Moving right along January 3rd-9th

[limewave]

A very slow and painful 4 miles for me today. Here's to hoping tomorrow goes better when I do 7 . . .

[Urlea]

Pretty busy start to the week, but I was finally able to get out for a run. After much grunting I managed to fit Injinjis into my VFFs, the complete lack of barefoot running was bugging me so I was determined to make it work & it did. There are no words to express how amazing it felt to feel snow under my feet like that it's almost plush & silky. It was 10 above so my feet didn't get chilled at all. Pace reflected how happy I was to VFF run again 3.5mi @ 8:10 which in the winter is pretty stellar for me. (Becky, I have the KSO model. They rock.)

Don't worry, it's no bigfoot... it's just me!

Oak- In answer to your fueling question I do two things. Stiff gel can be a really pain so Hammer Gel gets put into a flask then watered down (hot water) & placed upside down in my hydration pack pocket.

Then I do what I affectionately call Perpetuem Bombs. Two scoops of the powder w/ about a half shot-glass of water mixed together and poured into the point or one of the corners of a plastic sandwich baggie then ziplocked & tied closed. Kind of like you do for frosting cakes. When it comes time for the Perpetuem (I take it every 7mi.) you just bite off the tip & squeeze the bulb to get it to come out. HTH!

[limewave]

Urlea--that is a great picture

I'm off for a 7-miler. My hip is a little out of alignment and I got about 30 minutes of sleep last night . . . DD decided to wake her baby brother up in the middle of the night to play I'm hoping the run will be invigorating and not draining.

[Urlea]

Lime Ugh, only 30 minutes of sleep? That exhausts me just to think about it. I'm not sure how you Mommies manage it all. Huge kudos for getting out there & training anyway, that's beautiful determination. Hope you have a great run!

[OakLeaf]

Urlea, I love that picture!

[colby]

Yesterday I did a hard 30 minutes after a 15 minute warm up, basically a test to find approximate LTHR (max HR-20, more or less). It was hard, but the running felt so much more natural than it did last year, I was honestly surprised. I was able to maintain a higher heart rate/faster pace for longer without feeling like I wanted to give up. The last 5 minutes were pretty brutal, but I never felt lightheaded and I was able to push myself to a more appropriate/uncomfortable pace/rate without flipping off the treadmill or negotiating "5 fewer minutes" or "I'll just approximate".

I can't run as fast on the treadmill as I can on dry land. Maybe the temperature gets to me. I guess if I was training for a warm-weather marathon, I'd spend more time at the gym (yuck). I hear that a lot of people can run FASTER on the treadmill, but this concept is foreign to me.

[Becky]

I can't run as fast on the treadmill as I can on dry land. Maybe the temperature gets to me. I guess if I was training for a warm-weather marathon, I'd spend more time at the gym (yuck). I hear that a lot of people can run FASTER on the treadmill, but this concept is foreign to me.

Me either! I was just having this conversation with a running friend yesterday. She swears that the TM is easier for her, but every outdoor run I've done (which hasn't been many lately!) has been faster than my indoor times.

Personally, I think that this is a good thing- makes me feel like Superwoman when I do get outside

[GLC1968]

Urlea - LOVE that photo! I'm sure it's freaking a few non-barefoot-runners out. It totally looks like some crazy person was out running barefoot in the snow!!

I haven't run since last week, but my last one was 12/18 run/walk and managed 2.35 miles in that time. Tonight it's back down to 10/20 and then it goes back up to 12/18 on Friday. I cannot wait until the run minutes surpass the walk minutes on my plan!

[Susan Otcenas]

Just shy of 7 miles this morning. Wasn't carrying any nutrition and got a bit hungry by the end, but otherwise it was a good run.

I passed a Chevron gas station on my way out and back. It was around 5:30 a.m. on the way out, so it wasn't busy at all. The gas station attendant was jogging laps back and forth between the pumps. Made me wonder if he was a) bored b) training or c) trying to stay warm....