Freethinker ~ Freerunner

Well I have not had much of a chance to run lately due to a freak blizzard on December 24th that has left my town buried in snow and ice.  I say freak because it is literally the first blizzard on record for Tulsa. 

I made use of a local high school track today that was still mostly covered in ice and snow for an easy 3 mile run.  I would have rather done some speed work, but that was a little difficult given the conditions.  Since I am participating in the 'Race in to the New Year' 5 k on New Years Eve, I had hoped to get several more good tempo runs in over the past couple of days.  I guess I need to buy myself a treadmill.  The only problem with that is where to put it.  

We have more snow coming in this evening, but as of Now New Years Eve should be nice clear just a little cold.  I'm really looking forward to this race as a healthy and fun way to welcome the new year.  

I woke up this morning and the streets were not terrible considering we got another 3 inches of snow last night.  I haven't been able to go to my usual trail for over two weeks now and it is killing me. 

I will just have to keep close to my neighborhood until it all melts off.  This morning I ran an easy 4 miles in a 9.23 pace.  I pretty sure I ran the last two miles in something closer to 8:30 and the first two in 9:40.  My feet are a little soggy now because I sloshed through the puddles in the snow tracks every now and again.  The temperature was 32 degrees.   

I'm looking forward to tomorrow nights race.  

This was a race I had not participated in before so I did not know quite what to expect.  It was originally supposed to be a 5K, but due to a big round of snow and ice that fell  a few days before it had to be shortened. 

The race organizers were not able to remove all the snow and ice from the course, which made for interesting conditions.  There was a narrow bridge that had to be crossed at one point in the race.  The bridge was packed with snow which caused a severe bottle neck.  The pace for everyone was slowed to a walk for the length of the bridge.  The other interesting aspect of this race was that it began at 11:50 PM so that runners would finish in 2010.  There was a really cool fire works display at midnight and a champagne toast on the course.  

Although conditions made it all but impossible to run my best 5k time, it will go down as a really fun memory.  I will definitely participate again as long as the course is clear of snow and ice next year. 

I ran an easy 8 today, but I was not going for mileage.  I set out just to enjoy the day and run for an hour or more at a comfortable pace.  I ended up being gone an hour and 16 minutes.  The temperature was 33 degrees, but the sun was shining and the wind was breezy.  There is still snow all over the ground but not so much on the roads or the trails.  I had about a quarter mile of snow to run on, but other than that it was clear.  

My right knee felt great the whole time.  I was a little worried about it because it bothered my somewhat this morning just lying in bed reading my Marathon training book by Gordon Bloch, which I highly recommend as a great resource for anyone training for a marathon.  It covers everything from training schedules and nutrition to how to prepare psychologically for the big race.