Going Long (again) in 2024

6 easy miles on my treadmill.

This was a speedwork session; I did it on the treadmill at the gym this morning.

1 mile warm up, and then four 1 mile repeats at a 6:40 min/mile pace, with 1/2 mile jogs in between.

The dumb news is, I wasn't very focussed this morning.  Ended up eating only a piece of bread with peanut butter about 2 hours before the run; had intended to eat some quick carbs, but forgot.  Remembered when I started to run.

The good news is, I did it!  Pushed through those last few laps when my legs were feeling a bit heavy, but overall felt fine.  A good training run.

6 easy miles on my treadmill.

6 easy miles outside - first time running on the roads since March 8th!

Not by choice, however.  I started off on my treadmill.  At about the 1/2 mile mark, the power went out.  Fortunately, I didn't keep going through the patio door!

Anyway, it's light out at 7am now, so I took it outside.  Glad I did.  The temperature was minus 2C with a minus 8C windchill (28F with a 17F windchill).  Not too bad.  The wind was strong from the East, at 40km/h (25 mph).  Again, not so terrible.

All went well, which was good to know, since I'll be running part of this route tomorrow for my 14 mile long run.  There was only one small patch (maybe 20 meters or so) of ice that I couldn't avoid.  Ended up going through it in one spot and got a wet foot, but it was pretty close to the end of the run, and I won't be going on that stretch again anytime soon.

Ended up the power came back on just now - almost 8 hours later.  A high voltage wire came down west of the city and so pretty much all of Sudbury was without power for a good while.

Not sure it was a smart move running outside today, but I did it.  I'll find out tomorrow if any body parts hurt.

Quite the storm last night.  Dumped a lot rain first, then ice, then snow.  We went from clear streets to winter conditions in just a few hours.

The streets were basically glare ice, and I had to be really careful.  When I had to avoid traffic, I had to run on crunching snow with ice ruts and other messy conditions.  Not fun.

Temperature wise, it was -9 C or 16 F.  The wind was blowing at 40 km/h or 25 mph.  That made for a windchill of -17 C or 0 F.  It was great having the wind at my back on the way out; not so nice running into it on the way back.

My pace was actually quite good - averaged 8:30/mile.  My program called for an 8:32/mile pace today, so basically bang on.

In my fuel belt, I filled three bottles with Gatoraid and one with water.  They turned to slush by the end of the run, but I managed to drink most of them anyway.  I ate one Powerbar Gel at mile 7 (was pretty frozen and so hard to squeeze out) and also 2 GU Chomps along the way.  No GI issues at all.  Hard to work with those things in the cold, of course.  Frozen fingers didn't help.

Clothing was fine - I wore exactly enough to keep me warm.

I had a few mis-steps ... jarred my iliopsoas in one of them, and it's a bit tender right now, and came down hard on my feet in a couple of ruts.   Also slipped a couple of times and caught myself.  No obvious signs of injury - will know better tomorrow.

Okay, enough winter!  Time for all this to go away!

6 easy miles outside - 8:22/mile pace.

We had a melting day yesterday, so the streets are all clear again after Friday's snowstorm.  The temperature was right at freezing, but there was no wind and I was actually a bit overdressed.  I'm hopeful now, going forward, that I can do most of my runs outside.

6 easy road miles.  Temperature right at the freezing mark, but no wind and I have the clothing issue figured out.  So, a good run.  Tempo run tomorrow.

6 mile tempo pace, plus warm up and cool down.

Ran an out and back.  Clear morning, but cold.  Minus 10 C or 14 F.  Wasn't bad for running, actually, but my fingers went numb in the 1st mile and I had to curl them up into a fist inside my gloves until they thawed.

Splits were:  7:09  7:13  7:12  7:15  7:13  and 7:09.

This was my 1st tempo run outside; for sure different from the treadmill and indoor track.  There are some short hills on this route, but nothing too serious.

Had to push myself at the halfway mark; hard to turn around and get back up to speed, when your brain is telling you to stop or slow down!  But, I finished it strong and it felt like a very good run.

6 easy miles on my usual outdoor route 'around the block'.  Recovery run from yesterday.

Driving to Sault Ste. Marie today, and will do my run tomorrow in that wonderful city.

5 mile easy run in Sault Ste. Marie.  I used to live in this city, and knew about the "Hub Trail" which is a paved, multi-purpose path that runs through and around the city.  It was only 1/2 mile from my hotel, so I ran there.

Unfortunately, I discovered they do not keep it free of snow in the winter.   At mile 1.5, I came across a section that was very snow covered and pitted quite badly where kids had walked through it (there is a school near by).  I decided to take a 'better' short cut over a drainage ditch.  Unfortunately, the ice did not hold me and I ended up with 2 very wet feet.  So, I ran the final 3.5 miles in cold, wet feet.  

Other than that, a good run!

15 mile long run, and the end of a 46 mile week.

It was cloudy and cold - just around freezing - but fine for running.  I did not feel great from the start - was almost winded from the get go for some reason.  Partly because the 1st mile North was into the wind, I suppose.

Anyway, I was supposed to run an 8:30/mile pace, and ended up with a 8:24/mile pace, which is pretty close, and I'm happy about that.  I went with gatoraide in my fuel belt, GU chomps, and one Hammer Gel - Espresso.

I don't like the GU chomps and don't think I'll race with them - too hard to chew and swallow.  I prefer the Power Bar Gel Blast, but I want to try the Honey Stingers too.  I ended up taking just one of the chomps.

My stomach was complaining almost from mile 3.  At mile 7.5, I ate the Hammer Gel.  I had to stop to do it.  My stomach at that point was doing flips, and the Gel was way too stiff to easily take in.  I also needed to get my breathing under control.  So, I stopped and ate the Gel and took in 8 ounces of water.

Well, it landed like lead in my stomach and that feeling didn't go away for the rest of the run.  I'll try a different flavor of the Hammer Gel on another day, just to see.  So far, however, the GU is my first choice.

Mile 10 was into the wind again and I struggled.  Ran it in 8:42, but it felt bad.  Once I turned out of the wind, I stopped for a minute to stretch and get my heart rate down.  After that, I ran the final 5 miles fast, around 8:15/mile for each of them.  It was an odd feeling, because my legs did not have much life in them, and it seemed I was running a lot slower.  I was actually surprised by my splits in those last 5 miles.  But by stomach never recovered and I didn't take in any more Gatoraide until almost the end.  

Now, my thoughts on why it felt the way it did:  The 4 hour drive from the Sault yesterday meant a lot of sitting.  I had a huge pancake feast at a maple syrup place on the way home.  Not a problem in itself, but my blood sugar took off, and then crashed about 2 hours later.  Driving was not easy feeling that way, and when I got home, I went right into work - and my supper that night suffered because of it - soup and bread.  Yuck - for running anyway.  I suspect I went into this run not properly nourished and tired from the trip and it suffered because of it.

Fortunately, I have 3 more 15 mile runs before my race, so I'll be able to prepare myself better for them, and I will!

Decided to run my 6 miles on my treadmill.  It's raining pretty steadily; not impossible to run in, but opted to stay dry today anyway.

Another dump of snow last night, and still falling, so I decided to run on my treadmill again.  This is an 'easy week' anyway, and I didn't want to take a chance on slipping.

Ran on the indoor track.  Just decided it was too cold to run outside today.  That, plus I wanted to do some weight work on my Quads after the run, and so going to the gym for my run made sense.

6 easy miles on my treadmill.  

Easy run outside.  Beautiful morning ... 2 degrees (36F) with little wind.  Kept an 8:25 pace.

Easy 6 mile run outside.  Beautiful morning with full sun.  Minus 1 C (31F) - very nice for running.  The Cleveland Half is 4 weeks from tomorrow.  So, three more weeks of hard training. 

Beautiful Easter Monday morning for running.  Kept an 8:25 easy pace.  Had an unusual (for me) side stitch around mile 5.5; forced me to stop for a minute in order to work it out and then it was fine.  Maybe too much Easter feasting last night.

An easy 6 mile run.  A bit foggy out, but pleasant for running.

This was a 6 mile tempo run, scheduled for a 7:16 pace.  My actual splits were:  7:06  7:09  7:09  7:05  7:08  and  7:01.  So, bit faster than scheduled, but I felt strong throughout.

It was cold ... -4 C or 24 F with a wind out of the North (cold!) at 26 km/h or 16 mph.  Still, the fact that I pushed through it and still finished strong is a good sign.  I'm happy with this run.

I decided to not eat anything at all before the run, except for 3 GU chews.  That seemed to have worked for me, with no GI issues of any sort.

An easy 6 mile run.  The sun was just coming up and it is a beautiful, clear day.  Not as cold as yesterday (no wind), but still only -4 C/25 F, so brisk.

6 easy miles on my regular loop - except today I ran on the trail section, rather than the adjacent road.  It's a one mile section - just recently emerged from the snow.  Still a little muddy in a few places, but passable.  Long run tomorrow.

I have a daily "Tip Calendar" from Runner's  World.  Todays tip:  

"Run through a spring storm.  With rain hitting you sideways and the wind whipping your face, you'll feel alive."

Well, I did it today on my long run, except that it was snow instead of rain!

The temperature was sitting right at the freezing mark, and the wind was pretty strong out of the North.  The snow was being driven sideways with the wind.  I don't know about "feeling alive".  But I do know I felt cold.

I ran a new route.  Easy to do out here, as all the major streets run in one mile grids.

So, mile one I ran North into the wind.  The next 3 miles were easy enough running East.  Then a very easy, wind at the back, stretch of 3 miles South, followed by one mile West and another one South.  That last mile (nine) ended with one mother of a hill!  I ran it strong though.

Then two more miles West and then three into the wind at the end.  Those were tough, but I kept my pace and actually finished very strong.  I had to add an extra mile to bring it to 15. 

Average pace of 8:12 for a run of just over 2 hours.

As always, the iliopsoas is not happy, but no other significant issues.  I popped a honey stinger on all the odd miles, and took about 3 ounces of Gatoraide on all the even miles.  No GI issues, and my energy levels remained high throughout the run.  All is good!

An easy run - 8:14/mile pace.  Cold - right at the freezing mark - but sunny and little wind.  A comfortable run.

Easy 7 mile run.  I just beat the rain that is moving in - wind was strong and gusty, but it was warm enough - 6 C or  43 F.  Almost warm enough to ditch the gloves!  I had a massage yesterday which helped to work out all the kinks.  Everything is feeling fine.  Speedwork tomorrow.

Okay, this was my scheduled speed interval day.  Warmup, followed by 4 one mile splits at a 6:40/mile pace, with 1/2 mile recovery runs between.  I had done all my previous speed work on the treadmill, so this was quite different for me.

The 1st two miles were into a rather strong headwind, and mainly uphill.  I didn't notice how that one 1/4 mile hill is so steep when I run it easy!  Of course, the last 2 miles were fairly flat, but with that wind at my back.

My actual splits were:

6:39 (bang on) 6:57 (darn hill and wind - that was tough!)  6:33 (wind at my back)  and 6:33 (wind still at my back).

Now, I have a confession to make ... my 3rd split.  At the 1/2 mile mark, I had to stop.  I had not fully recovered from my previous split, and I knew that I could not put in an quality effort if I continued.   That, plus I had to cross a major highway, and the rush hour traffic was heavy.  So, I just waited for about 1 minute to get my heart rate down and for a pause in the traffic.  I'm glad I did that, as I was able to continue with strong splits after that.

Overall, I'm pleased with the effort.  I tried to focus on my form - and to relax.  

Oh, and the rain held off until just when I finished - so bonus!