Pool Running is Fun

8 degrees this morning with a -17 windchill. Even I decided to go to the dreadmill at the gym.  

PM: 12 miles easy-moderate on the dreadmill then 1 mile of the 15 lap/mile track with the straits used for strides + standard core routine, foam rolling, and stretch trainer. 

AM: 1 hr. 10 min pool run

PM: 12 miles 

cold. 17 with a breeze. Felt like crap at first, with treadmill legs from yesterday. warmed up but my hands, which were under two heavy glove layers, slowly got colder and colder. Got it in though. tomorrow's workout is cancelled since we have a forecast of 6-10 inches of snow. Later on this week there will be lows in the negatives at night here....I've been here in DC area nearly 5 years and it's never been anywhere near that cold. I've seen 105+ degree days in the summer here each year but never -5 winter days.  It's going to be tough this week. 

AM: 5 easy + standard core routine

PM: 3 WU 5x1300m loops @ 5k pace w/3min jogs. 1 CD

Snow day, luckily the trail was clear. Track was not. Ran under Whitehurst freeway in Georgetown.

AM: 8 "easy" + alternate core routine, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy

8 easy turned into trudging through a foot of snow in some places on an unplowed Mt. Vernon trail, causing the run to be a little more taxing. Cold, at 17 degrees but not too bad. Wind chills will be in the negatives the next two mornings. It's supposed to be 12 with -7 wind chill tomorrow morning. Friday morning 2 degrees with a -16 windchill. Absolutely insane. This kind of weather for days on end is where it gets really tough to maintain motivation and your sanity. My skin is dry, chapped, and itchy despite lathering up in lotion and I'm getting a little down with the thought of running through this bull shit but I guess it's winter and with global warming large temperature fluctuations are probably only going to get worse in my lifetime. remember Last week Sunday when it was 63 and calm? Feels like 6 months ago. 

AM: 8 easy + drill set and strides

PM: 5 easy

12 degrees wasn't too bad this morning but when the wind hit it was -4 windchill and that was truly cold on my face. I had many layers on and had to trudge over packed snow.

This evening was a different story. windy and when I went over Key Bridge it felt like icy death from the pit of a frozen hell. -2 with a -17 windchill tonight. Literally record breaking lows. It's never been near this cold for over 119 years in DC. 

AM: off...was -2 with -16 wind chill so I went up to campus to treadmill run. Well metro had a cracked rail due to the cold so it took an hour to get to campus. No time for a run

PM: 10 easy + standard core routine, foam rolling. Low wind, peaceful run. About 14 degrees. No wind, no problems

22 mile progressive long run. 16-18 degrees with a slight breeze. Since multiple trails were snow covered, we ran back and forth on beach drive. Rather hilly with rolling hills both ways slowed me down a bit. I ran with a bottle of water during the early part of the run. It was freezing inside the bottle, even as we were running with it. Made my hands cold as hell too. Happy to get it in before an additional 3 inches falls today.

8:07, 8:05, 7:40, 7:45, 7:23, 7:20, 7:15

6:55, 6:51, 6:47, 6:37, 6:43, 6:45, 6:25

5:50, 5:46, 5:49, 5:45, 5:47, 5:48, 5:41

7:54 (CD)

NOTE: at 6 miles I ate 4 little Cliff shot bloks and a half a bottle of water (133 cals). No cramping issues..the next few miles I felt like I was on crack, running too fast, then easing the pace a bit to let me teammates catch up so that I didn't run too fast too soon. Turns out that I at about 60mg of caffeine in those bloks so I was energized  for a little while. I will try a PowerGel next long run to see how that works and decide what I want to use for marathon day after that.