Running week of 11/29 - 12/6

[zoom-zoom]

Just got back from a dreary, chilly 10 miler. Some stretches were a little hairy...there is a light coating of ice under a dusting of snow. Not enough for Yaktrax or screw shoes, but a little slick underfoot. Did better running on the gravel shoulder during those bits.

I'm not really ready for 3-4 months of this. On the bright side, by this time last year we'd already had several feet of snow and there was no gravel shoulder to run on.

[Urlea]

Hey Ladies,

Glad to read that you are still getting out there & running during this busy time of the year, great inspiration!

The weather this week took quite the dip, it is no longer fall. With cooler temps & about 2" of snow it is definitely winter. Since posting usually takes me a while and the trail runs I get in are so pretty I have been video blogging.

You can check out two of my runs this week here...

http://www.youtube.com/user/shootruntri

Enjoy!

[Bike Chick]

Ran the 5k at the Memphis St. Jude Marathon yesterday. Hubby did the half. Was 22 degrees at the start......brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This was my first run since October because of a stress fracture but I'd paid my money months ago and said what the heck--I wanted to experience it even if I had to walk. Had a blast! It was a lot of fun and I didn't walk.

[zoom-zoom]

Ran the 5k at the Memphis St. Jude Marathon yesterday. Hubby did the half. Was 22 degrees at the start......brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This was my first run since October because of a stress fracture but I'd paid my money months ago and said what the heck--I wanted to experience it even if I had to walk. Had a blast! It was a lot of fun and I didn't walk.

Nice job! Glad to hear your stress fracture has healed. That can take a long while and be very frustrating.

[skhill]

My Sat. run was so much fun... The snow had started falling sometime between my dog's trip to the backyard and when I headed out, and it was beautiful. The first couple miles, I was thinking of giving up and going home, but then I warmed up a bit (and turned out of the wind!) and really started enjoying the morning. I ended up going 10 miles, and felt great!

[colby]

Ran the 5k at the Memphis St. Jude Marathon yesterday. Hubby did the half. Was 22 degrees at the start......brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This was my first run since October because of a stress fracture but I'd paid my money months ago and said what the heck--I wanted to experience it even if I had to walk. Had a blast! It was a lot of fun and I didn't walk.

Brr!! I imagine that crossing the finish line was a major mental victory for you. Congrats!

Walked the dog about 4 miles today, it was about 20 degrees with a 10 degree wind chill. She loved every minute of it - she's been kind of restless, only able to walk since having a tumor removed from her left elbow area almost 2 weeks ago. She gets her staples out on Monday and can run again. I owed her a walk today after not really doing anything this week (lots and LOTS of yoga). Next week I'll probably do some short runs or mix run/walk.

[Jolt]

I haven't run in a few days, but today I did a nice 2-hour hike in about three inches of snow on Mt. Wachusett. It's too cold for VFFs, but I experimented with my footwear today and it was quite successful. I wore the Teva Proton water shoes with some heavy wool socks, short gaiters (to keep the snow out and also keep the hems of my pants out of the snow and mud) and Stabilicers Sport for traction. The arrangement worked nicely and my feet surprisingly didn't seem to get wet even when I stepped briefly in muck a few times. However, that setup won't cut it in much colder/wetter conditions (or at least I don't think I would be comfortable with it) so I am thinking about what I can use for minimal hiking footwear when it's colder. On trips that require snowshoes/crampons I'll just have to wear my winter boots, but for regular hikes in the cold/small amounts of snow it is nice to not wear such heavy things. Mukluks might be nice...

[OakLeaf]

I hadn't run in a few days either - finally got out this morning for intervals, dodging the black ice. It was only about 31° here - I don't even want to think about 22°! Brrr! Good job getting out there BC, glad you had fun.

One of my riding buddies posted something from Dr. Gabe Mirkin advocating very short intervals (30 sec sprints x 8-12). Anyone have any thoughts on this? One minute intervals are the shortest ones I have programmed into my watch right now, so that's what I did today x 9. I have a hard time believing that anything shorter than that does any good - I actually don't always believe I'm really getting a benefit from the one-minute intervals. But that's what the guy said...

[Bike Chick]

Yes, 22 degrees was pretty cold before the race. There were piles of discarded clothes along the street after the start but once the race started, I warmed up in a hurry. I'd never been in a race this big before. It was an awesome experience. I'm signing up for a half marathon in May! Let the training begin!