well i have had the usual week monday to friday doing the daily 3 miles runs locally with my dog before tea! the stable cold conditions allowed the crisp snow conditions underfoot to be manageable for running without twisting me ankle or falling on my ass! Though i am tired of running so slowly as it is hard to get any speed up on what feels like sugar underfoot. Admittedly it was easy to be distracted by the sheer beauty of the frost formations on the trees like icy buds and the sparkling pavements and snowy blankets covering grassland like heavily glittered xmas cards. the hint of smoky logs pervaded the air and clung to my dog's coat for hours after our run. coupled with the myriad of rainbow lights decorating houses these sensational delights will link my memories of the marcothon and xmas for ever more!
andrew ran with me a couple of times during the week - well for a short while! his gym sessions are obviously now paying off as i can't keep him in sight now never mind keep up with him. even in my new shoes!!!! yes i gave in and bought a pair of trails on the advice of ultramarathoner debbs! debbie's fabulous blog [by the by - do give this a read - debbie says it all on her list of things she is looking forward to once this marcothon and this weather is over with!! numbers 3, 4, 7, 8 and 10 particularly pertinent to myself!! to that list i would add: not being openly ridiculed of laughed at for running in these conditions by people struggling to walk in them, having nice smooth hair that isn't a frizzy mess being washed every day, wearing normal clothes for more hours of the day than running clothes, enjoying a long run on ice free terrain, and being able to not have to think about my plan for the day just to fit my necessary daily run in!]
back to the topic in hand [or should i say on foot..] i ordered roclite 320 shoes for 3 reasons: debbie said they had great grip, they were grey and royal blue and they were on sale!! admittedly the soles looked fab and the heal had some cushioning - my normal trails are very flat and hurt my calves and hamstring if i use too often. so on thursday i gave them a try and the grip was great! i felt i could scale walls in them. didn't make me any faster [well maybe slightly] but they did give me more confidence that i wouldn't slip on the downhills. and i am positive i will be wearing them till the snow goes.
Saturday normally out long run was xmas day so we went for 5 miles only to give us time for the family festivities. Donna was now barking like an excited dog so had to cop out and rest up. in fact, like the sympathetic nurse that i am, when she came over to swap pressies i kept her outside and at least 5 feet away! with only a week to go in the marcothon i wasn't taking any chances!! i'd already run through a cold at the beginning of the month and didn't want another! so it was just jo-anne and i that ran saturday - and i was annoyed that i forgot my santa hat - not like me to miss out on a costume moment - was so jealous that jo-anne had hers on!!
Long run was now planned for sunday but on saturday jo-anne had now hurt herself falling on a family walk on xmas day on the whangie so just in case of injury she was icing up her ankle and resting up today. long run now planned for monday. Andrew was planning a run today so he said he'd do a few miles with me [if i can do a decent pace!!] so may do that. Best get my umph, umph, umph music on my new nano he got me for xmas if i want to have any chance of decent pace! so today's run will turn into my first speed session in ages!!
Nope - andrew was too tired for speed session!! managed 3 x 9 min/miles with a few skating manoeuvres that would make torvil and dean proud!! hopefully long run tomorrow!! want to get at least one more long run in before end of marcothon so monthly total milage over 150!
Nope - andrew was too tired for speed session!! managed 3 x 9 min/miles with a few skating manoeuvres that would make torvil and dean proud!! hopefully long run tomorrow!! want to get at least one more long run in before end of marcothon so monthly total milage over 150!
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