Winter Running Thread

[rocknrollgirl]

Got in an easy 5 miler on the trails yesterday. We ran with a friend that is going through a terrible divorce, so it is running therapy for him. It gives him a chance to talk it out, and we just run with and offer support.

[rocknrollgirl]

So this week, back to school and back to regular routine. We skipped our Tuesday run because my right calf had a sore spot. It was worth the extra day off, because it sorted it self out. Did an easy 5 miler Thursday and 9 on the trails yesterday. We really focused on trying to just keep it light and easy yesterday. My husband ran probably 3/4 of the time with me and we just chatted, so that was nice.

A few stiff spots this morning but I did a 30 min spin on the trainer and lifted and everything feels ok now.

[OakLeaf]

So, I'm five weeks into my training for Boston, doing basically the same training plan as last year, a modified Jack Daniels 2Q plan. It started off pretty rough, with extreme heat and humidity, to the point where I had to bail on three of the first five workouts - since I'd ended up with the EMTs after a 10K the first weekend in December and knew they weren't going to be waiting for me on a training run! But, it's cooled off considerably and things are picking back up. I'm signed up for a local HM this Sunday - doesn't exactly fit into my training plan, but it doesn't exactly *not,* either . It's a new event and they've got 1200 people signed up! Just two days ago I was feeling pretty iffy about it, but the soreness from the mile repeats has finally gone down, my intervals today went well, and I'm looking forward to the run.

RnR, I don't know if I'd drive an entire hour to find hills, but I'm already sick of bridge repeats.

[ny biker]

Well I don't run, but I'll drive an hour to ride my bike in a nice area or if I need different terrain for training purposes. It helps if the place you're driving to is scenic in some way.

[Crankin]

Glad you are doing Boston again, Oak. Hope the weather stays cooler. Training and heat=bad things!

[rocknrollgirl]

We have to drive an hour to do anything except go the beach, which we do not do at all. The closest place to mt bike is 45 mins away, so we really do not think much of it. Our local park is nice to run in the winter, and even though it is hilly, it just does not give us enough to prep for a race in the mountains. Even small mountains! Flatlanders.

Oak, glad you are surviving your training so far. Sorry about the heat issues. I believe "blech" is the official term for that.

[rocknrollgirl]

Yesterday's run was some light speed work. I am trying to make sure we keep some on our schedule so that we do not fall into a pattern of trudging every run.
It actually felt really good to do. We kept the pick up's short enough to do the job but not cause too much soreness. Tomorrow we have our long trail run scheduled and they are calling for an inch of rain tonight. Could make for some smushy sections on the trails.

[rocknrollgirl]

Ouch, the word of the week is ouch.

Yesterday's trail run, just under 10 miles. My legs were tired from the week, and about an hour in they started to hate me. The last 2 miles was tough. I tried to just separate mind and body and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I was pretty pooped after and my hammies were very pooped.

Today we did an easy 90 min recovery ride on our mt bikes. I was reluctant to go, but it did help get some blood flowing to sore tight muscles. Now I am tired

[Catrin]

Ouch, the word of the week is ouch.

Yesterday's trail run, just under 10 miles. My legs were tired from the week, and about an hour in they started to hate me. The last 2 miles was tough. I tried to just separate mind and body and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I was pretty pooped after and my hammies were very pooped.

Today we did an easy 90 min recovery ride on our mt bikes. I was reluctant to go, but it did help get some blood flowing to sore tight muscles. Now I am tired

Sounds painful and fun all at the same time, a great combination! Are the hammies feeling better?

[OakLeaf]

I'll second the ouch

Ran that HM this morning. They had to delay the start for two hours because of a bad storm and tornado warnings - it had already blown through by the scheduled start time, but they couldn't do any of the setup until then. It was the same storm that resulted in the Naples HM being cancelled entirely because of all the power lines that were down. It was still pretty windy - steady 28 mph gusting to 39 - and the geography of the area meant that most of the race we were running either straight upwind or straight down. The upwind segments were brutal, but thankfully we had a tailwind for the final almost three miles. I took second in my age group, my first AG placing in anything longer than a 10K, so I'm happy, especially considering I wasn't at all fresh for this one.

It's early in my training plan to be running a HM, but considering my plan called for an easy 12 miles today, and because of that geography, I pretty much would've had to cover at least some of the same roads as the race, I wasn't going to skip this one. We'll see how sore I am for Wednesday's workout ....

[rocknrollgirl]

Sounds painful and fun all at the same time, a great combination! Are the hammies feeling better?

They are feeling better. Believe it or not, I took a hot bath. I am not a bath person normally, but we did a bathroom reno this summer and my hubs put in a cast iron clawfoot tub. And now I am becoming a bath person. It really helped my legs today.

I think the sore hammies are coming from weak glutes. So I am working on them.

Oak,
Great job. The conditions sound brutal. So pumped for your age group place! That is so cool!

[Crankin]

Hope the soreness gets better, rocknroll. Sometimes a bath really does help.
Oak, that sounds really brutal. Wind just sucks the life out of me for any sport! Congrats on your age group place.

[rocknrollgirl]

Yesterday was pretty cold and windy here, so we opted to run the trails instead of the rail trail which can get to be a wind tunnel. We had a few inches of snow on Saturday so everything looked really pretty. Got in a nice hour on the trails before the sun went down.

[OakLeaf]

I feel for all of you snowed in. Here's someone who's learned to love the treadmill: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw8zRusBE48

Not to rub it in, but we had a perfect day for running here. High 40s, sunshine, not too much wind, chilly enough to keep most everyone but runners off the streets. Saw a bald eagle as I was warming up - they're common enough here, but it's still a treat every time I see one.

I'm starting week 7 of my training plan - like last year, I started with less of a base than I wanted, so I started with the <40 mpw training plan and am still building mileage, now transitioning to the 41-55 mpw plan. So, I kind of split the difference between the workouts that were prescribed for each plan, and wound up with two marathon pace segments of 6 and 4 miles, with an easy mile between - plus warm-up and cool-down, for a total of 14. Feeling good about where I am so far. Really making progress with the new chiropractor and my favorite LMT - besides chipping away at the discomfort from the injuries, my biomechanics are also improving where we're stripping away decades of imbalances and adhesions. Little by little.

[rocknrollgirl]

I got out with nano spikes on yesterday. Not for long, only 5 miles but it was a drop down week for our long run anyway. It was nice, sunny, about 21 degrees, very pretty. I am hoping most of the snow will melt or compress enough to be back in the woods by next weekend. Until then we will be on the road.

Oak, sounds like you are making great progress. Keep up the great training!