Backyard Trail Run

 Shorts in Feb ...peachy I would say!    Logged a little 6.2 Ker looping the backyard trail @ 7C ... a balmy Feb day.  

Long at the Y - Running on empty

46Ks logged on the track at the Y yesterday.     From time to time certain statements others say stick one of them being a comment by Doug Barber in regards to Gels " I never used those things".   So often we blame our short comings on the lack of calories...truth b e told you can never get enough calories.   I have been experimenting running on empty...no calories what so ever.  Yesterdays run at the Y was done at a solid 6:00 pace with no fade what so ever as a matter of fact the fastest 10K segment was between 30 and 40Ks.   Most important however is Hydration and Electrolytes...  took in 2.5L of water and 4 Eload caps over teh 4hrs12mon of running.   Another thing that is really cool is all my micro breaks.   Every K past 5K I would stop long enough to take in a gulp of water.  I noticed an interesting phenomena in the late stages my HR would spike a bit when I stopped then lower a bit when I started running again!    The Run felt very solid ...no GI issues a tiny bit of foot pain but nothing I couldn't manage but it is time to replace the Hooka's .    Going long in races I certainly will Fuel but I am going to place more emphasis on Hydration and Electrolytes.  Every winter has a theme and this year its been about "running on  empty".    

 

Lunch

5K the usual way tonight on my meal break.

2R2

Second run second consecutive day doing so.  Just a little 5ker logged this eve on my meal break.  

Snowshoe Trail Run

About 10cm of fresh "heavy" snow made for a fantastic snowshoe  running.  Soft,  firm , stable is the best way to describe it.   Sure enjoyed todays run and wished I had more time to keep going.   Logged a total of 5.8 quality Ks ... HR below says it all

2 Run Wed

2nd run today hitting the treadmill for another 7Ker.  Once again I felt like just running and running and running but I had to get back to work.

Yaktrax and Gortex

It was a good day for Yaktrax and Gortex logging 5.4 Ks on the backyard trail this afternoon before work.  It was fairly warm around teh freezing mark and snowing heavily which made it allot of fun.   I really enjoyed the run and would have like to have let going for  awhile but I had things to do today.   I was dressed comfortably wearing tights,  long sleeve tech T and a shell.  

 

Longer at lunch

Another 7Ker with 3 fartleks done on my meal break this evening.  

This Evening

I am working eves and did a little 5Ker on my meal break.

Slip Sliding

5.5 ks of slip sliding around running the backyard trail this afternoon.

Y Run

36 km logged on the track at the Owen Sound Y today,  Ran 34 km @ 6:00 pace then walked 2 km.

  

7Ks for lunch sans 3 fartleks for desert

Mixed it up a bit today logging 7K the usual way on my meal break today.

Going long at the Y tomorrow.  

Lunch Run

5K the usual way today on my meal break.

Two Run Wednesday

 Was either going to go Skiing or Run after work.   Decided that a Snowshoe would be fun with a few cm of fresh snow so I headed out back to my loop.   Logged a 5Ker in just a little under an hour.   Finishing up at around 6pm it was still bright out.   Its great that the after 4pm option without lights is now an option again.

Tadah!

Broke the mold logging 7K@5;00 pace with 3 4:45 .2K fartleks thrown in for good measure.   HR didn't creep into Zone 3 not even breaking 139... yipe!   Mentally it was easier deciding to go a tad longer  ... routine running sucks!  

Sharing Lunch

Side by side treadmill running with Patrick today.   Having a little company in the Gym sure makes the time slip away.    Did another routine 5Ker today on my meal break.

Monday

Back to work and back to the treadmill today.  Had some company in the Gym ,  Patrick was running on the new treadmill so I ran on the old one.   I like the feel of the old one better!    Logged my usual 5Ker.

Sunday Trail

It was 7C warmer on Sunday at -13C so I ditched the Ski Pants ,  strapped on Snowshoes and headed to the backyard trail.     When I got back tot he loop the 12 laps I did Saturday made for a rather nicely packed trail  so I ditched the Snowshoes!     Ran for 1hrs54min and covered 10.9 km loving every minute of it.   Every step was an adventure .... very uneven slip sliding away but holly smokes what a great workout.   The distance logged in no way reflects the effort.   The 20+ Ks logged in the backyard this past weekend were what I would call " quality miles ".  Next weekend its going to be a 3-4 hour LSD at the Y.

Sundays metrics ...

Life Happens

 The end of this week went every way other then planned....Life Happens!   I had to say goodbye to a 13 year old friend our family's beloved Golden Retriever.  If you loved a dog and had to go through this then you know whats going on.  Needless to say Fridays Run as part of the "February Challenge" didn't happen.  Lack of sleep and the need to be close to loved ones made for a DNS at the Oracle Race.  Only a few days earlier I was really looking forward to this race but that all changed ...  Life Happens!  

 I thought about running at the Y today.   Grant and Anne were there but instead I decided to brave the -20C ,  gear up and go for a Snowshoe Run and it turned out to me quite magical.  

 I was pretty comfortable ,  maybe slightly warm running at the -20C so I want to make record of it.....

 Tights ,  Wind Proof Underwear,  Ski Pants and Knee High Gators with Cross Country Knee High Ski Socks with Marino Wool then the Adidas Super Nova Gortex Shoes.    Up top was a Mizuano Breath Thermal with a second Thermal Shirt then my Shell.  Topped off with a full Balaclava ,  Ski Helmet with Googles ... the tress get allot lower when it Snows.    My hand ware was an over the top Glove from MEC.    20 minutes into the run I unzipped the coat a bit and was for the most part pretty comfortable.  

 There was around a foot of fresh snow so I was breaking trial for the first few laps.   It sure got allot easier as I went along and I was able to pick up the pace a bit towards the end.    Snowshoe running isn't easy its a totally awesome workout.  I originally set out with 5K in mind but I was feeling good so I decided to go on.  
 In total I was out for 2 hours in -20C weather logging 10.3Ks.  This is the longest Snowshoe Run tom date and probably the longest time I have spent Running outside at -20C!  

Todays metrics ...

Frozen thoughts...

Another 5Ker done on today's lunch break .... on my mind was 25 for 25 on the weekend.   Thats 25 km at -25 C yupper!

Lunch Run

5K the usual way today on my meal break .

Lunch Run

Yupper ,  same as yesterday a 5Ker on my lunch break!

Back to work

5 km on the treadmill on my meal break today.   Not nearly as interesting as the last 5 days but I am always glad to turn a work day into a fitness opportunity.  

Trail Sunday

5.7 km running on the backyard trail this afternoon.   It was a bit of a dry run in prep for the -20C Oracle on Saturday.    Tights ,  Ski Pants and Knee high gaiters were in order.   Even wore my Balaclava and Ski Helmet ...yes I was hot but that was the plan.    Everything worked out really good so I have a plan for the cold cold cold Oracle and I am really looking forward to the 25 km in Arctic like conditions.   Chilled afterwards in the forest and had a few brews before heading home.   Just a few pics from the run ...

Taking it to the streets!

Real mixed bag of running this week,  Treadmill,   Track, Snowshoe Trail and today it was the back roads of West Grey.   Did a little out and back on the 2nd logging 10Ks.   It wasn't cold just around the freezing mark but there was a biting SW wind on the way back.   Didn't overdress wearing a long sleeve tech T and a shell and of course tights.  

Snowshoe Friday

5.3 km snowshoe run done this afternoon.  Didn't really need the float but the ground was super uneven so I appreciated the stability.  

Track at the Y

 43K logged at the Y in Owen Sound today.   More or less just like last week...averaged around a 5:45 pace though 40k then did a 3k cool down.   Did no calories just 2.5l water and 4 eload zone caps...would have done 3l of water but someone swiped a bottle ....strange.   Figured next time I would lay some underwear across the top of the water bottles ...doubt anyone would touch them!  

Looping Snowshoe Run

The planned long run turned into a short one thanks to a little car trouble that required my immediate attention. Logged a lovely 5.4K Snowshoe Run looping my backyard trail. Its more like April 3 then Feb 3 ....the SAP is running with temperatures in the high single digits!

Lunch

5K done the usual way on my lunch break today.

What gives?

I the last week or so my cadence has increased making all the other metrics fall into place?  Running is such a fickle thing ... maybe it was those 11 reset days!

5K done the usual way on my meal break today.