Catching Up

It's been over a week since my last post. Time to catch up.

I actually went ahead and ran last Tuesday and got caught in a driving rainstorm. Put in 3.5, including some hill work, so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time.

Friday morning I did some Nautilus lifting and some swimming in a failed attempt to cut some weight for the stupid Biggest Loser contest at work. My workout had no impact, but it really felt good to do some swimming.

Saturday was a very good running day. The temperature was over 30, the wind wasn't bad, and the sun was out. I put in four miles before the HalfWits run got going around 7:30 and ran seven with that group for a total of 11.

I kept my pace even, and I was a little concerned. It has been a few weeks since I last ran 11 miles--I'd have to look up the exact date that I last ran that distance. When we were done I wasn't really tired and had no pain. Got home and took the dogs for a walk and then rested. After laying around for a couple hours my ankles stiffened up and started to hurt, but it could have been worse.

I don't know why, but 11 miles is kind of a milepost distance for me. When I can run 11 comfortably like I did on Saturday, I have a lot more confidence about increasing my distance. Confidence is going to be vital in coming weeks, I think.

Yesterday I was back at it, running three miles at lunch time, and I picked a route that still had a lot of ice on the sidewalks. Getting through the running wasn't easy, and that's just because of the condition of the sidewalks.

Which brings us to today's run of six miles. This is the first time I've attempted to run that kind of distance during the work day. I went in a half hour early to make up for what I knew would be an hour and a half of exercise, stretching, showering, and dressing.

And of course it started snowing this morning. And the temperature never got above 18, even though the forecast promised that we would see the 20s. I almost decided to lift weights today and postpone the run to tomorrow, but I went ahead for a run.

There were some slick spots out there, but for the most part the footing was firm and secure. That was a good thing, because I had some mild hills on the route I had picked out for the run. I went through Washington Park and headed up Lincoln Street, which is fairly steep coming out of the park, then back in on Park Street.

I felt great the whole way. So far my Tuesday runs have felt just wonderful. And today, with the crisp air and some snowflakes flying around, it was really good. Felt strong on all the hills and confident all the way to the end of my six.

So we're in the middle of Week 5, and the marathon is 96 days away. I just don't know what I think about that yet.