Road Challenges

I'm training for a spring marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. That in itself can be a very difficult task. Do I wish I was in Arizona where all I could feel is the dirt and sand grinding on the bottom of my shoes? Dang straight! But, I'm not and I will make the most of it. That was the number one concern when I started pursuing this Boston Marathon thingy. The last few "winters" in Duluth have been mild by weather standards but when it comes to hammering out a 20 miler, all a runner wants is good footing. If you are from the south or other regions without snow and ice, believe me, it's something you shouldn't take lightly. It's nice!  This morning I could think of only a couple places where my odds of finding clear pavement were high. I chose the one that would also have the least amount of traffic and made my way out west on Skyline Blvd. I nailed it! Very little traffic and clear pavement the entire way. I had to deal with a bit wind but really, minimal for what we can experience here at the 'head of the lakes'.

Once again I found myself feeling really well at my turn around point and looking to crank the pace down on the return trip. I held back, which was a really nice feeling, and stayed aerobic for the returning miles. In the end I ran equal splits on what I would think is a harder return trip because of some climbs that are not there on the way out. I'm a little freaked-out as to how well my legs are responding to the increase in volume. Each day I take a deep breath and hope I remain to feel good. This weeks work is done and now I start the week with a recovery day Monday and an easy mid-distance run on Tues with some striders. I will continue to add some weight work at least twice a week and I really think that is helping me. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend of working out whatever that may have been. Keep pushing yourself. Don't be afraid to take chances and see what you can do. You might surprise yourself.

Remainder of week ending Jan. 13th:

Friday: Woke up to rain/ice. I really didn't want to hit the treadmill so I took a chance on              
            Skyline Blvd. It was ICE. Good thing I took my Get a Grips as I stopped just    
            after the mile and put them on. They helped a ton and had a good run.
            1:01:00   8.1 miles
Saturday: Everything freezing, more trouble with ice. I decided on the snowmobile trails
               north of town. Good move. Wore the grips again and had a wonderful run.
               1:09:00  9.1 miles rolling hills snomo trail
Sunday: Out and back on Skyline. Wow! What a run! Feeling great.
             2:10:30  18 miles  (2F with wind when I left)

Weeks Total: 62 miles

Years Total: 108.6 miles