Day Off

When my alarm went off this morning, I felt really tired. It was likely due to the workout yesterday coupled with staying up later than I would have like last night. I hit the snooze button a few times and still felt tired, so I reset my alarm and went back to sleep.

Yesterday's workout went well. I couldn't have asked for better conditions. It was in the upper 30s and since it didn't get below freezing overnight I didn't have to worry much about ice. The workout was simple: run one particular loop, pushing the pace on the hills. There are two hills on this loop, one that is shorter and steeper and one that is more gradual but longer, that made the loop good for this workout. I was happy with the how the workout went. I was able to pick up the pace on the hills without feeling too bad.

Monday's run was easy, tomorrow's will be easy, and maybe a tempo on Friday.

The Great Snow Melt

The temperature got into the 40s this weekend, and some the couple feet of snow on the ground started to melt. You can actually see grass in some places already.

Last week was one of the better weeks of training I've had this year. I'm not quite up to the mileage I'd like yet, but I'm moving in the right direction. I took Wednesday off as a result of fasting for Ash Wednesday and Friday was a very easy day because I was feeling tired. The other days were solid.

I was searching and found another possible goal race in my time frame: The Parks Half Marathon. I ran it a few years ago, and other than the fact that I got there a little late and had to hustle to pick up my number and get to the start, it was a good race.

Getting Back to Normal

Now that the snow has stopped, it's time to get back to my regular training schedule. Between the storms and sickness and general laziness, I didn't run much last week. The roads have been plowed and there's enough space to run that I don't feel like I'm going to be hit by a car every time one drives by. Plus I've been using a headlamp my wife gave me to both help cars see me as well as see any icy patches. I had a great run Monday, really feeling like I was rolling on the second half.

I'm looking at running either the new Woodrow Wilson half marathon or the Army 10-miler this fall. I've run the Army race in the past and like it, but I'm always concerned about the size of the field. The half marathon is smaller, but $70 seems a little steep. Maybe there's another race around that time I'm just not aware of yet.

Snow!

We had quite the storm this past weekend. This was the view from my window Saturday morning.

I spent a few hours Saturday afternoon shoveling. Sunday was sunny and the boys had fun outside.

Good thing we had the big trucks to clear the snow.


I didn't get any running in over the weekend. Between the snow shoveling and a sick wife, there wasn't time. Monday morning I ran, and then I got sick Monday night. I'm feeling better now but completely over it. Good thing work has been cancelled the past two days. And we're supposed to get more snow tonight! I may get the whole week off the way things are going.

Sick

I've had a little cold for a few weeks now. First it was a cough, and then that got better and I thought I was over it. Now it's become a stuffy nose. It's not severe at all, it's just dragged on for quite a while. I hasn't hurt my running and in fact the last few days I've run a little longer. My wife has questioned on a couple occasions why I don't just take a few days off and sleep in and see if that helps. I'm hesitant to do that because first, it's not that bad, and second, because I've got myself into a nice routine and I don't want to take time off for fear that I'll mess it up. So unless it gets worse, I don't want to stop the good thing I've finally got going.

We got a few more inches of snow last night. With the snow in the trees this morning's run was beautiful. There's a chance of another big storm this weekend. Partially I look forward to it and partially I know it will be so disruptive I hope we don't get too much. All I can do is wait and see.