A Sour Week Turns Sweet

I had one of those weeks that made me wonder why I live where I do. When the temps are consistently in the -20's to -30'sF and all the streets remain ice, the trails are not tracked yet and the treadmill gets old, or occupied in my case, one begins to wonder what draws us to these parts of the country. Ask me again in July. My mind may be more clear and I may even have some bragging rights in regards to the weather. It's amazing how one week of "less than ideal" conditions can make me fall off the wagon. I'm looking forward to better days.

On Monday I woke up to feeling sick and if I had a phone near my bed I would have called in sick. Once I got up and moved about, sipped a cup of coffee and had a Tylenol or two I was feeling much better but at that time it was too late to go running. Tuesday was the same pattern but I felt much worse upon awakening. Wednesday found me feeling better physically but I had the cold temps to deal with. I hit the streets with a pair of "Get a grips" strapped to my feet and that made all the difference. A short loop and I was back home clearing the frost form my brow. I was able to repeat the same routine on Thursday and had a very good run. On Friday I woke up and heard on the radio that the wind chill temps were in the -30'sF and that is all I needed to hear. At that moment every ache in body was multiplied by a factor of ten! I didn't take much to talk me into staying in a warm bed and gaining an extra hour of rest. What I did manage to do was head out for a short ski at Hartley trails after work. I put on the headlamp and skied two loops of tracked, slick trails and realized that I am a runner, not a skier. I worked so hard and all I got was sore shoulders. I must have uttered, "skiing sucks" a dozen times or more on my two loops. Skiing doesn't suck, I just need to spend more time at it so it's not such a chore and more pleasurable. That leads me to this mornings run on the snowmobile trails. I did the same loop Chris and I had done last Saturday and then I added a short out and back on some single track. This was my best workout of the week as I was really starting to feel a bit more fluid with my stride. My hip flexors continue to be an issue and I hope I can nip them soon. I often wake up and have to do some stretches in bed just to get up as my hips feel locked in place. Too much ice! Once that goes, I'm sure things will improve quickly. Until then I will bitch and complain like no other, but in the end I will find myself chasing yet another marathon dream come June.

Weeks Review:

Monday: 0 miles

Tuesday: 0 miles

Wednesday: 42:00

Thursday: 44:00

Friday: 40:00 classic ski in Hartley

Saturday: 50:30 trails/snomo trails