A pain in the ???

Another week, another 50-some miles.

We got lambasted with a nice winter storm on Monday and I took these pictures while breaking trail on the way to work on Tuesday. It was slow going with drifts up to my knees in spots but it's very pretty. We even had some snow rollers in our front yard with some snowball size balls that looked like they were going uphill. This is apparently a rare phenomenon. I thought it might have been someone playing a joke but I guess it was just nature doing it's thing again.

So you can imagine it required some creativity to get my runs in.

I'd already had a good start with my long Sunday run with Andrew. It was cold, it was windy, my knee hurt, my hamstrings ached, my back was twinging but it was a memorable and fun run. Is it the bad jokes that take the edge off? When he told me the one about 2 herring trying to get to Fenway Park in Boston I just about went off the road into the ditch! You may not know but my real job is that of a herring biologist for fisheries and this was just too close to home. 20 miles and one delicious brownie later the deed was done, what a guy but he tells it just like it is!

Monday rest and big storm - walked to/from work

Tues - walk to/from work and jump on the treadmill for 5 easy miles when I got home after helping Jo finish shoveling our driveway. It just seemed easier than dodging traffic and sliding around. I broke out my newest pair of Mizuno Wave riders which will now be reserved for the treadmill alone during the winter and likely will be used at Boston. At least they'll stay warm and 'dry' until April.

Weds - 8 mile/66:10 minute run from work around town. It was sunny and about -4C with a light wind and the roads were surprisingly good and mostly bare. Felt good and the knee was fine but I seemed to tire over the last mile or so for some reason. Played some volleyball that night and was able to stay out of trouble.

Thurs - a long busy day at work and got home a little late. Jumped on the mill for an easy 5 miles while watching the news and kept the pace around 830 to 800/mile. It's easy and convenient but kind of boring and 'seems' to take forever to just do a few miles.

Friday - more time on my hands at work so repeated the exact same route as Weds but this time with my Garmin measured as 8.1 miles in 65:30. The weather and road conditions were almost identical and I felt like I was pushing the effort a bit but only made up 40 seconds. The run felt good though and the knee was mostly ok.

Sat - just an easy 6 miles with temp at a crisp -5C and little wind. There was some payback for the extra effort on Friday because the legs were heavy and the effort seemed to be high for the slow 8:45 pace.

Weekly summary - good week with 52 miles all at easy base building pace. I'm looking at another week like this and then starting the Pfitzinger 18 week: 70 miles or less plan. I'll add extra miles to it, especially the long runs with Andrew and may tweak some things but this has worked for me in the past. It won't be a big change in what I normally do and so I can't expect much in the end result. I'm OK with that as Boston is really a race I like to enjoy and not have to worry about trying to race or do a 'time' in. I'll save that for next fall in PEI.

Have a great week! Enjoy the snow if you're lucky enough to have any!