I realized that it has been a few weeks since I have updated everyone on my marathon training. The week of cold weather was a little bit of a set back. I did get into the gym. I made the most of my shorter runs on the treadmill trying just to pound out the miles as quickly as possible. I mentioned in an earlier post that it had been a few years since I was on a treadmill. I hated every minute of it. I am use to running in 15 to 40 degree temperatures lately. The heat in the gym was too much for me. Only running a couple days inside was not enough time for my body to adjust. By the time it was the weekend, it was still freezing outside and there was no way I was going to run 12 miles in 5 degrees or less. I was over the cold. I was glad when the temperatures started rising again.
Now that the temperatures are more normal, I am back into the full swing of my training. My friends are continuing to join me for strength training and the occasional run. Brent has even joined in on the runs a little more often. He still plans on running a half marathon with me in a couple weekends. We will see how it goes for him.
My 16 miler this past weekend was long and a bit hard. There were a couple of inches of free snow on the ground when I headed out the door and barely 15 degrees. It was still early enough on a Saturday that people hadn’t gotten out their doors to shovel. Having snow on the ground always makes me get exhausted sooner than later. Although I was running slow, I kept my mind on the fact that at mile 10 I would gain a running partner. Brent was kind enough to leave meet up with me and drop Flynn off. It was nice to have a running partner for the last 5-6 miles. I loved the company even if it was just a dog. Running with him kept my mind on something else rather than feeling tired and slow. We made our way home where I was able to indulge in a nice tall glass of chocolate milk and a hot shower.
The snow and cold is making me look forward to spring running again. I can’t wait! Plus, I will be able to start training Flynn to run over 6 miles. I don’t want to taking him running for too long in the cold and snow. I play each day by ear with him. Most weeks he has been logging any where from 7-16 miles. He usually wants to keep going when we finish a run. He has so much energy! What the perfect running buddy. He really has been loving running my 400’s with me! He knows when we are going to sprint and when we are doing the cool down. I love how much fun he has sprinting! Especially because I do not have fun when sprinting. He cheers me up a bit and keeps me going.
There is the little update for you all. I will be pounding out an 18 miler this weekend and I can only pray for nicer weather. Then, I get to run my first race of the year the following weekend! I am looking forward to that as several of my friends will be joining me.