Getting back to Boston

Back out on the ice today. For some reason, despite temps remaining in the mid-20s and no sunshine to speak of, there was considerable melting going on. There were also plenty of iceballs and ruts to step on and twist ankles. How my ankles are not the size of basketballs right now is beyond me. Must have twisted the right one 20 times, and that estimate may be low.

Moved the screws into the Asics today and traction continued to be pretty good, with the possible exception of the downhill out of the park and sheer, wet ice (and the wet part may be the key; that melting again). Felt like I was on skis, but no falls again. I will be happy when I can retire the screw shoes, though. Maybe this melting will continue and I can run on clear trails tomorrow.

Total mileage today 9.04, which puts me over 110 for the month. I'm fairly happy with that, given that I missed half the moth with the gunk and the weather took out a few more days. And with the snow, many of the miles I put in this month were harder than the average bear, like running in mud or loose sand. I think my glutes and quads will be strengthened accordingly by this work, if I ver get a chance to supercompensate.

Pushed it a little tonight, perhaps because I was excited to actually be running on real pavement again. Well, almost, there were still slushy patches here and there, but certainly I didn't need the screw shoes. Started out at 9:43 pace and bumped it up some. Didn't get to MP; legs are still a little heavy from negotiating snow and ice for a week, but it felt pretty good to at least put it in second gear for a change. Finished with 6.03 at 9:07 average.

More slip-sliding tonight. The stuff that melted this afternoon is refreezing, very thinly, and you can't see it. Don't know how I avoided busting tail. In spite of that, a good run, 9:27 average for 5-plus, including three laps around the lake and three decent uphill sections. More freezing fog expected tonight, so tomorrow's drive oughta be loads of fun.

Progression run in the rain tonight, once a cramp in my left foot eased out. Took four miles to warm up/uncramp, then put the hammer down. Mile 5 in 8:08, mile 6 in 7:48. I'd pretty much take a 7:48 average at St. George or Boston right now, but we're a long way from that. One of those runs that just left me with a better outlook on life. I seem to get those more when I push the pace a bit, but I can't push the pace on every run or I'll get hurt. But this was one of the more therapeutic runs lately, left me feeling better about things, even those that have been weighing on my mind at lot.

Jeez, I just can't do a whole run without speeding up. Because I get bored and want to finish? Because I want to get off a busy street before I become road pizza? Because I tend to route myself so that I have a downhill run near the end? All of the above? At any event, started off at 10:00 pace and wound up at MP for the last 0.33, albeit sharply downhill. Good run. Three loops around JBH, then out the back, down West End, down Backus all the way to Silent Grove, then down the steep hill to Cimmaron and back home. Definitely hustled on Backus, which was BUSY.

Doing something long tomorrow, just not sure where or when. Basketball game starts at 12:40, so have to finish before 11 or start after 3. Given those choices, think I'll do an early run, shower, change and pick up T. Maybe the trail in Fayetteville. Probably not the north-south loop on 40th and Carley.

Twelve and a half today. Not sure why it was difficult, but it was. Maybe I'm just not used to doing 12 right  now. That will change over the next few months as I add LRs back into the program. The course wasn't particularly hard; rolling but no Sherpa climbs. Went Overo to Backus to Gutensohn to Carley to Tyson Parkway. Right on Tyson to 40th. Back up 40th all the way to Falcon, with a detour over to the convenience store to get a Gatorade and energy bar (which ended up costing me $15, but that's another story). Right on Falcon to Silent Grove, through JBH and out the back, down Pump Station back to Silent Grove, and back to the house. A $10 bill in change fell out of my pocket twice; I somehow found it the first time, not the second, which is what that bar and Gatorade wound up costing $15. Anyway, hammies feel really drained right now, and I'm supposed to leave for the basketball game momentarily. Wound up with 45 plus for the week, which is the most since before Thanksgiving. Today's run was exactly twice as long as yesterday's, and took me 59:40 longer (yesterday was 58:25).