Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: easy + drills: 3 x (20 butt kicks, 20 high knees)

Weather: 37F, steady rain, windy (7-15 mph) - 9:30 AM

I went to bed with a bit of a sore throat, but thanks to the holiday I got a nice long sleep.  Still, I felt kind of low this morning. But I didn't think blowing off a run was a good way to start the new year. :)  We don't stay up late or do anything special for New Years, so I had plenty of rest.

My resolution for 2009 is to get my morning chores taken care of (along with any core/weights) before I start blogging and messing around on the computer. I really don't think it's reasonable for me to say "I resolve to spend less time blogging and surfing the internet," (won't happen), but I do think that might be the end result if I leave it until after the nitty gritty.  Moreover,  lately I've been blogging the little time I spend with weights before I actually do it, and I think I felt better when I did it right after the run -- body still warm.

This resolution means I'll probably be blogging a little later in the morning than usual. Or like today, in the afternoon. I guess that will work out. We'll see.  I'm also going to try to list the time of day (start of run) in my "weather" section.  Not much of a resolution, but in my own weird way I think it will help me get out the door on time.

Here's to a wonderful year of running.

Objective: moderate, w/ fartlek @MP

Conditions: 8:15am, low 30s F, cloudy & calm, 1" new snow

20 min. core & weights

We woke up to the prettiest blanket of snow this morning; just an inch, but without our usual gales it settled nicely on even the tiniest branches.  Everything looked so beautiful. The clouds were very colorful and high enough for some spectacular views of the valley and surrounding mountains.  About half way through my run, a slightly familiar looking yellow thing came out from behind the clouds for about 5 minutes.

Thanks to an abundance of sleep and a moratorium on sugar yesterday, I am feeling more like my old self today and had a very good run.  (I do attribute some of the sluggishness of the past couple of days to a late xmas gift of truffles we received. The 3 of us went through them like a house afire, with the result that DD had a canker sore, DH experienced a relapse of a chronic tooth absess, and I had a sore throat.) 

The "fartlek" was a collection of short periods at MP whenever I could manage it with the road conditions; I am just guessing that it added up to about a mile.

Note to self:  I may not have needed the Yaktrax this morning. They were helpful on the icy places, but they also have a tendancy to accumulate snow in these conditions. With just 1 inch I probably could have done well without them. 

Objective: endurance w/ moderate pace

Conditions at 7 AM: 32F, overcast, wind 5-16 mph. During run, increased clouds and wind (to  15-30 mph).  Patches of ice, still lots of snow around, streets mostly bare.

As the wind picked up and I got into an icier neighborhood, I got a little discouraged about the pace and stopped looking at the watch. Just as well. Going by effort level was the order of the day.   I had a good workout and enjoyed one of the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen up here.

Completely off topic: I came home to a surprise. My DD is studying Greek mythology and reading a wonderful book series (first book is "Lightening Thief") about Greek gods interacting with mortals. With a little help from my husband, she decorated the whole house with various gods' altars (Hermes' had one of my marathon medals and some old sneakers), a temple with an oracle, and an entrance to Hades (the basement). I was given a supply of drachmas (pennies) and some coupons (free ride on Hermes' elevator - to go upstairs) and a Greek lunch at Dionysus' Diner, complete with olives, feta, dates and "ambrosia" (juice).  Then we had a tour, and I had to go on a quest to find a golden fleece (polyester, fleece-like cat bed).  Completely delightful!  Right now she's off having a guitar lesson at Apollo's Music Shop.

Objective: easy/recovery, ending with 5 x 8 second hill sprints

Conditions at 5:22 am: 40F, raining, wind 5-15 mph (estimate).  Mostly bare streets with patches of slush and slush/snow covered sidewalks.

20 min. core & strength work

It snowed and blew like crazy from about 4 PM until I went to bed. Sometime in the night it turned to rain, but not before filling up my driveway again. Arg! The rain is melting it, thank goodness.

Nice run today. My legs don't really feel any effects from the long run but I took it slowly anyway.   On the hill sprints I tried to concentrate on my hamstrings and heel lifts. I'm a little obsessed with heel lifts at the moment. Such a small adjustment but it speeds up my pace by a huge amount.  I guess I'm making another New Year's Resolution: to get in the habit of lifting the heels and stop being a "shuffler."

My push up program is still going so slowly. It's very difficult for me to get through even 6 or 7 with full form.  Just out of curiosity I tried the girl-form pushups this morning and found I could do 20 before I started feeling the strain.  The full form are so much more difficult, and they work the core as well.  I may decide to mix them with girl pushups for a while though, just because I am getting kind of discouraged.  With 5 sets of reps, I don't think it would hurt to make one of them "girly style- as many as possible." I'm afraid if I don't feel any success I'll give up on it; they're not fun.

Objective: lactate threshold (of sorts, see below) 3 mi easy + 7 x (1 min tempo, 1 min jog) + remainder moderate pace.

Conditions at 5:15 am: 39F, raining, breezy (~5-10 mph) Mostly bare pavement.

I think I'll have to go back and read Hudson's book again with regard to this tempo run plan.  I kept thinking, "what good will 1 minute intervals do at this pace?"  But maybe it's a prelude of sorts, since it's still pretty early in the training plan.  All the same, I think I might revise the plans for future tempo runs and use Daniels' formulas on tempo days: 4 sets of 10 min, building up to 2 sets of 20 minutes and then I think you run a 30 minute segment.(Not all in one run! Those are the levels of progression during the training cycle.)

I must say, it is very difficult to run at LT pace with that bulky rain jacket.  I almost went out in a fleece with a nylon vest, but the rain really looked thick out there. The cycling jacket always makes me feel completely dry and comfortable, but actually I do get quite wet. Maybe the illusion comes from the wind-breaking feature, in which case I could do with a lighter running jacket. 

Objective: moderate

Conditions at 5 am: 49F, heavy rain, windy (5-15 mph gusting to 25).

I had to write this one off and come home.  I severely misjudged the conditions and became too uncomfortable to finish the workout. My bad. I suppose I was just so giddy over the incredible number "49F" on the weather website that I thought I was back in summer, when rain didn't mean jackets.  My clothing was soaked through almost immediately and with the wind blowing I just could not get warm.

For future reference... what I wore: tights, tech fabric turtle neck, nylon vest.  What I should have worn: tights, thinnest tech shirt possible, medium weight gortex jacket.

This proves, once again, that gear is everything.  I was more comfortable when running in the teens a few weeks ago than I was today.  I cannot exactly make a chart of temperatures for dressing, because there are so many variables. If the wind hadn't been as strong or the rain as heavy, I might have been fine.  Or if I had been having an "up" day (not), I may have been able to tough it out.  Instead I had only one thought by the time I decided to turn back: "if I do not get into a hot shower soon, I will die." (When the going gets tough, the tough sometimes yields to the melodramatic.)  I'm sure I'll have a better (and hopefully much longer) run tomorrow.

Objective: moderate, with focus on cadence

Conditions at 5 AM: High 40sF (dropping), windy (~10-30 mph, felt mostly in open spaces), light rain first 2 miles.   Roads are wet, saw 2 flooded spots where water was gushing over curb (Carmichael at Elderberry & the area on Stellar by the pea patch).  Quite tolerable compared to our poor neighbors down the hill.

15 min core & strength

A fine run. Take that, Winter.

Objective: easy, w/ form drills (see below)

Conditions at 5:15 am: 36F, mostly cloudy & dry (!), wind 6 mph, waxing gibbous moon peaking through. 

After warming up, I focused on various aspects of form, each one in turn for about 6-7 blocks. Every other mile I just relaxed and let my mind wander. Next mile I would start up again with the form focus elements: arm swing, lower leg movement & heel lift, psoas and core, cadence.

Remarkable change in weather conditons today. I hope the rivers are subsiding, but I haven't turned on the news yet.  I'm feeling rather tired this morning: not quite enough sleep and a strenuous day yesterday.  It amazes me how much my daytime activities can affect my run the next day.  I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow.

Objective: endurance, w/ hills

Conditions, starting at 7:30 AM: 39F, rising to low 40's, wind 4-10 mph, steady rain first 3 miles, thereafter: light showers, occasional fog, cloudy, pleasant. 

A good run: very challenging but also satisfying and fun.  I always have hills on my long runs, but today I explored a new neighorhood (up near Ridgestone), which added some hills. I also pushed myself a little harder on the hills than I usually do.  I am experimenting with my running form on hills.  I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

Weirdness: I stopped at mile 16 to go to the bathroom and discovered that my nose was bleeding.  I mostly "cowboy sneeze" on runs, but I also have a hankie along to keep things dry. I just hadn't noticed the spots.  The bleeding soon stopped, however.  I was laughing to myself afterwards: "those hills must have been steeper than I thought!"

Objective: active recovery

Conditions at 5:30 am: 42F, foggy, light rain/heavy mist, breeze (0-7 mph)

20 min core & strength

Very tired and slightly sore today (did my work right yesterday).  I had to cancel the planned hill sprints.  I will mostly likely do them on Wednesday. 

The hill sprints in my program are always scheduled at the end of the Monday "easy" run; I don't think that's going to work most weeks.  I work pretty hard on Sundays and aside from the psychological challenge (just getting out to run at all!), I'm going to need Mondays to be Pure Easy.  I think it would be best to evaluate it on a week to week basis for now.  Some weeks it might be doable.

Later that same day.... I forgot to mention a couple of things earlier.  The first is rather trivial: I am retiring the blue Nikes today. They felt a little weird this morning.  The second is not trivial.  Believe it or not, my father-in-law has still not left the hospital.  Last night we heard they had to put him back on the ventilator. He now has pneumonia. Some blood thinners made his lungs bleed. And he has 5 different bacterial infections. How can a man survive so much?  My poor MIL practically lives at the hospital and cannot do much of anything for him.  It's just one thing after another.  All so sad.

Objective: VO2 max / Hill repeats : warm up, 5 x (.2 mi hill at maximum effort, 6-10% grade), moderate miles to finish.

Conditions at 5 AM: 40F, partly cloudy with patches of thick fog, waning gibbous moon showing.

15 min. core & weights

My legs are still sore today from Sunday's run,. But I kept telling myself it wasn't about legs today, it was about oxygen.  During the hill repeats I may have had gimpy form and no speed whatsoever, but as long as I was gasping for air I was doing well!  lol  I won't be doing a lot of these hill repeat workouts, partly because I get hill work every single day and I do hill sprints regularly, but also because they cut into my mileage so deeply. The slowest VO2 max workout imaginable, imo.  On the bright side, my energy level was pretty good compared to yesterday. It's amazing what difference a day can make. 

I'm adding another race to the calendar: March 22, Mercer Island Half Marathon.  My DH said, "why aren't you running it this year?" (I've run it a couple of times before.) I replied "Well, it doesn't really fit into my training schedule for Eugene..." But then I looked at the schedule and saw that I had a 15 mile run for that very day, followed by a cut-back week.   So actually, it does fit! The cut back week will be a recovery week.  I can use it as an intermediate goal, and as a time trial for my progress, though the course is hillier than Eugene by far. 

Objective: easy w/ strides (x5), mini-tapering

Conditions at 5:10 AM:   32F, breeze (0-9 mph), clear and frosty.

Frosty, pretty morning.  The sky was just one wee click this side of Utter Darkness, so I could see the outlines of the mountains and the tops of conifers against the starry sky.

I continue to go back and forth as to whether I'm racing this weekend, or sort of... attending a race.  I guess I'll have to see how I feel Saturday morning.  I have two race plans, just in case. 

Objective: easy w/ 1 mi @ MP

Conditions at 5:35 AM: 32F, calm, thick fog

15 min. core and upper body

Today, I would like to talk about elbows.  In college I had an anatomy-in-art professor who liked to say "as goes the elbow, so goes the angle of the scapula." I wonder if we runners should have a similar saying that ends with "...so go the legs." 

I have a couple of bad running habits I'm trying to break.  One is curling my toes. I can't imagine why I do that but it has got to stop.  The other is what I call my "chicken arms." It's mostly the right arm now, since I've been working on it and the left is coming along nicely. But the right elbow likes to float outward and stop swinging.

When I concentrate on making the chicken arms swing properly, it's like someone flipped the turbo switch. It makes a huge difference in speed and fluidity.  I often watch my shadow as I cross through the light from street lamps to see whether I look like a "real runner," and the elbow swing makes a difference there too.  And then I ran across this little gem in one of my old running books (Miller, Programmed to Run, p. 32): "...during the later laps of high schooler Alan Webb's sub-four-minute mile... his coach Scott Raczko 'implored him to "Keep going! Drive your elbows back!"'"

I have a photograph of Deena Kastor, taken by a friend of mine at the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston last year.  Deena was practically flying down the home stretch and my friend snapped her photo at the exact moment when Deena was directly in front of her. (So there is no trick of the angle.)  Deena's elbow is so far back that it's practically level with her shoulder.  I can scarcely make my elbow go that far back while sitting in this chair!  Add running, and making sure the shoulders stay down and relaxed, and that's a real challenge.  But later on the same page of Miller books, we read this: "Craig [Poole, women's track coach at BYU] pointed out that both turnover and push-off are managed by posture and arm swing.  ...He went on to say not only that running technique is the foundation of perfromance but also that it can be taught and learned." [My emphasis.]

So here's to reaching for our goals with our elbows. :)

It's Thursday night, and I'm pre-blogging my non-run. lol  Resting Friday for a Saturday race.  But since I've got a minute, by special request (see Thursday entry and comments), here is Deena, goddess of the arm swing...

Misc. details:  Warm up before race: 1.4 miles easy w/ some short strides.   Low to mid 30's F & very foggy.   First mile of race at easy pace.  Hills at mile 1, 6, 10.5 (big one).  1 gel.  Driving time to race: 1:35 each way.  Time listed above is from my Garmin (haven't checked for official time yet).  No chip timing, old fashioned hand entries.  The race finishes with an up hill climb, hate that.

The good news is that I love fog and it was very foggy. The bad news: no swan sightings. I could hear them out there in the fields but it was just too thick to see them. (This race is known for it's traverse through an area where migrating Trumpeter Swans stop to feed and rest.) 

The very good news is... PR's!!  Six minute course PR and 1 minute PR for the distance.  When I woke this morning I was pretty sure I would race this course at a hard level. I just felt really good.  I can honestly say I left nothing on the course; I worked really hard. 

2:04 does not bode particularly well for a BQ (4:05), but I've got over 3 months of hard work between now and May, so maybe I'll have a shot.   The most exciting aspect of the course PR is that I think it reflects the fact that this is the very first winter where I've really kept my running up.   My 1 minute PR for the half-m is such a wee little thing, but I'll be running the course of my previous PR in March (Mercer Island Half), so we'll see what that race has to say.  :)

Not much to report about the race itself.  This is a well organized but small race, with (imo) a fast field of runners.  (Who else wants to race a Half in the dead of winter here?) This is my third running of this course, and I have always felt that the bulk of the runners are very fast and competitive. Not great for my psyche, being a slow one, but it's also very inspiring to me.

Most of the course runs through farmland, with a bit of woods and small town. There is a pretty lake around mile 6-7.  Not much to see today, due to the fog. 

I had one real problem during the race, and I believe it may have cost me.  There seemed to be a lot more cars on the road this year than I remember.  A police car came through at about mile 3 and warned us all to keep to the right, after which we all went single file while the cars whizzed past us. It was frightening, but the worst consequence was trying to pass people.  After starting the race slowly, I began to steadily pass other runners by about mile 3 [insert crazy happy dance here].  But it really screwed up my pace to do so without being run over.  Trying to keep my pace between 8:55 and 9:10, I'd hover behind someone at 9:30, getting all stressed about having to slow down, then speed up to 8:45 or even 8:30 to pass them, getting winded in the process.  We made a turn around mile 5 and the traffic lessened, but there were still enough cars (going quite fast) to keep us crowded to the side of the road.  So much for practicing steady pacing! Gr.

One thing I love about this race is the gym. The race is held at a small college in Mt. Vernon, WA. The runners get to stay inside in the warmth until it's time to warm up.  After the race, runners may use the showers and locker rooms, and the race provides hot foods in the warm gym -- perfect for a January event.

My splits: 9:56, 9:04 (downhill), 9:24, 8:57, 9:01, 9:19 (small, steep hill), 9:22, 9:14, 9:07, 10:06 (long hill),10:08, 9:46, 9:04, last .1 @ 9:25 (uphill finish).

I've go to scoot. I'll come back for editing and adding later when I have time.  :) Sno  [More details added above.]

With the long driving time, I just had enough time to enter my draft report, take a short nap, and get tidied up for our evening out. We had a lovely dinner in Seattle and went to see The Pearl Fishers.  Excellent production! But even with the nap, I was dead tired by the time we made it home.

Objective: easy / recovery

Conditions at 5:15 am: 49F, clear & starry, windy (15 mph gusting to 27 mph). 

15 min. core & upper body strength

In the middle of January, a clear sky and strong east winds normally means: cold! What a weird phenomenon to be having this little "heat wave."  Not much explanation on Cliff Mass's blog, just that the cold air got "scoured out." Huh? But where did the warm air come from? It's 27F in Ellensburg (just over the Cascades).

The legs feel only a bit sore today, but very heavy and tired.  I am so glad that I was able to push myself on Saturday.  The experience left me with a great feeling of motivation towards training hard in the months to come. 

I had a little time this weekend to read the recent issue of Running Times and found 3 particularly interesting pieces: 1) a short interview with Deena Kastor (she may be able to start racing again this spring!), 2) an article by Brad Hudson about hill sprints (nice to have the review) and 3) a column on mid-foot, forward leaning running style (sort of a review of all the different approaches and what they have in common - very relevant to what I've been working on).  There were also some interesting articles on Masters running.  A good issue.

Objective: easy, w/ 3 mi @ moderate pace (after 2 mi warm up), MP + 45-50 sec

Conditions at 5:15 am: 40F (colder in spots, eg icy in Stellar Park area), some wind (5-15 mph w/ gusts to 20), mostly clear. 

I think it may have been a little early (since my race) to throw in those faster paced miles. At the moment it felt wonderful, but then I paid for it.  I grew very tired and even got a little cold. I ended up cutting the run short by about a half mile.

Objective: easy run

Conditions at 5:00 am: 34F, wind 10 mph, gusting to 18, clear

20 min. strength work

How many times have you read this statement?  "Running is such a simple sport; just put on some shoes and go..."  It should be illegal.  Or, perhaps anyone who wants to print it should be forced to do just that -- in my neighborhood, in the dark, in January -- just put on some shoes and go.  I timed myself at 5 minutes this morning, from "time to go" to actually being on the sidewalk.  Maybe it's just me and my style, but there is an awful lot more than shoes to put on.

A couple of years ago Marathon & Beyond (Vol. 10, # 5) did a series of 3 articles by Guy Avery called "Training and Racing Within Your Personal Marathon Zone." At the risk of over-simplifying Avery's article (which provides quite a bit of information beyond this little tidbit), he advises the runner to add six minutes to the "realistic" goal time when calculating pace "for purposes of training recommendations:" miles 1&2 (of the marathon) @ MP + 30 seconds,  miles 3 & 4 @ MP + 20 seconds,  and miles 5 & 6 @ MP + 10 seconds.  "Essentially, this cutdown gets you to start slowly and ease in to training and racing at your operative goal pace." He points out that there are many variations on this cutback formula.

Last summer I asked what people thought about this on another marathon forum and the response was surprisingly negative.  "Even pacing is best" was the counterargument.  One 2:40 marathoner whom I respect a great deal warned me that to be 2 minutes behind goal at mile 7 is not something she would intentionally do.   I proceded to attempt even pacing at Portland and had a very bad race, partly due to inadequate warm up, imo.   At CIM, I started slowly and had a wonderful race, though not my fastest. 

Objective: 4 easy, 3 moderately hard, 1+  easy (coming to end of recovery/cutback week)

Conditions at 5 AM: 36F, mostly clear & calm, heavy fog in part of neighborhood

15 min. strength work

I was slightly underdressed this morning and had a hard time with the cold.  My hands and face never did get comfortable. 

I'm ready for daylight to start coming back.  I had a terrible nightmare last night that involved running in the dark, and I felt that lingering sense of anxiety on my run this morning.  The streets can be awfully deserted, especially very early in the run, and sometimes it feels like I'm the only person on the planet.  It will be months before I'm running in complete daylight again, but a lighter sky is just a few weeks away I think.

Objective: easy, finishing w/ 4 x 40 butt kick drills

Conditions at 5AM:  36F, patchy fog

The front of my clothing was covered in frost when I came home.  But I did dress more comfortably today, which made a big difference in my enjoyment of the run.

The trouble with counting the start of the week as Sunday is that it sometimes makes one's mileage appear inconsistent.  In my paper log, the week always begins on Monday, so that either a Saturday or Sunday long run will "belong" to the same week.  Last week's 60+ miles included a long run on Sun. and a Half Marathon on the following Sat.  "Snoqualmie good."  This week's sub 40 miles show a rest day on Sun. (post race) and a rest day on Sat. (before Sun. long run).  "Snoqualmie bad."  If I "equalize" them with my paper log, I get a week of ~45 followed by a week of ~48 (if my 18 miler comes through on Sun.).  "Snoqualmie a little low, but consistent."

Objective: 4 easy, 4 moderate, 1+ easy, with hill sprints (sort of; see below)

Conditions at 4:50 AM: Same as yesterday: 39F, heavy mist, SE wind 5-10 mph

After run: 15 min strength work

OK. About those hill sprints... With apologies to Mr. Brad Hudson, I decided to sprinkle them throughout my run instead of bunching them at the end, seeing as how I get a steep grade hill at least once every mile in this neighborhood, and "rollers" in between.  I'll admit, I have a very hard time following rules.  Not to say that I won't do it "right" in the future, but I really liked just throwing the sprints in here and there when a short, steep hill presented itself. 

I have an addition observation about arm swing, to continue the discussion from last week. Thomas Miller recommends the arm swing that Deena is using, where the forward motion brings the hand up and in, close to the heart. The Chi Running guy says to keep the arm at a 90 degree angle. Both recommend (along with other coaches) that the elbow come backwards pretty far (for speed anyway).   Sooooo... today I did an informal experiment with both methods to compare them.  I believe the Miller/Deena Way felt easier and more natural.  It seems like the concept of centrifugal force is at work here: that the arms require less energy to swing when they are kept close to the body. What do you think, bloggers?   And by the way, I am equally preoccupied with the whole push off vs. heel lift motion, but I just don't have anything to say about it. haha

Special treat today.  A guy on Ravelry (that's my virtual knitting community) posted a link to his wonderful photo essay of his Boston Marathon, here.  (Surprised at guys who knit? Don't be!) 

Hope you're smiling by now.  :) Sno

Objective: endurance/moderate (Meant to be a progression workout, but just didn't have it in me today.)

Conditions at 7 AM:  32F, occasional light snow, some fog.  Windy at times.  1/2 to 1 inch of new snow,  streets mostly bare but icy in spots.  Sidewalks covered in some areas. 

Not a very good run today.  I had a problem with my energy level to begin with and I might be fighting a cold.  Then about mile 8 I decided to try working (mentally) through a personal conflict I've had the past couple of days.  Instead of the usual running-inspired flash of genius and resolution, it ended up with a private pity party and a drain of what little energy I had left. Ah well. That can sometimes happen.  The goal of the run then became: "finish the miles," and I'm pleased that I was able to do it. 

Objective: just get out the door.

Conditions at 5:45 AM: 23F, wind ch. 18F, wind 4-9 mph, clear. Very icy.

15 min. strength work

I was so stiff this morning.  Around mile 2 I started feeling good, but still glad to come in. Just a wee three this morning. Like yesterday, lots of snot. (Excuse me.)  I don't think it's a cold exactly, but maybe there is a bug I'm fighting. 

To get better footing on the icy streets, I've been running in the sand and gravel at the edge of the road, that was left from the snow plows back at xmas time.  My shoes were starting to make a lot of noise, so I took a look at the bottoms and all the little grooves are filled with tiny rocks.  Studded tires! lol

Objective: VO2 improvement - warm up + 6 x (4 min hard,  4 min jog) + cool down miles

Conditions at 5:00 AM:  31F, light wind (2-10 mph), snowing lightly. Pavement went from bare and dry to white within 1st 4 miles, then snow stopped falling. 

I'm just guessing at the number of VO2 miles.  I went by time and by effort level but I think I was pretty slow for a VO2 session due to the snow and the tiredness.  Nevertheless, I feel really happy with this workout because I pushed myself. 

There is an interesting discussion about cadence on the Running Times marathon forum.  Lots of points of view & lots of things to mull over + some links to drills videos but I haven't watched them yet. 

Objective: easy, w/ fast finish

Conditions at 5:20 AM: 39F, light breeze (2-10 mph), something between a light rain and a heavy mist coming down.

After run, 20 min strength work

Not much to report today.  Pleasant, uneventful run.

Objective: 4 easy, 4 moderate, 1+ easy, with hill sprints (sort of; see below)

Conditions at 4:50 AM: Same as yesterday: 39F, heavy mist, SE wind 5-10 mph

After run: 15 min strength work

OK. About those hill sprints... With apologies to Mr. Brad Hudson, I decided to sprinkle them throughout my run, seeing as how I get a steep grade hill at least once every mile in this neighborhood, and "rollers" in between.  I'll admit, I have a very hard time following rules.  Not to say that I won't do it "right" in the future, but I really liked just throwing the sprints in here and there when a short, steep hill presented itself. 

I have an addition observation about arm swing, to continue the discussion from last week. Thomas Miller recommends the arm swing that Deena is using, where the forward motion brings the hand up and in, close to the heart. The Chi Running guy says to keep the arm at a 90 degree angle. Both recommend (along with other coaches) that the elbow come backwards pretty far (for speed anyway).   Sooooo... I did an informal experiment with both methods to compare them today.  I believe the Miller/Deena Way felt easier and more natural.  It seems like the concept of centrifugal force is at work here: that the arms require less energy to swing when they are kept close to the body. What do you think, bloggers?   And by the way, I am equally preoccupied with the whole push off vs. heel lift motion, but I just don't have anything to say about it. haha

Special treat today.  A guy on Ravelry (that's my virtual knitting community) posted a link to his wonderful photo essay of his Boston Marathon, here.  (Surprised at guys who knit? Don't be!) 

Objective: easy to moderate w/ form drills

Conditions at 5:15 AM: 33F, clear and calm. Bare pavement except icy in Stellar Pk. area (as usual). 

This was a very sluggish run. I just couldn't get going. Since tomorrow is my (much anticipated) day off, that's it for January.  I'm over 200 miles for the month, so I am pleased.  In February I hope to add more fast paced runs and concentrate on staying consistent. 

Regarding my battle with Winter. I guess I have 1-2 months left for potentially harsh weather, but really I feel like the  main victory is complete. I  no longer look out at the street in the morning and wonder if I can stand to run in whatever is out there. I don't question it. For the first winter ever, I just assume I'll run. 

There is a little voice of doubt in my head that tells me I've been lucky, and that the weather just hasn't been that bad.  Probably true.  I've had some great days for my long runs, and the winds have really not been too bad most mornings.  Still, I feel confident that I am going to emerge victorious. :)

No run today.  I'm just posting so that you all can see that little number under "sleep time." Nine.  Niiiiiine...  This feels really good. Could someone please remind me later, when I'm posting a crappy run and the number says seven? 

I would also like to share this little celebration with my blogging friends: I mentioned yesterday that I'm very pleased with my January mileage, but here is the gold medal to make it real. I was going through my old running logs to see how this winter compares to my past Battles With The Elements.  It looks like I didn't keep mileage records until 2004 (funny, I don't remember why I didn't, or what made me start doing it).  But we can assume that 2002 and 2003 were in the 50 to 60 range at the most.  I don't believe I ever even ran in the rain in the early days.

Jan. 04:  87.8 miles
Jan. 05:  127.9 miles
Jan. 06:  95.7 miles
Jan. 07:  111.9 miles

I was going to end my post with a snappy quotation about perseverance. But I can't choose, they're all so good! Go ahead and have all of them...