No complaints from me. This is February in New England, isn't it? I'll take this any day over 80+ degree humid runs that will inevitably plague me in summer.
Monday: 13
Normally my rest day, this was a snow day with schools closed and the bank closing at Noon, so I got outside for a double dose of snow fun:
AM: 7+ miler with Matthew on roads in the falling, blowing snow.
PM: 5+ miler with Tom running through snow and making fresh trails at Champlin. My Yak-Trax seemed to help give me grip on uphill climbs. Tiring, but fun!
Tuesday: 0
Took this day as my rest day instead.
Wednesday: 5
Needham, MA. This one was shaping up to be a great one running in falling snow, but it was anything but great on 3 counts:
Easier pace (average 7:23), but I somehow still struggled a bit on this one. Took me a long time to warm up, and then got into a surprise snow burst. I love running in the snow, but between the wind bursts and snow bursts into my face, it made for a tough run.
Friday: 7
Icebox. 7 degree run. Dressed warmly, and eventually warmed up. Wished I had spent more time running on the beach, as the sun on my face was blissful.
Saturday: 18
On Friday, one by one, the regrets came in from my recent weekend running cohorts that for reasons of cold weather, injury, and vacation, they would not be joining me for a long run Saturday. Friday night I was not looking forward to this and was playing with mapmyrun.com. Matthew suggested I contact Muddy to see if he would run, but I countered that he'd probably run indoors (he didn't) and anyway his training runs are too fast for me anymore. How about Jonny; yeah, I probably should've reached out to him to see if he'd push me for even part of a run.
Anyway, Saturday arrived. 18 degrees - hemmed and hawed over shorts or tights, and only because of the long run and wind, opted for the latter. Two miles into my run I panicked as I saw my watch was not recording time/distance. Did I forget to start it? No, same thing as earlier in the week, the thing shut off and rebooted. Arggh! Is this the excuse I need to just pack it in? I really need Chris to give me a "Suck it up!" about now. Restarted the watch (while continuing to run), and this time, when I pressed "Start", it recognized the earlier run portion and picked up where I left off. No further watch trouble on the run. Awesome!
OK, enough of my whining. I sound like Mike B complaining about winter (although he's up skiing now!). Reached Mile 4 in Avondale, which meant the start of 10 miles targeted at MP. Ran the next 4 miles consistently in low 6:30s, just a tad slower than I was targeting. At Mile 5, I passed Jeffs V and H going the opposite direction, and then at Mile 6, Steve slowed down in his SUV to say he was headed for a TM run at the Y. Meanwhile, I took a CR "1A South" on Beach Street. Only problem is that I was headed NORTH! Someone directionally challenged must have created this one.
6:56 was my slowest mile of the lot (my excuse being slipping in snow in Wilcox Park and then hill climb on Narragansett), and then I was pleased that 4 of my next 5 miles were in the 6:20s, before a 4-mile final easier stretch. Don't know why I got myself so worked up about this long run; it turned out much better than I thought:
Sunday: 6
Several years ago at Waterville Valley, NH I went out for a 4-mile run at -13F. While today's run wasn't quite as cold, for coastal RI, -5F is pretty frigid, and wind chill at -21F. Stayed close to home on this one, so I could bail if need be, but after a while I "warmed up" enough to keep going. Didn't see another soul outside.
Weekly totals:
Run: 63!
Weekly Synopsis:
Another new high mileage week for the year. I got out there consistently and got it done and followed the training plan really well this week, in spite of (or maybe because of) the snow and cold weather. Fortunately, Punxsutawney Phil was wrong. Long live winter; like so many other things in life, it will end much too soon.
Monday: 13
Normally my rest day, this was a snow day with schools closed and the bank closing at Noon, so I got outside for a double dose of snow fun:
AM: 7+ miler with Matthew on roads in the falling, blowing snow.
PM: 5+ miler with Tom running through snow and making fresh trails at Champlin. My Yak-Trax seemed to help give me grip on uphill climbs. Tiring, but fun!
Tuesday: 0
Took this day as my rest day instead.
Wednesday: 5
Needham, MA. This one was shaping up to be a great one running in falling snow, but it was anything but great on 3 counts:
- GPS watch failure. Despite full battery, my watch kept shutting off and rebooting. Restarted multiple times mid-run, only to go through the same experience. Really frustrating. Yes, I'm addicted to my running watch and running "naked" without it adversely impacts me.
- Slip, near-tumble, and wrench back. Couldn't see ice under the light coating of snow, and slipped and lost my balance. My lower back hurt the rest of the run and I became super cautious and slow.
- Snot running down his nose. Remember those lyrics from Jethro Tull's "Aqualung"? Suffice it to say when I got into the Y locker room and looked in the mirror, apparently my farmer's blow is not as perfected as I had thought. Hope I didn't gross out too many.
Easier pace (average 7:23), but I somehow still struggled a bit on this one. Took me a long time to warm up, and then got into a surprise snow burst. I love running in the snow, but between the wind bursts and snow bursts into my face, it made for a tough run.
Friday: 7
Icebox. 7 degree run. Dressed warmly, and eventually warmed up. Wished I had spent more time running on the beach, as the sun on my face was blissful.
Saturday: 18
On Friday, one by one, the regrets came in from my recent weekend running cohorts that for reasons of cold weather, injury, and vacation, they would not be joining me for a long run Saturday. Friday night I was not looking forward to this and was playing with mapmyrun.com. Matthew suggested I contact Muddy to see if he would run, but I countered that he'd probably run indoors (he didn't) and anyway his training runs are too fast for me anymore. How about Jonny; yeah, I probably should've reached out to him to see if he'd push me for even part of a run.
Anyway, Saturday arrived. 18 degrees - hemmed and hawed over shorts or tights, and only because of the long run and wind, opted for the latter. Two miles into my run I panicked as I saw my watch was not recording time/distance. Did I forget to start it? No, same thing as earlier in the week, the thing shut off and rebooted. Arggh! Is this the excuse I need to just pack it in? I really need Chris to give me a "Suck it up!" about now. Restarted the watch (while continuing to run), and this time, when I pressed "Start", it recognized the earlier run portion and picked up where I left off. No further watch trouble on the run. Awesome!
OK, enough of my whining. I sound like Mike B complaining about winter (although he's up skiing now!). Reached Mile 4 in Avondale, which meant the start of 10 miles targeted at MP. Ran the next 4 miles consistently in low 6:30s, just a tad slower than I was targeting. At Mile 5, I passed Jeffs V and H going the opposite direction, and then at Mile 6, Steve slowed down in his SUV to say he was headed for a TM run at the Y. Meanwhile, I took a CR "1A South" on Beach Street. Only problem is that I was headed NORTH! Someone directionally challenged must have created this one.
6:56 was my slowest mile of the lot (my excuse being slipping in snow in Wilcox Park and then hill climb on Narragansett), and then I was pleased that 4 of my next 5 miles were in the 6:20s, before a 4-mile final easier stretch. Don't know why I got myself so worked up about this long run; it turned out much better than I thought:
Sunday: 6
Several years ago at Waterville Valley, NH I went out for a 4-mile run at -13F. While today's run wasn't quite as cold, for coastal RI, -5F is pretty frigid, and wind chill at -21F. Stayed close to home on this one, so I could bail if need be, but after a while I "warmed up" enough to keep going. Didn't see another soul outside.
 |
| COLD! |
 |
| On the run, I could feel my few exposed parts, including eyebrows and eyelashes, were freezing up. |
Weekly totals:
Run: 63!
Weekly Synopsis:
Another new high mileage week for the year. I got out there consistently and got it done and followed the training plan really well this week, in spite of (or maybe because of) the snow and cold weather. Fortunately, Punxsutawney Phil was wrong. Long live winter; like so many other things in life, it will end much too soon.
You're the last person I'll need to tell to suck it up. Impressive getting out there for some big runs in frigid weather. I hope there were no "deep sea diver breaths" after that Aqualung moment.
ReplyDeleteExactly you are the last person I'd say needed to suck it up!! I knew you'd be out there getting it done. GREAT JOB!!! The snot running down your nose, yeah, been there.... picture next time! LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat week!
ReplyDelete