Our hero surveys the damage of the week. Mother Nature has proven again to be a formidable opponent and monkey wrench thrower. Similar to last week, this week had rain, warmth, and cold.
Monday: 8 miles. Ran this in the afternoon because of the temperature in the morning. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it, having to stop once because of an inattentive driver. Overall 8.1 miles in 1:07:15 (8:18/mile pace).
Tuesday: 40 minute Tempo Run. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it in some morning rain. It was a warm one, 50F (short sleeve weather!) in the morning, but it got cold overnight. The tempo pace goal was 7:17 – 7:33, unfortunately I missed the goal by 20 seconds per mile. Maybe I should blame it on the second inattentive driver from the same subdivision. Including the warm-up and cool-down, 7.07 miles in 58:16 (8:14/mile pace).
Wednesday: 4 miles recovery. After some frustrations at work, I ran off some steam going too fast on a recovery day. Part of the path was blocked due to work on a baseball scoreboard, so I ran in the subdivision again. 4.02 miles in 33:03 (8:13/mile pace).
Thursday: 8 miles.I expected very cold temps in the morning, but the temp was 30, so I ran in it. In the subdivision (again), but for once I wasn’t interrupted by someone backing out of their driveway not paying a damn lick of attention to the sidewalk. 8.03 miles in 1:10:34 (8:47/mile pace). It is getting lighter earlier.
Friday 17 miles. Friday came with some frigid morning temps but nice afternoon temps, so I started work early and finished up around 2 to go running. I was trying to slow myself down, and not paying attention to my watch, so it was likely unsuccessful. About 12 miles in, I was making a loop around the township park (after making a full loop around the subdivision) and saw my old boss out running. We ran and talked for a few miles as he finished up his run… that did slow me down a bit, but I then sped back up for the last two miles, finishing the last with an 8:35 split 😳. Hydrated with Gatorade Endurance, fueled with Gatorade Endurance Gels at 6 and 12 miles. Standing in the shower after that run was tough for a few because of my calves. 17.15 miles in 2:29:39 (8:44/mile pace).
Saturday: 3 miles. Woke up to another frigid morning and legs that felt like lead. Ran 3 miles around the subdivision (cutting the last lap short to get me to 3.0-ish miles instead of 3.25-ish miles. 3.03 in 28:11 (9:18/mile pace… I’m shocked it was that fast, to be honest).
That’s it for the week. 47.4 miles. Next week includes less volume as it is a pull-back week, and it’s also a race week. I’m ending the month with an explanation point with the Bockfest 5k on 2/29.