02/27/07 Out and Back Run

Perfect running weather this morning. 30 degrees with a light coating of snow on the sidewalks for good traction. I have been running loops in my neighborhood for the past month or so due to the extreme cold and snowy conditions. Lets face it, no matter how dedicated you are, by the 7th time you've run past your house and it's really cold and snowy it gets old having the same conversation with yourself:

Me: "I can't feel my hands and my eyelashes are frozen together and there's the nice warm house, I wanna stop."
Me: "Shut up and keep running, you have 2 more miles to run"
Me: "But it's cooooold, I wanna stop"
Me: "Keep running and stop whining!"

Anyways, enough of my split personality, it was perfect weather to run out 5.5 miles to Gates Mills and back home for 11 miles for the day.

02/25/07 Yep, That was me....

out running after the ice storm. Everything was ice coated, even my car, the sidewalks and the streets. I have a pair of running shoes just for the occaision. They have 1/4 inch hex screws placed on the bottom of the sole in a pattern. The screws are short enough so they don't come through to your foot (ouch), but provide good traction on the ice. I got the idea from a friend who runs mainly on the trails, and thought I'd try it on one of the many worn out pairs of running shoes that I own. 5.5 miles in the neighborhood. I didn't see any cars out, only people trying to slide down their driveway to get the Sunday paper. I helped them out by taking their paper up to their doorstep (no, I didn't ask for a donation to TNT....) I think these shoes may see some more use this week.

02/24/07 - Long Run Saturday

Team in Training group run out at the North Chagrin Reservation. A nice, sunny morning, but cold (10F) at the start. I really enjoy running with the group. 13 miles total, with some faster miles thrown in trying to keep up with a faster runner who was setting the pace :)

02/22/07

8.25 miles. Rest day tomorrow followed by a Team in Training run on Saturday.

02/21/07 Icy Fog

Icy fog. That's what the weatherman on the early news called the outdoor conditions when I watched before I headed out for my run. I now know what Icy Fog is, or does - it makes a nice thin layer of ice on all surfaces. The theme for today's run became just staying upright! 5 miles with a Team in Training friend, a nice way to start the day.

02/20/07 I Can Turn My Head.....

when I run without a facemask! It was 40 degrees this morning as I headed out for an 8 mile run. It felt almost tropical out there!

02/18/07 Guess What.....

It's snowing. Again. Five snowy miles this morning. I felt pretty strong after yesterday's long run - a good sign that all of the training is paying off. Next week is a recovery week, which means that I will reduce the amount of miles that I run by 1/3. Bring it on!

02/17/07 Long Run Saturday

17 miles on the schedule for today. I headed out for an early start at the North Chagrin Reservation. I was able to get 8.5 miles completed before meeting up with some of the Team in Training group members. I completed the second half of my run with one of the other team members and the rest of the time just flew by. We finished up just as it was starting to snow and get windy.

A friend asked me what I wear to run in when it is 5 degrees outside. A lot?!
2 pairs of tights
Smartwool socks
2 layers of wicking shirts
1 lightweight fleece pullover
Gortex jacket
balaclava (face mask)
stocking hat
gloves
mittens over the gloves

If the weather ever warms up and I get to wear shorts and a t-shirt, I think I'm going to be running a little bit faster than I am now!

02/15/07 I Didn't Want to Run....

This morning I had 9 miles on my schedule. It was cold, with another windchill advisory. 9 miles on the treadmill seemed like eternity. I really wanted to stay in bed. I decided that I would get up, pile on the layers (and layers, and layers) and go outside. If I was miserable, I could stop. I have a route that I take that is in a cul de sac and is sheltered by the wind. Once I got started I felt pretty good - not too cold, not too warm and was able to complete all 9 miles, thanks to some new tunes on my iPod. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was crazy as I did multiple laps by their houses!

02/14/07 A Good Day for Snowshoes...

20+ inches of new snow in less than 24 hours. I pulled out the snowshoes for a clomp/jog of 5 miles around the neighborhood. It was the first "big" snowstorm we have had in quite a while. The snow is really piled up - I think there will be "mall glaciers" (those huge piles of snow in the mall parking lot that never go away) until Memorial Day!

02/13/07 Snowstorm on the way...

A foot of snow and single digit temperatures are on the way. I looked at my scheduled runs for the week and decided that I had better switch some of the runs around. It was 19 degrees (balmy) with light snow this morning, so I decided to do Thursdays longer, faster run today while the weather was better. 2 mile warm-up, 5 miles at my half marathon pace, and then about 3.5 miles back home. Good work-out and I'm glad I was able to get it completed outdoors. It looks like tomorrow the snowshoes might see some action!

02/11/07 A Good Run

The training schedule for today called for an easy run of 5 miles. Theoretically, these runs should be a piece of cake after the longer, more difficult runs during the rest of the week. Lately, however, these runs have been less than enjoyable (acutally I have hated them, feeling tired every step of the way). Today, however I met up with 5 other people from the Team in Training group. Good conversation with super people made the run fly by and felt pretty effortless. I actually added a mile for 6 miles for the day. It was a good run!

02/10/07 Long Run Saturday

One day a week on all marathon training schedules is designated for a long run. This is a run that is done at a slower pace but longer distance than the rest of the weekly runs. The long run gets progressively longer as the marathon training progresses. My favorite day for my weekly long run is Saturday. I like to get up early and get the run completed, so I don't have to worry about fitting it in the rest of the weekend.

I had 15 miles on today's schedule. It was cold and a little bit windy, so I headed out to the North Chagrin Reservation. The park trails offer a bit of wind protection, plus it is easy to loop back to my car for water, energy bars and extra clothes if I need them. I ran the first 5 mile loop alone, then saw some friends out for their long run. I completed the last 10 miles with company, catching up on what is going on with everyone and the time passed very quickly. Plus, I think I saw the sun :)

02/08/07

8.25 miles this morning. It's getting lighter earlier - spring must be coming!

02/07/07 - Some Fresh Air

It was a balmy 5 degrees this morning so I headed out for an easy run through the neighborhood. There was about an inch or so of fresh snow, perfect to cover the ice on the sidewalks and give some traction. 5 mile run at an easy pace.

02/06/07 The Zenmill

I decided that I must make my peace with my hatred of running on the dreadmill. I have re-named it, the "zenmill". I had 10 miles scheduled for today and I made it! I played with the preset hill program on the zenmill and it made the time go faster.

I am one with the zenmill :)

02/04/07 - The Dreadmill

It was much colder and windier today, so I decided that indoors would be the best bet for the 4 -5 mile run I had scheduled. Blech, what a terrible run, I hated every step of it and couldn't wait to get off. I lasted through 4.5 miles and that was all that I could stand. I hope I was just tired from Saturday's run. The weather forecast for the next few day is for windchills as low as -30F and that's just too cold for an outdoor run, so I will have to make my peace with the treadmill if I want to get those runs completed!

02/03/2007 Brrrrrrr!

It was pretty cold this morning (3F) but little wind, so I decided that outdoors would be the best option for my run today. And it was! At 7:45 the sun (the real sun, the sun we never see in Cleveland in the winter) came up and stayed out! A sunny, cold 15 mile run today.

02/01/2007 A Speed Workout

Today's marathon schedule called for 8 miles, with 4 of them at my 1/2 marathon pace, which in the middle of winter is an 8 minute mile. I didn't really expect to be able to complete this workout, since the roads are icy and the sidewalks snow covered. I figured if I could just get out of bed, get on the road and jog the 8 miles in, it would be a good day. After a long, slow warmup, I did find a dry stretch on some of the side streets, so I was able to run 30 minutes at a pretty quick pace. Good enough for a mid-winter run.

Tomorrow is a rest day, and then I am scheduled for 14 miles on Saturday. It is supposed to be a cold one, which is OK as long as it's not windy. The office building I work in is really an old converted factory. The hallway extends for 1/3 of a mile each way - hmmm, I wonder if I could come here and get the miles in :)