Sunday, February 22, 2015

Fortnight ending 2/15: WINTER!

Ice Beard! 11 miles in single digits will do that. 
Week 1: 26.2 miles. 3 hours 37 minutes. 

Week 2: 30 miles. 4 hours 10 minutes. 

These two weeks brought the worst weather, temperature-wise, of the winter so far. They were also the first two of a three-month buildup period, which means I was ramping up the mileage reasonably heavily the whole time. 

I generally like running in winter, and these two weeks were no exception. I think that having an adversary (of any sort) to run against is what really makes winter running easier for me. Weather gives you an adversary, and the resulting motivation to run against it. 

The last two weeks also marked the introduction of more quality workouts into my routine. Each week, I did a hill workout on Tuesday, and a strength routine following my run on Thursday. I took a different take on the hill workouts this time: rather than repeat one hill over and over, I progress from one hill to the next. For my particular route, the first “hill” is a set of stairs, which rises about 100 feet up the bluffs. The second is a half-mile long, shallow hill that rises 125 feet. Ramsey hill marks the third. And the fourth, which I only ran the second week, is another longer, shallower hill. I still have a good 3 or 4 hills I can add on to this run as I go along. By the time racing season comes along, I should be good to go. 

This fortnight was remarkable in how much fun I had running as well. It was consistently sunny, and snowed just enough that I was often breaking trail on my morning runs. That is, if you count punching through a scant half-inch of snow “breaking trail.” I remember coming back from runs feeling more refreshed and happy than when I left. 

Towards the end of the two-week period, though, winter got a little old. I was planning an 11-mile run the last Saturday of the fortnight, but awoke to find the temperature in the single-digits below zero and the windchill at -25. I chose to run three miles on Saturday and punt the long run till Sunday. 

Sunday I did the planned 11-mile double lap of the River Gorge loop along the Mississippi, and despite the single-digit temperatures and still-significant windchill, I saw more people out and about on the trails than I ever have before. This included another runner, which marks only the third time I’ve seen another runner out on the trail portion of the Gorge. 

I also, despite the temperature and the wind, managed to overheat. 

All in all, it was a good couple of weeks, culminating in a long run that felt, over all, quite good. 


Things are progressing the right direction. 
From long run #1. Morning light over one of my favorite spots on the River Gorge Loop.

I'm sad the focus on my phone couldn't handle this. Just down by Summit ave, this is apparently a place where people come to ice climb in the winter. 




Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Week Ending 2/1: Rest Week

I’m going to stop posting daily summaries here. The weeks tend to be pretty similar, all told. So from here on out, I’ll still post weekly mileage and time totals, but unless there’s something particularly interesting, I’ll limit it to that. 

Totals: 18 miles. 2:27. ~1000’ 

I find rest weeks difficult. I don’t think that separates me from most runners. I know they’re necessary, and they definitely help my training over all. Strangely, though, despite the lower mileage and the easier intensity, my legs never feel very good on my rest weeks. If anything, they usually feel worse. 

From what I understand, that’s pretty typical. The rest weeks give your legs a chance to heal the damage from the preceding weeks. Naturally, when they’re busy healing, they don’t feel all that great. 

It’s hard from a mental standpoint, too. I know, logically, that the rest week is good. I know in my head that I’m not losing any fitness by taking it easier for a week. But mentally, it’s hard to get past the “I should be running more” block. 

We runners are obsessive by nature, but that obsession does not always extend to resting. 

The Uphill Challenge: I signed up for an Upper Midwest Trail Runners (UMTR) challenge for the first three months of the year. The challenge: to do at least one uphill challenge on the treadmill each month for the first three months of the year. Prizes will be awarded at Zumbro (for which I still have to register). 

For those who don’t know, the Uphill challenge is a treadmill exercise. You set the treadmill at 15% grade, and go as far as you can in 15 minutes. 

This month I went for 1.21 miles. I set the treadmill far to slow for most of it, though. I think, this month, I should be able to hit more like 1.30-1.35. 


It’s not particularly fun while you’re doing it, but I think it makes a good fitness test, and an excellent exercise in mental toughness.