More Like It

And just like that, things are back to normal. Yesterday I set off on a 14 mile run and within about 10 minutes, I started to feel what has become an all too familiar feeling of just general fatigue. I had no desire to be running 1 more mile, let alone another 13. However, after continuing to struggle for a while longer, I eventually got into groove and was able to cruise for most of the run finishing at a 6:40 pace. The last hour of the run was probably the best I've felt in over a week. The lungs were relatively clear and the legs continue to feel unbelievably strong. Sometimes you just need to push through the fatigue on these runs, and thankfully, this was one of those days.

Today I wanted to test out that 3rd gear (OK, maybe 4th gear) that I've had so much trouble finding as of late. Since it has been snowing and windy for pretty much the whole day, I was confined to the treadmill, which makes running fast particularly difficult. I just hate doing tempo runs on the treadmill. It turns into an exercise of figuring out how I can keep my sweat contained to my little rectangle, and then how long I can keep my eyes occupied so I don't peak down at the time and mileage every 10 seconds. It's maddening really. However, today was one of the better ones. I did a 2 mile warm-up and then cranked it up to 10.5 MPH at 1% incline for the next 4 miles and just cruised. I won't be so cocky as to say it was easy, but I have definitely had much more difficult treadmill tempo runs. Finished things up with a nice 2 mile cooldown for a total of 8 miles.

Overall I'm happy with how January has gone. I've gotten in 308 miles for the month which is a new record for me and January. January is usually one of my more difficult months when it comes to training. I'm dealing with cold weather and then for the last two years, I've been trying to figure out exactly how to fit in the miles with a new addition to the family. Luckily baby Jack has just recently figured out this whole "living" thing and has become quite the joy to have around, as you can see. You'll have to excuse the shoddy camera work. I'm new at this.