Monday, 1/13
It snowed & froze. Woke early with the tickle. Decided to run into work - 5E; the trails were in better shape than the streets. Ran by the dim purple light of the unbegun day. The wind ushered forth a deeper chill - face numb. The flow of work followed our town's first snow - lulling. 5E commute home; my nose is in everdrip & when I go to wipe, my glove is covered in blood. It's unsettling, roots me, reminds me that I'm alive. If/when I forget how strong I am, maybe I'll remember color. I could be warm. I could call in. I could not run. But I'm outside someone's house staunching my bloody nose with snow. Half a stewpot of soup, half a loaf of salted rosemary bread, half a bag of chocolate almonds and Nyquil gargles have me asleep during the LSU game.
Miles for the day - 10
Tuesday, 1/14
M drives me to work with a foiled hoagie breakfast sandwich and a mug of coffee. 7.2 miles on a light layer of snow that beds ice beneath. Despite attempts to stay warm, my hands, wrists and elbows flush in pain. I've never felt cold elbows before. It almost feels like I've fallen backwards and landed on them, they burn and ache red. Blow snotrockets of blood. Bored & snacky. Tackled many pages of FW. I have to recreate a workout option for tomorrow - the big one I had planned won't do with the weather conditions, and my ability to get a hold of a good/fast treadmill is finicky by way of scheduling. I have a handmedown tread from Maria, which I appreciate, but which only goes so fast (6:00) and lurches often - keeps you on your toes by instilling fear that it won't. I'm leaning towards a fartlek style at a higher percent grade. 5E commute home. I forgot how tired the face becomes in its battle against the bitter air.
Miles for the day - 12.2
Wednesday, 1/15
Lit got excited to run on the treadmill today. Had the fortune of using a hospital tread with 2Trainz & Allison. I can safely say that this is the first and only time I have ever been excited to use a treadmill. Yet, so awkward to break a treadsweat and chafe your inner thighs. Decided on:
3E + 5/4/3/2/1/1/2/3/4/5 with equal recoveries + 3E
Uptempo treadmill miles are challenging for me. They feel harder than they would outside. To make it more Ew, I moved the incline for the "on" portions to 3% grade. Not sure how accurate it is, but a treadmill pace conversion chart online estimates that 6:00 min miles (10 mph) x 3% grade = an adjusted pace of 5:42. I like this. Because it's what it felt like. Nerd alert, but also because I need to practice math more - 3% grade = .03 x 5(miles // 30 mins @ 6:00 min pace) = 0.15 x 5280 = 792ft. in elevation gain over 5 miles (or 158.4ft. per mile). Right? I don't know. Whatever. I was schweddy. And felt empowered running alongside the two youngin's. Strength was cancelled, sadly. I told myself I would do strength at home, but then I did 5x lower leg lifts and then got a treadmill dehydration headache from all that treadsweat loss, and ended up just laying in front of the fire watching Rachel Maddow's interview with Lev Parnas.
Miles for the day - 14
Thursday, 1/16
I've married a Saint. For the past week or several, I've woken to a cough attack at 4:00 am. This morning, at 4:00 am, before it began, M made me hot honey lemon tea and brought it to bed so I could sip and fall back asleep for a few hours. Like, Who? What? Brought into work again. Ran home from work, more blood rockets, straight to the treadmill in the garage. 8 tedious tread miles at 3.5%. Can't stop thinking about sushi or Mexican. Quick shower, and then we went to the neighborhood Mexi joint for steak fajita salad, big mama's, flan.
Miles for the day - 12
Friday, 1/17
Another inch of snow as we slept, but the sun breaks, slush ascends. Drove myself to work like an adult woman. 6 miles on tire tread lines (the sidewalks are Ew). I runhandcarry a card to a friend's house and see that I've blown a spray of red blood across the white envelope. Don't tell her. It's a swifter run than all runs on the snow have been thus far, but the ground is nowhere near ready for the mileage and specificity I have set for the weekend. I might have to suck it up and do a big(g)er workout on the tread tomorrow. I won't double today; don't need the mileage. Saw Rad Bones for an awesome rolf, and will do yoga tonight, so it'll be a restorative Friday. Finished Messiah.
Miles for the day - 6
Saturday, 1/18
A delicious sleep-in. Blueberry pancakes with slices of grapefruit and coffee. Began a new book, Blindness, it's interesting. I like the way the dialogue runs on without lines to distinguish that it is, or who its coming from. Our week of winter will evade today, the roads are slush, the trails full of ankle slips. So I don't go absolutely crazy, I ran a couple miles to warm up outside (threw out my rib and it pierces with each cough), then:
4T + 4 min rest + 2x (3T w/ 3 min rest) on the treadmill = all at 6:00 min pace at 3.5%
To help break the monotony, I taped up some pictures of the OT course, Centennial Park, the elevation chart, to have something to look at and consider other than the garage wall. Sweated my balls off. Towel was necessary. Took Maurten liquid cals. Between each set I'd step outside and roll in the snow. It wasn't that bad, but it was mentally difficult, and I found myself counseling myself, "You're fine, you're just bored. Just zone out." When I'd used up all my positive affirmations and visualizations, I reached for the last good juju I could find, and thought about thrifting. Serious psycho. Finished with a slippery 2-mile cool down outside. And then just read and napped the rest of the day.
Miles for the day - 14.25
Sunday, 1/19
8:30 am start with BDP for a team LR. 14 of us showed up. Loved every minute of it, as always. Stayed away from the trails, which were still slop, running mundane loops on mostly clear streets. Still feel really fortunate that my down week fell on the week of winter, and that it's clearing or will be cleared for the next week up. Nikki put some good fingers into my ribcage, said it's not out, just built up with some scar tissue/junk. It felt painfully amazing. I just want to be touched by her all the time. Strongest hands I know. This time, post run, post shower, post a good meal and some iced coffee, I treated myself to a thrifting bonanza. Items purchased: a mauve cowboy hat, purple satin gloves, and the rest of the James Joyce collection I'd been missing: The Dubliners and Ulysses. Seriously been hunting for those for 6 months.
M & I had a date to see Devotchka at the Wild Bufffalo. It was wonderful.
Miles for the day - 22.22
Miles for the week - 91
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