Training Recap: Near Perfect Running Weather

Last week of training was quite amazing. We’ve had near perfect running weather lately. I feel as if we’re being spoiled and the snow will be dumped on us any minute now. At the same time, we’ve earned this mild winter given our recent history of feet upon feet of snow, not to mention the insane arctic air that stood on top of us for months on end. As such, I’ve taken advantage of this beautiful weather. My runs have been great and I’m loving it.

Sunday — 8 miles

Last Sunday was really fun. Noemi and I met up for a “quick” 8-miler. We both felt pretty good for most of the run. And we even saw our friend Tali at the end, which was a great surprise! It was a lot of fun.

Monday — strength and core training!

I don’t particularly love strength and core training, but I know it’s a necessary evil. I need to keep up with my IT band rehab and having a strong core is paramount to good running form. So I suck it up and do it. And then I’m happy that I did because I feel like a badass. 

Tuesday — 3.58 miles

Yuck. Just yuck. On Tuesday, my coach had me running a 5 mile steady state run. Since it’s been nice out, I’ve been very reluctant to run on the treadmill. Unfortunately, the sun doesn’t rise until about 7:30 these days, which doesn’t give me much time for an outdoor run before life starts for the rest of the world. I headed out the door when it was still very dark. I had my headlamp, reflective vest, and donned the brightest apparel I own. I was still so sketched out when I was running on the side of the busy street near my house. I had a “close call” with a car, which likely wasn’t very close at all, but I felt like I watched it drive toward me and balance on the white line separating us by mere inches. I continued on for a little while but my head was not in the game. At all. I threw my hands up in the air and said, “screw this, I’m going home.” So home I went. I chalked this one up to a lousy run but an easy 4-miler. 

Wednesday — 6 miles

Wednesday! Another hot mess. I decided I would do my tempo run on the treadmill. I had to wake up super early to get my run in, plus it would be easy to track my pace since it would be a set speed. My gosh was it awful. I struggled for my warm-up mile, and then I struggled once I started running faster. For once I had the foresight to recognize that I may get exhaustingly bored on the treadmill so I had my outdoor running clothes ready in case I needed to make a quick exit. At 2.3 miles, I accidentally bumped the treadmill key, which immediately stopped my workout. FOR REALZ?!

The evidence: discarded “treadmill” clothes! My husband’s a funny guy. #flatrunner

I couldn’t catch a break. I took off outside and braved the traffic. It was a much, much better run being outdoors rather than on the hamster wheel. I’m glad I made the decision to bounce. Tempo: complete!

So freeeeeeee!

Friday — 5 miles

Friday was fun! Except I’m fairly certain this is the day I lost my Road ID. Whomp, whomp. Such a bummer. But before I realized what had happened… I met up with Noemi for some pre-dawn miles. It was fun. I love running with Noemi. We always have such random conversations! We got to see the sun rise, which is always amazing, and we were home before 7:45 am. Great!

Sunday — 9 miles

My personal plan for Sunday was 8 miles. But, I had given one of my athletes 9 miles on her plan, so I thought, “what the heck, why not?” My clients Julie and Tali came over and we ran my neighborhood route. We started out early so there was very little traffic on the main road, which made it much more pleasant. But it was very cold on Sunday. Much colder than I was thinking. It’s been so mild here, I just thought it would feel a little colder. I was wrong. It felt a lot colder.

We ventured down a ginormous hill but the views were just incredible. Running up the hill was really tough, but hills are our friends, so I was okay with it. Julie split off from us around mile 5, and Tali and I kept running. We chatted about current events, where we live, and never growing up, among other random topics. I love running. It brings out the most random things to discuss. It’s like a stream of consciousness on crack because you have nothing to do but run and talk. I can’t describe it. It’s really an interesting and amazing experience. If you’re a runner, I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you’re not a runner, you should be one. Just so you can experience the stream of consciousness.

Tali and I finished up our run and headed our separate ways to get warm! Um also… I forgot how far 9 miles is. I think this particular 9 miles felt tough because of all the hills near my house. Because the last two 8 mile runs I’ve completed were nowhere near as taxing as this run. I spent the rest of Sunday hanging out in my favorite chair.

So that’s my training last week in a nutshell. This week I’m beginning to work more one-on-one with my 5K and 5-mile clients, which is really fun. And I’ve got some shorter runs on the docket in preparation for my 5K on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it because I’ll finally get to meet one of my virtual clients in person!

Have a great week, my loves! 

xo

Have you run in a cold snap recently? 

Do you layer or wear one thicker item?