Carmel Week 11: Will This Weather Ever End?!

Will This Weather Ever End?!

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For a runner who is training for a specific time goal, this winter has been stupid. If all of my miles were casual and easy, I wouldn't complain so much. It just seems like, when speed day rolls around, it's too slick or too cold to run outside that fast. So f'n annoying. I even had to do my hill surge workout inside due to poor weather conditions. Sometimes, even yak trax don't help out. GRRR!

As the week progressed, it was still snowy on the ground, but the roads were tremendously better. The temps also improved a bit. As the week was ending, we ventured our way to Florida!

• 2/5: 6.5 miles, 8:59/mile. I was going to meet Katie and Elizabeth in Westerville for hill surge Monday, but the road conditions proved to be bad even for driving. I ended up on the treadmill after work which meant missing my typical Monday arm session. I'll make up for it, but I wasn't happy to have to switch things up. I ran 5 easy miles before starting my surges, I set the incline to 6.0 and speed to 8.4 (10x15 seconds), and recovered a few seconds in between each surge.
  

  

  This one had me rolling. The first person I though of? My friend Jen V-S.

• 2/6: 9.39 miles, 8:10/mile. Another Track Tuesday on the mill (10x800m with 400m recovery). UGH!!!!! Although minimal in comparison to other days, there was enough snow to make it unsafe to do speed in my hood and on the track. I struggled, fo reals, during this workout. I *think* I was dehydrated. I made it through 6 repetitions and had to stop. I just had to. I felt famished, slightly lightheaded, and my teeth were tingling! WTF. I was drinking water throughout the workout, but it's like I couldn't drink enough. After a break, I had the motivation to go at it again. I finished my last four intervals and felt much better. Seven of my intervals were at 7:08/mile pace, two at 7:10, and one at 7:13. It's done, and I'm stronger for it.
  
  

  

  Yes. Lots of this today.

• 2/7: 7 miles, 9:12/mile; PNF/Shoulders, 30 minutes. WHAT. A. DAY. Slightly stressful. We had a stupid snowstorm that started just before the early morning running hour. My crew and I decided to cancel mostly because driving looked to be dangerous. I had no idea when I was going to fit in my run. I really needed to lift after work because I hadn't lifted in what seemed like days. Work was super busy and stressful...not to mention horrible driving conditions. I felt like it was dragging. After getting in a quick shoulder workout, I rushed home in hopes that I'd have time to run before James had karate...not so much. UGH. All the eye rolls. While Jimmy took James to karate, I stayed home with Ruthie and finished up some work which included drama I did not want to deal with while my child was screeching in the background. At this point, I just wanted to scream! So much chaos, no run, and it was already 6:45! Just as I hit my breaking point, Jimmy came home, and I was able to get started on my run. I was not feeling it. I was supposed to run 55-65 minutes. I had no route planned and kept changing my mind about how long I actually wanted to run. My main goal was to stay out of the snow as much as possible...that was a joke. I'm glad I had my yak trax. I spent the first 5 miles in deep thought, frustration, annoyance...and then it clicked...I FORGOT TO TAKE MY MEDS THIS MORNING! It's seriously amazing what a little chemical imbalance can do to your thoughts. As soon as I made this realization, it made a world of difference. I finished my run and felt a tiny bit better about why I was struggling with my day. [Side note: I woke up this morning with hamstring pain. I knew it wasn't a big deal, but I was worried that running in the snow would irritate it and make it worse. Fortunately, by the end of the day, the pain had subsided and I didn't feel a thing before, during, or after my run.]
  

  

  Stupid f'n snow.

  
  

  

• 2/8: Power Yoga Flow, 45 minutes. Cross training day made a return to the mat.
  
• 2/9: 20.01 miles, 8:56/mile. My second 20 miler was a success (thanks to Sarah and Britt). Once again, I felt better than I did the week before. After the first half, I felt like I hadn't worked at all. I was afraid to speak my thought out load in fear I would jinx myself. When I dropped off Britt at 15 miles, I STILL felt amazing. I couldn't believe it...when was it going to hit me? I took my third gel and set out to run the last 5 miles solo. Coach instructed me to run the last three miles faster (if I felt up to it). I was a little nervous about running the last mile faster because I knew I would have to deal with some snow. I decided to run miles 17-19 faster just in case mile 20 didn't work out in my favor.
  
  

  

  A faster mile 20 DID work out in my favor!

  I was super happy with the result. I really hope I've hit a positive turning point in my training.
  

  

  [Britt, ME]

  
  

  

  Post-run stability exercises.

• 2/10: 6.11 miles, 8:41/mile. "I'm leaving on a jet plane..." I wanted to get my run out of the way so I could focus on last minute packing and trying to stay sane while the kids drive me crazy. Sarah and I ran the modified sperm route which is 6 miles on the freaking dot (My routing skills are improving). I realized I needed 6.11 miles to get 49 for the week. Naturally, we made it happen. My legs were a little tired form yesterday, but overall good!
  

  

   Reminiscing about our wild days during this run. [ME, Sarah]

  
  

  

  Top pic around sunrise. Bottom pic around sunset....quite different.

• 2/11: 4 walking miles, 17:??/mile. Day one of vaca and the kids had me up at 6 a.m. This was after a night of not sleeping well. After feeding them and chasing them around, grandpa decided it was time to take them to the park. He was brave enough to do this solo so that Jimmy and I could go for a walk together. The walk was nice in the beginning, but quickly warmed up. So humid and toasty...BUT, I will NOT complain. It was better than cold and icy. I did figure out that I will wake up super early this week to knock out my speed workout.
  

  

  [ME, slow husband]

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So, will this weather ever end? For me, for one week, YES!!! I will go from one extreme to the other, but I will be so thankful for it. Throat punch me if I complain about the heat.