My extended week in California meant that I was fortunate enough to miss the snow front that smacked the midwest the week of Valentines Day.
Snow ain’t too bad. Ice? Well that’s another thing. For some reason our snow fronts this season have been followed by a bitter cold chill that turned a pillow soft patch of snow into something resembling a Super Mario level. If it wasn’t hard packed snow that could roll your ankle, it was a patch of black ice that could put you on your ass in a second.
I arrived back into town late afternoon Sunday and thankfully had a holiday to catch up on sleep. 12 hours did the trick.
I scoped out our workout loop on Tuesday, not horrible but still some visible patches of ice to keep an eye on if you were gonna take the chance to workout. I wasn’t going to be one of those brave folks. It would be a treadmill day for me. Temperature in the low teens and still working on getting myself in order? Yeah that was an easy decision. An easy double with very little runnable areas that afternoon helped solidify my choice.
Wednesday morning runs are always a bit of a struggle for me but coming off two weeks on the west coast… Yeah, I was on autopilot. I joined the crew for the warmup loop and packed my gear for a post work date on the treadmill.
I’m gonna be honest, I had no motivation to do this workout. Maybe it was the first early morning back on the east coast, maybe it being back in the office after a bit, maybe it was just a lingering emotional fatigue from the previous couple weeks. But man was I sluggish. So I packed my Lightsprays. If I was gonna have to do this workout, at the very least I’d be excited to wear one of the cool shoes I have.
The workout? Fatigued Miles. 5 Miles @ 5:55 average, half mile easy, 3 x 5 minutes @ 5:00 pace.
I don’t care how fit you are, workouts on the treadmill are terrifying. The uptempo first five went off without a hitch, though boring as I looked at a bare screen with just my time and distance on it. I was sweating, a ton more than I’m used to, which is basically anything. I don’t sweat too much so it’s can be a bit touch and go if I’m not prepared. The 5 minute reps felt like a fight to not get thrown off the belt. I can’t say this felt all that great but I got the work in and I was happy I didn’t bail on it.
Despite having no laces, the Lightsprays provided adequate lockdown and were fairly comfortable. These are probably going to be the shoes I use for Project 13.1 since all of my other supershoes have a fairly good amount of wear on them.
I ran my cooldown with Hoof Hearted Run Club. Remember how I said things could be touch and go if I’m not prepared? Well, I was okay for the workout. The cooldown? I felt absolutely crazy. I got back to the bar and immediately took a Gu and had an IPA. That put me back together.
Thursdays continue to be the bane of my existence. You don’t kick off a run at 6:30pm because you were motivated. I felt like I spent all afternoon trying to will myself to get out the door. Real feel of 7? The warm apartment was begging me to stay. But I put my shoes on and went out the door to do whatever psychotic loop I could figure out that would keep me off the ice/not put me in the direction of traffic. Less than half a mile in and I see someone running up the hill towards me. Holy heck it’s Ian Pierson out for an evening trot.
How much you doing?
Whatever you’re doing.
After a couple weeks away I’m reminded of just how lucky I am with this community. I can be out on a random run and see pals out hitting the pavement too. The fact that I have such talented athletes within a couple miles of my apartment is something I tend to take for granted a bit. Maybe a bit of time away running alone every day at home was a nice reminder that I have a very special community here.
Needless to say the run went much better than I thought it would go. Aside from my hands freezing despite two pairs of gloves… Ohio, man.
After work runners?
A couple Friday miles with Evan in Clintonville, a drive home to run in the neighborhood and some beers with Max while we watched some of the best in the world compete at BU. The toughest days of the week were done. It’s the weeeeekend man.
Long run was set for Sunday, 18 miles with 7 miles @ 5:20-25 over rolling terrain. I was concerned about this one. Lingering tightness and a couple failed extended long runs didn’t give me a lot of confidence that I was going to tackle this one but I was going to do all I could to make sure I was ready to attack it.
I forgot to mention that I got accepted into Puma’s Project 3 Program for Boston. The first week featured some seminars that went through sports psychology, an introduction to the brand, and a seminar with Maurten. The latter was something that was something I was excited to dig into as I’m using this build to nail down my nutrition schedule for CIM this Dec. Last year I tried the bars and 320 drink mix and it didn’t react well with my stomach. The seminar provided a bit of guidance of how to layer in these products. So this would be my first attempt at it. A bottle of Maurten 320 before bed. Some tailwind, a couple quesadillas, and a Maurten bar in the morning. I was a little full and slightly uncomfortable for the warmup but I needed to get used to just being full. Prime the stomach to be able to take more calories.
I made a ~3 mile loop that featured a couple rolling sections and a long uphill just after 2 miles that did a great job simulating Newton. A couple hard turns also gave me some chances to work on getting back into rhythm after a break in stride. I took a caf Maurten, laced up my Cloud Boom Strikes and made my way out to the loop. My left knee was tight. I figured it would loosen up after a bit but I would be cautious and start at 5:30 pace just in case.
Mile 1: 5:24. So much for that.
I settled myself down a bit since I was still fairly hesitant about my body and didn’t want to put myself in a hole early, especially with a long uphill coming up after two.
5:26, time for the hill, focus on form, drive drive drive. Okay, a couple quick steps out of it. Back into rhythm but not too hard down the hill. Got it. Stay comfortable.
BEEP
5:26. Good.
The legs are feeling great off the hill and I’m in good rhythm. Just need to keep things controlled. Nothing too crazy here since I’m not even half way done yet. How bout a 5:18 for your troubles. Ooooo.
Am I fit? What is this… Settle back. 5:20-25. Now’s not the time to test anything.
5:20. Okay, we’re at the bottom of the hill for the start of this mile. Your overall pace is going to be in a hole but don’t freak out. Just focus on staying strong. No need to grind here. It’ll be a little slow, that’s okay.
5:28. Solid. The rest of the workout would be a cakewalk. Just nothing under 5:20. Just need to do just enough. The last two miles went by quickly with a 5:21 and 5:20. I knocked this one out. The scary one wasn’t so scary and despite nothing seeming like it was going in my direction, there was some semblance of comfort in my running. Man it’s been a while.
That was 75 for the week. Much colder than I wanted but a successful week and one I’m proud to walk away from. Being back felt weird in a lot of aspects of my life but to lean in that consistency that I’ve built with this running thing is nice. I can’t say that that running was a mental health boost here, but having something just there to be on the schedule helped me get back into rhythm back here. I’ll take it.
Beers and Miles 