Snowshoes!!!

8 inches of fresh snow, what is a girl to do?! The sidewalks were not plowed, so I broke out the snowshoes for my 4 mile run this morning. That was a lot of work, but fun.

Tuesday -1/30/07

10 mile run through the neighborhood. It didn't feel that cold. However, when I walked in to my office building from my car later, it felt freezing out! I guess one of the advantages of running early when you are half asleep is that you don't notice those things!

01/28/07 Some Miles at the Park

A couple of inches of fresh snow fell overnight. The Euclid Creek Reservation is one of the prettiest places in Cleveland when it snows. The paved path runs down into a valley next to the Creek and the ice and snow formations are beautiful. I was glad that I ran early, though, since the temperature dropped about 20 degrees yesterday afternoon and the lake effect snow showers started and have not stopped!

A Heat Wave....

I woke up to the sound of melting snow and ice outside. After a week of pretty cold temperatures, 35 degrees felt like Spring for todays long run. My sister and I headed out to the North Chagrin reservation. The dirt trails were covered in deep snow and ice, so we headed out on the paved trail for a 13.5 mile run. Rachel is a faster runner than I am, so it is nice to run with someone who pushes me a little bit. Nice run and good to catch up on things with my sister - we don't get to do that often enough!

01/25/07 I liked "unwinter" better....

Winter has arrived, although about a month and a half late. It was 18f and lightly snowing at 5:00 AM. The weather report called for much worse (low wind chills and blowing snow)so I was thankful it wasn't worse and I could get my run completed outdoors. Todays schedule called for 8 miles with some speedwork at the end (10 x 100 meter repeats). I found a nice clear patch of pavement and was able to get the speedwork completed, although I'm sure the neighbors were wondering why I was running back and forth in front of their house 10 times!

01/24/07 Wednesday

A nothing special run of 4 miles at an easy pace.

01/23/07 - It was a cold and snowy morning....

when I stepped out my door. The sidewalks were snow and ice covered, so I ran several loops around the neighborhood side streets for a total run of 10 miles. There is a great online mapping tool called GMaps that allows me to zero in on my neighborhood and map my running routes to find out their distance. Great stuff!

Sunday 01/21/07

No time to head back out on the trails, so I ran 5 miles close to home at an easy pace. It looks like the snow and cold are here to stay, so hopefully I will have more chances to run with my snowshoes.

My fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society is really going well. I am so touched by everyone's generosity. I spent the weekend counting coins, and I am well over half-way to my fundraising goal!!!!! The money raised helps people in so many ways. Not only does it go towards funding research efforts to find cures for blood cancers, but it also helps to improve the quality of life for patients battling these diseases through other programs. The Northern Ohio Chapter maintains a Patient Financial Aid Program, directs family support groups and offers a newly diagnosed peer support program. Thanks again for all of your help!

01/20/2007 - Snow!!!!

Not a lot of snow, but enough to test out my Redfeather running snowshoes that I bought last summer. It was fun, but really hard work! I lasted for 4 miles with the snowshoes on the park trails, and then completed the remaining 8 miles on the roads. Hopefully I'll have a chance to use the snowshoes again tomorrow.

01/18/2007 Thursday Run

Today the training schedule called for 7 miles, with some speedwork at the end. The speed work consisted of 7 repeats of 100 meters. I have a 100 meter stretch of sidewalk measured in front of my house, so I ran the 7 miles at an easy pace and completed the 100 m repeats afterward. Wow, I am slow. It's a good thing I concentrate on the distance races - I could never be a sprinter :)

01/16/2007 - Great Run

Today was the first day of my formal 18 week training plan (Pfitzinger 18/55 for the runners). It calls for fewer runs per week (4-5) but higher mileage runs. I think it will work out well for the winter months.

Today's schedule called for 9 miles. It was perfect out - a couple inches of fresh snow and 30 degrees. I had a great run! Best of all, tomorrow is a rest day!

01/14/2007 More Rain

Blech, cold rainy run on the trails. 5 miles total. It's a good thing I have several pairs of running shoes as my shoes from Saturday are still wet. Day off tomorrow and then I begin my 18 week marathon training plan on Tuesday.

01/13/07 Wet Shoes

It was cold and rainy when the alarm went off this morning. I knew there was no way that I could stand to run the 12 miles on my training schedule on a treadmill. So, I put on my Gortex running jacket and pants and headed out to the trails. It was actually quite enjoyable once I got started, but there was a lot of standing water to run through. When I finished I changed out of my trail running shoes to drive home - I actually could pour some water out of them!

Thursday 01/11/07

It was kind of cold and windy out there this morning - windchill was around 10F. I haven't felt that for a while! 7 miles completed at any easy pace.

01/10/07 Hump Day

Speed workout today. It was a bit snowy and icy, but I have a 1 mile loop that I run in the winter that is usually clear. Warm-up jog of 1/2 mile, 3 x 1 mile repeats with 1/4 mile jog in between, followed by a 1/2 mile cool down. I have been running lots of miles at an easy pace to build a good base for marathon training. It felt good to run a bit faster today.

01/09/07 - Winter Returns....

Great running weather, actually. Cold with a dusting of snow, but not too windy. This run felt so much better than yesterday's indoor run. 9 miles run at an easy pace. Some days you have a great run and this was one of them - before I knew it I was back home!

01/08/07 Dreadmill Monday

Woke up to rain/sleet/wind, so since I just renewed my YMCA membership, I figured today was a good day to go. I hate running on the dreadmill, but managed to make it to 5 miles and followed it up with some weight training.

01/07/07 - Hills

6 very hilly miles on the Euclid Creek trail. It felt good to get on the softer footing of the trail after yesterdays run on the roads.

01/06/07 Group Run/Swim

Today I drove with another Team In Training member out to the west side to the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks for a Team in Training group run. There was a large group, about 40 people who are training for the Cleveland Marathon. I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone as the training progresses. It is a huge park, with a running trail that goes on for about 15 miles. It is the perfect place for a long run. Except today. After several inches of rain on Friday, and an absence of leaves on the trees, the park was flooded. This picture is of the running trail. I ran with a small group and we were able to improvise and get about 11 miles in without having to go through too much of the water. Crazy weather - it makes me wonder what if this had been snow!

01/04/07

7 mile run, testing out my new shoes. The Saucony Shadow 9's that I used for my last marathon effort and all of this past year of running and racing have been discontinued. Those shoes were just perfect, I think I went through about 10 pairs. I have tried a couple of different shoes as a replacement. So far, these Mizuno Wave Riders seem to be working out. Hopefully they will work out for the marathon - the right shoes make all the difference!

01/03/07

Easy run, 5 miles with a stop at the gym for some weight training. My legs are pretty tired after a few hard runs in a row so this was a recovery run, done at an slow pace. Looking forward to that rest day on Friday!

January 2, 2007 - Back to Work

The holidays are over and it's back to the old work routine. No more weekday runs with daylight :(

Out the door at 5:15 this morning for 9 miles through the neighborhood.

First Run for 2007 - Hills at the Park

Cleveland is one of the best cities to live in if you like the outdoors. There is a Cleveland Metropark within 10 minutes of every suburb. Today I only had to go 5 minutes to get to the Euclid Creek Reservation. There is a 3 mile trail that offers some great views. It is also very hilly, so I got a good workout in. Two times around the trail for a total of 6 miles.