Last week, the temperatures finally climbed above freezing, and the snow cover began to thaw. I have been running on park trails (Sand Run and the Towpath) for the past couple weeks because the roads and sidewalks were too treacherous. On Thursday, Sand Run's path was a slushy mess, but I was too excited about the 40-degree temperatures to complain. By Saturday, the snow had melted enough for me to hit the roads again.
It's amazing what a hard, dry running surface will do for your pace. My runs had been hovering above the 10-minute mile pace up until this weekend, when I actually managed to get under 9:30 per mile on Saturday and Sunday, all while logging 21 miles for the week -- my longest weekly total of the year and longest since November. (Yeesh!)
Saturday, I headed toward the hills on one of my neighborhood routes, logging four miles at a 9:15 pace. Sunday, I recorded my longest run of the year (a little over five miles), joining the Enthusiast for her first run of the year and then tacking on a few more miles on my own.
It was nice to actually complete all my planned runs. Now, I just have to follow up with another successful running week.
Advocacy and Inspiration
Last week, Nitmos wrote about Big Arthritis. This week, I have discovered Patrick's Running Blog (via Run with Me). "Patrick" is Patrick McGlade, who is running across the country to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. (There's that lattice of coincidences again.) Yesterday, he stumbled into the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in Phoenix, so he just went along with the course.
5 comments:
Thanks for posting the link to Patrick's Running Blog...I open up the web page and find out he is finishing his cross country run here in Savannah!!!!
So I assume that means your next run will be barefoot? :-)
Black ice is the worst. I have learned to live by the following credo: if it looks slippery, it probably is. Ouch.
Glad you were able to get out there and get some solid footing on the pavement!
good for you! I am WAY off of my training schedule, busy with packing for our upcoming move... Wouldn't ya know it, the temps were ideal for running the past 3 days - mid 50s - and I missed all three. cold again today, but about to go out for a much needed run after 4? days off! sloth!
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