The Snow Fox

It was another solid week of running, which included a very good tempo effort on Saturday.

On Monday, Sam Luff and I ran an easy 9 miles, never dipping below 7:00/mile. Sam didn't want to run on the trails, because they were "muddy". I rolled my eyes. We instead stuck to the bike path running an out-and-back.  "Muddy," Seriously?

On Tuesday, I woke to snow. We were forecasted to only get 1-2", but it was coming down pretty hard and I was certain we'd get at least 2 (in fact, we got double that). It was that very fine, almost dry, snow that really makes it hard to see. Flakes seemed to always fall in my eyes. I pulled my winter hat as far over my eyes as I could, but I still had trouble seeing. The roads were also pretty slick; at one point I took a spill, but bounced right back up without much fanfare. As much trouble as it can be to run in this weather, I do enjoy it in small doses. I got in about 9.

On Wednesday, I ran one of my variations of the Tilden Loop and got in 8.5.

On Thursday, it was in the single digits, but the wind chill made it feel about 10 degrees colder. Needless to say, the going was tough. In fact, my hands nearly froze at the end of my run and I almost threw up in the shower when I got home (the warm water on cold hands feeling). The trails and sidewalks are still a mess, so running is dicey. I got in 9.

I felt surprisingly good on Friday, but kept the pace pedestrian as I had a workout designed for Saturday. I ran around NIH and finished by running up Beach Drive. 8.5 for the day.

On Saturday, I met Dix, Charlie, Sean, Sebi and Lavar at Pierce Mill for some tempo. The plan was to run north along (mostly) car-less Beach Drive to The Line, and then return. Again, it was very cold and I had trouble warming up (2 miles). We started out at 5:52 and gradually cut the pace down: 5:46, 5:41 and 5:34. Charlie informed me that we were flipping around at 4 miles (for some reason, I had it in my head we were tempo-ing 10...even though I was the one who suggested 8) and we proceeded back up the big hill south of The Line. After a 5:27, I decided to open up the valves and see what I could do for the last 3 miles of the run. Dickson stayed on my heals for a mile (5:18) or so, but then I pulled away. My stomach was bothering me, and perhaps I just wasn't concentrating, as my next mile was a tad slower (5:20 - the only mile of the tempo that wasn't cutdown). With a little over a mile to go, I really began to turn it on, but I felt smooth and comfortable, despite my wet windbreaker and soggy clothes. I finished with a 5:08, which was surprising to me (side note - I covered the 8 mile tempo at 5:31 pace). I'm definitely getting in much better.

On Sunday, I ran 13.5 at a moderate clip with Dix, Sam, Charlie and Sean up at Sycamore Landing. My stomach had been a bit upset since Saturday, so the going was a bit rough. I wanted to actually get in more mileage today, but I really wasn't feeling it.

70 miles for the week.