I swim. I bike. I run...usually covered in boogers and crayon.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mixing It Up


Newscasters here were touting all week that this would be the coldest weekend of the winter. Indeed it was. The high yesterday was 25 degrees! I ran 11 miles at 10am hoping that it would warm up somewhat by then but it was 18 degrees when I started. It took an hour to thaw once I got home. If I had my camera with me, I would have taken a picture of the sweat-ice building up on my gloves. I couldn't feel my tights on my legs. It was brutal and miserable but it felt sooooo good to be finished that it made it all worth it. I ran 7 miles today and it was downright balmy at 30 degrees.

I usually run on the Mt. Vernon trail which travels beside the Potomac River. It starts at Mt. Vernon (the home of George Washington) and goes all the way to the Key bridge which connects Rosslyn, Va. to Georgetown, D.C. I typically run towards D.C. but last Sunday, yesterday, and today I took the trail south. Week ten of marathon training has required me to mix it up a bit. The same scenery (even if it's scenic!) can get stale. I also realized it is much hillier in this portion of the trail which is terrific because I feel like I'm cheating since hills haven't really been in my repertoire thus far (I know---bad, bad, bad.) There are also bathrooms along this part of the trail which is awesome! Unfortunately, the water fountains don't work. Or they are frozen which is somehow more depressing.

The soles of my feet have been pretty sore. I know it is due to running 6 days a week but I pulled out another pair of running shoes to see if switching would help and it did. So now I'll rotate my shoes and see how it goes. You're supposed to let your shoes "rest" for 24 hours in between use anyhow. (Since you compress the foam, it needs to decompress or you will wear them out faster.)

This past week was pretty easy but this upcoming week is pretty intense: 3, 5, 8, 5, 17, 9 (!!!). I could skip the 3 miler since it's just a warm-up for my weight training class but 17 miles, really? At once? I guess it's just another chance to surprise myself again. I did 14, I did 15, I can do 17.

Well let's hope we don't get any snow or ice this week. I CANNOT run on the treadmill every day! Also, as another aside, I'm finally below my pre-pregnancy weight. Hurray!

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday night!

2 comments:

  1. I think I would... no, I know I would die running 17 miles. Good for you!!!

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  2. And congrats on getting below your pre-pregnancy weight!! I know that's something that every woman tries to do by one year after baby but rarely ever does. Good luck this week!

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