My week in Running (wk 1)

I'm starting 2016 fairly conservative. It's been roughly 5 weeks since I last ran hard at the Riddlebox 50K and 3 weeks since my easy pace marathon in Tennessee. Thus far, I have only run slightly over 18 miles, but I am recovering my legs and rather take a couple of runs easy in order to prep for the upcoming races.

Fri:
Sat: 6.3mi in East Lansing, MI
Sun:
Mon: 3.3mi (a.m. run in Madison, WI)
Tue: 0mi
Wed: 0mi
Th: 0mi
Fri: 2mi
Sat: 0mi
Sun: 7mi (finally an actual run!)

I'm doing a little more than a weeks review, because the first week wasn't a real week, plus I just forgot at the time to do this and had I not just written that, none would be the wiser.

me with my injured hip

Sat, Jan 2: Did a nice morning run in Michigan, which was only my second ever run there after my Kalamazoo Marathon last year. We went to Michigan for a wedding and after long hours in the car I was able to loosen up my legs a bit. We had driven from South Dakota to Michigan with overnight stops in Omaha, NE and Chicago, IL and somehow I pulled something in my left hip while driving. Not sure how I accomplished that, but it still bugs me today.

East Lansing, MI

I texted with my good friend Wes, who got his Masters at Michigan State University and other than a couple of killer places to eat, he suggested the trails at Hawk Island County Park. It was only a couple of miles from the hotel, so it was easy to run there and check it out. After a "proper" warm-up (I think I jumped in the air once or twice and stood awkwardly until my GPS connected). Michigan seems to be similar to South Dakota in the sense that the sidewalks tend to not get cleaned and I would have to run on the shoulder of the road. It was very sunny and I felt great getting out for my first run in the New Year!

Madison, WI (cold as &^$%)

Mon, Jan 4: On our way to Minneapolis, where I had some work for a couple of days, we drove to Madison, WI and spend the night. Before getting going the next morning, I needed to get out for a short run, as I have no idea if or when I come back to Madison and wanted to explore it just a little. My hip was bugging me a bit still and the temps were in the cellar and I had only planned around 3 miles. Therefore I didn't see much, but liked that they are a few different parks in the area, so I will have to come back for some more running.

hate waking up, but love morning runs

Fri, Jan 8: Seemed like an eternity! We spend a couple of night in Minneapolis and I didn't go for a run! Love running around the trail system in the Twin Cities, but after long work days, I decided to spend time with the family and I was too lazy to get up early to run then. I have planned on getting up early for runs about 300-400 times in the last 3 years and actually managed it about 5 times. Each time I scared my wife, because she thought I must've gotten abducted or something.
This run didn't go too far, as we had to deal with fresh snow and the trails were mid-calf deep and instead of running I was post-holing. It really is a tremendous workout, only I was not up for it that day. I used the winter spikes I got from my wife for christmas, but they already broke after that short run. They were tremendous on the icy sections, as I had fantastic grip and didn't slide at all. I cut it short by a mile and ended it with 2. Looked forward to the weekend to finally have a real run again
beyond 2 or 3 miles.

Sun, Jan 10: 7 miles! Felt like an actual run geared for racing! Had 6 EZ (easy) miles and one mile at hard pace. The paces are based on effort and not time. Due to the snow/ice and dare I mention temperatures (-8F/-22C) I went a bit slower than I would normally go, but it felt great. No wind and a lot of sun. Ran by the Dakota Nature Park in Brookings, SD. Other than in Madison, I had the right clothing and therefore the temps were no issue. Still feel my hip a bit, but I think the exercises and hot/cold therapy will pay dividends before too long. Completely loved the crunching sound of the snow beneath my feet. One of my favorite things about winter running, other than my frost beards!

That's a wrap. 'Til next week!