Thursday morning started with an oddity. I actually turned off my alarm in the morning, and declared out loud “It’s official, I’m taking an unscheduled rest day!”. Then went back to sleep.
Oh my. That is not something I do. Let me back up a little… the night before: drinks with my friends. Really, it was just one beer, not a big deal. But when I got home I stayed up too late watching TV with Alan. But the real reason was after my MLR of 10 miles on Weds, I fretted all night if I should run on Thursday because my hip was feeling tight. Nothing terrible, but I was feeling it. And I really wanted to do well on my long run on Friday, so I had talked myself into thinking I should just skip my recovery run Thursday morning. I spent the rest of the day obsessing about the decision, but in the end, I woke up Friday morning with a non-tight hip, so it was a rest day well spent!
My long run was “very important to the plan” as my husband/coach pointed out. He likes to get me all worked up about the pace runs, but I try not to be. Basically it was a 16 mile run, with 10 miles at marathon pace. Marathon Pace. My feeling is, 10 miles at marathon pace really shouldn’t be that hard compared to running the same pace for 26.2 miles, right? Easy peasy. And, I have 10 tries to get it. Every miles restarts another attempt at getting that pace, so there’s a lot of chances to get it right in my opinion.
I originally decided to run 3 miles in my neighborhood (SLOW!), go out to the trail for 10 miles (MP) and then finish up with a cool down of 3 more miles in my neighborhood. Slow was not hard because the sidewalks were slippery! After 3 miles I changed that plan to 5 miles slow first, because I know I would be hating it if I had to go 3 more miles once I got back to my house! Fun fact, I got to bust out my “winter” Newtons for the first time this season. I’m glad I did, they really helped me stay upright!
I ended up running on the roads for the 10 pace miles because the bike trail was coated in snow, and it had ice spots hiding everywhere. Not a fan of running on roads! I am happy to report that I pretty much got every one of those 10 miles at marathon pace. On the way out they felt comfortable, but when I turned back to head home I was pelted in the eyes with snow (I didn’t know it was going to snow!! Where did that come from?) and I was going in to the wind (didn’t notice that one bit going out there!). By the time I got to 14 miles I was feeling it and it was a struggle to get my MP. And my last cool down mile, well, that was pretty much a painful suck-fest, which I was glad was only one mile 🙂
All things considered, I call this run a SUCCESS! Was it hard? Sure. But 14 weeks from now that will seem easy. Right? 🙂
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Q: Do you run on roads, or trails where you live?
Q: Do you have any different shoes for winter/trail vs summer?
Q: Do you ever wear gloves AND mittens when you run?
Although I took the mittens off half way through, I was happy to have them!!
I use Newton BoCo ATs for winter & trail running, and Newton Gravity for roads. When it is really snowy/icy out I wear Yak-Trax as well. And I’ve resorted to using disposable hand warmers to keep my fingers warm in my mittens.
Hope my BoCos don’t cause me any problems this year!
We normally run on paths during the summer, but, once the snow comes, we are forced to run roads. Fortunately, the Morton Arboretum is conveniently located and provides a 7.5 mile hilly loop of paved roads. Problem is that they do not salt, which I find ironic since the Arboretum was founded by the Morton Salt Company. The roads can be icy if we don’t get a couple of days of sun, so most of my club members wear screw shoes. I have an old pair of Newtons with screws in them that serve as my winter wear. I have to wear gloves AND mittens at the same time. My hands freeze in any temp below 30* and that is most of the winter here. We may go weeks without having a temp above freezing.
I just looked up the arboretum. Looks like a super scenic place to run! I wouldn’t mind that at all. That’s pretty funny that they don’t put salt down!!!
Yeah! Nice job on getting the RP run done in that snowy weather!
Sometimes, a rest day is more important than a scheduled run. You are a smart runner.
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Thanks! My hip sure is pesky. Today, day after hard run, it’s not bothering me at all! Not that I’m complaining… but it just seems unpredictable.
I don’t like running along the road as it is. But covered in snow? No thanks. Haha
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Snowy road running. A new form of torture! And they say running on treadmills are bad…