M'kay

5.5 miles in 43:53, 7:58/mi, HR 141.  Cold (28F) and icy.  Even with the Stabilicers on, icy roads made the going slower than normal.  Legs a bit tired and feeling beat up from yesterday.  Supposed to get even colder the next few days....ugh.

6.5 miles in 50:55, 7:50/mi, HR 150.  Cold (15F) and icy this morning.  Power went out early this morning so I went for my first run early in the day.  Tough going the first couple of miles but managed to pick up the pace on the return.  Supposed to be below freezing all week....not what I signed up for when I moved to western WA.

4 miles in 30:25, 7:36/mi, HR 149.  Somehow I can't bring myself to call 24F warmer.  Still icy on the roads and likely here to stay through the weekend.  Been getting depressed over the slow paces recently so I pushed to get a respectible time in on this one....felt a bit reckless on the icier spots and like I was definitely working, but examining the data afterwards shows a HR not too high and a pace decent but not overly fast.  Feels like my leg muscles are just atrophying right off my legs. 

8 miles in 59:28, 7:26/mi, HR 151.  Cold (14F start, 22F finish) & icy.  Considered logging about 1 mile as skating vice running.  Nonetheless, a good run today....none of the lethargy (once I got out the door) that's been plaguing me lately.  I felt strong, worked moderately to keep the pace, and glided back home on the downhill.  Much better.

4 miles in  29:42, 7:25/mi, HR 149.  Cold (22F) & icy.  Sun was hidden by the hills so it felt colder.  Aside from forgetting to turn the GPS on until 1/2 mile into the run, a grand time.  Only ice skated a few times.  Some form drills and core exercises afterwards.

9 miles in 1:09:56, 7:46/mi, HR 154.  Snowy miles today but the temps were above freezing (35F)...yah!  Okay, so what's the factor you get to apply to your miles to account for slippage?  Surely I get credit for at least 1 inch/foot-plant, which over the course of a run is around an extra 3 miles, right?  Okay, at least 2?  When I hit the rare spots where traction was good, I was moving out pretty good.  Then wham, my stride length gets shorter as momentum slows and I'm at my "running with poor traction" speed.  The stabilicers didn't really cut it on snow....on ice they're good, but on snow & slush, your still moving the ground as much as it's moving you.  I guess one benefit was not worrying about a bad slip and fall....they did "stabilize" me more than just shoes would. 

To add to the ignominy of it all, Garmin decided that 9 miles would take about 9.2 to run today....okay, so I'm a slave to the little song it plays when the custom workout is finished so I ran around my driveway a couple of times and back out onto the road to get the full (extra) 9 mile distance according to garmin today.  Interestingly, Garmin did give me credit for climbing 1200' in 3/4 mile to nearly 3000' at the apex of my run today, at which point I must've jumped off a cliff to land back at the 1650' mark.  Maybe that's why he made me run the extra .2.  Either that or there was a whole lot more snow than I remember.  Tomorrow's Steady State run is going to be interesting...

10 miles on the treadmill in 1:10:37, 7:03/mi, HR 159.  2 mile warmup, 6 miles Steady State (6:35, 6:40, 6:34, 6:34, 6:33, 6:25 - avg 6:33.5/mi, 2 mile cooldown. 

Ye old treadmill run today, after we got dumped on with another several inches of snow yesterday and overnight.  Nice & cold in the garage where it resides (31F).  Broke out the garmin footpod to give me pace/time/distance feedback since the treadmill's digital display is not functional (cheapo treadmill, but it's lasted 10 years now?).  Since I haven't calibrated the footpod with the 405, I went by feel and HR to get a good idea if it was close, keeping in mind that the treadmill usually feels *much* harder for me than the roads.

First couple of miles warmup miles were tough, but my HR said otherwise.  Okay, so I guess I was sandbagging.  Gradually worked down into my easy pace range and after 2 miles warmup, moved into my prescribed Steady State range.  Felt pretty good the first couple of miles, then gradually started getting tougher.  Most was probably mental.  Despite the cold temps, the lack of airflow phenomena that comes with treadmill running had me flinging sweat everywhere, so I know I was working.  My average pace was actually within my optimal SS range, so I'm pretty happy with the workout.  And I didn't even die of boredom!

4 miles on the treadmill in 31:18, 7:49/mi, HR 151.  Quads/hip flexors stiff for the first mile, warmed into a decent pace, which the footpod recorded as getting faster and faster through the run, despite the treadmill speed not changing?  Think I need to invest in a new footpod pocket, so it stays stable on the shoe.  Plus, it definitely needs calibrated....I think I ran faster/further that it showed.

Took an unscheduled off day today.  Had my annual physical today and for the first time in years, all my cholesterol values were in the appropriate ranges (yah!).  I later spent quite a bit of time cutting and splitting wood (preparing for a forecast storm that was supposed to knock out power for days) and wound up having a tree roll on my foot and had to cut myself loose.  So to be safe and because I was exhausted, I skipped today's run.

11 miles in ~ 1:40.  Ran outside today and the miles were hard.  Cold (high teens F) and very slippery with a layer of snow & ice on the roads and more coming down.  Legs felt tired at the start and things just got worse.  I originally intended to run 16 but felt like I was running through quicksand the whole way.  Felt lousy the remainder of the day....sore and tired and just not right.