatively minor illness drags on and on. And yeah, it seems to me that the thing about running is that you have to have a relatively high level of fitness (both general aerobic fitness and running-specific muscular fitness) for ANY running to be easy, and when something happens to drop you below that level, then it's really tough to get it back, because every run is hard.

It's only been since last year, training for my fifth marathon, that anything over 16 miles or so hasn't been automatically a slog. Now, it's a combination of things, partly that I'm keeping my volume higher year round (at least partly related to doing very little cycling), and partly that I've finally done it enough times that it isn't mentally intimidating.

So, knocked out my 20 this morning and felt good. Kept it to a pretty easy pace, but still considerably quicker than I've ever run 20 before - last year my coach had me doing my long runs extra slow, but other than that it's kind of hard to compare, since every other time (besides my first marathon, when I really didn't care about the pace) there's been either hills and/or heat and/or return from injury slowing me down. But anyway, it was good, picked it up the last couple of miles and finished at just a little slower than goal race pace. Followed it up with a nice aerial yoga class again.

Wednesday's supposed to be super hot. Better start hydrating now...

It sounds like this is getting easy for you!

Easy? Um, no ... :p What's the old saying? "It never gets easier, you just get faster."

I will say it feels easier in some ways than last year, certainly easier mentally, but that's because I felt like last year's plan wasn't the best for me - too much wasted effort, not to put too fine a point on it. This year I'm doing more weekly mileage AND more miles in the "meat" of my speed/strength workouts, but it's all put together very differently, and at least so far it seems like my body is responding better. The test will be in April of course!

I know it's not really *easy.* But, it sounds like your training plan is better than the coach's plan.