Weekly Running Report: December 20, 2020

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  How's the weather treating you?

This week had some weather challenges in the northeast. Started with a rain day, followed by snow later in the week that may stick around for a bit... 

Reminder, if you're just skimming my blog, lol..  reminder that I also have gear and race discount tabs/pages to check out as well. :) #BibRavePro

My Week in Training: 

Monday: 14 miles. Day off from work, trail day, yay! Rain, heavy at times, and a bit chilly.. Booo... Orig wanted to get up to 16 miles since my last long run was short, but with the forecast, will be happy to get anything above 10 today. It's all above plan anyway, I'll take it. Sun, hydrated well, foam rolled. Did have Sunday Funday beverages, but behaved and hydrated. Didn't stay up late either. Although I occasionally do when I have time off.  Didn't set an alarm, but didn't want to sleep all day either. Up before 7. Coffee, got a good workout in. Knew that rain was in the forecast, but didn't see much yet. Oh, it started just before I was ready. 'doh! It was light, but got heavy by my start time. Dressed fine for the day. Backup shoes (poor shoes, used to be my favs, now only come out to get roughed up , lol...) Backup headphones, ziplock bags for ph, etc, hat/gloves. And ready to go. 

My trail Pennypack Creek. Parked in the middle, Welsh and Terwood Rd. Doing the side to ByBerry Rd first. Pacing was comfortable early, probably faster than I should have, but didnt pull back for a while. Dealing with the rain was fine. Ditched my hat early, but gloves on/off throughout. warm sweat vs cold/numb back and forth. lol.. Puddles to avoid most of the way. Definitely submerged my shoes a bit. Way back from ByBerry, hydrated at my car (5.5 ish mi). Off to he more gradual incline side to Rockledge Park. Starting to feel it a bit. And questioning my decisions. lol.. Legs stinging a bit, and getting heavy. Fun times. Along the way, knew that I wanted to do more miles, but wasn't sure where of if I was really up to it. Decided to leave the trail at Rockledge end to keep going away from my car, so I couldn't end early. Steep hill to start, lost a few more seconds here, and knew I would never get them back.. lol.. Down their main street to a busy intersection and turnaround and back. Tired by the time I got back. about 3 miles added. Rockledge to midway parking lot to finish, hit 14 as I wrapped around the lot. Last mi or so not so much fun, but done. Glad I added where I did. If I added on a side trail  on the way back, would be easier to cut it sort, or if I passed my car to go back to the other side, even easier to quit. 

Didn't pause for any pics throughout, just a post run pic. Trail was almost completely empty. Only saw two runners today, and a few walkers early. And the ranger car once, and a police car once.

Full pics on Facebook

Tuesday: 7 miles. For as tired as I was yesterday when I was done, felt pretty good this morning. Hydrated, foam rolled yesterday, decent rest. Up before my alarm, but waited it out. Coffee, short workout, stretched, feeling good, but wasn't too confident yet. Out the door by 6. Tues, is usually 1mi-5k day for me, but with a looming snow storm Wed/Thu, going to see if I can do 5-6 today in case I cut those days short. Pacing, comfortable 7:50 early. occasionally feeling it in my shins, calves, quads, but felt good for the most part. Couple inclines before my fav hill at 3.1, still maintaining a bit. Faded up the hill, but still sub 8. Decision to make as I approach 4. (route change from in 4 for 6). Going for 6. Enjoying the brisk running. Didn't feel like I was pushing it too much either. Maybe a little. Incline and hill in 5, another decision made. straight away to end at 6, or add up side streets on the way back for 7. pace was right around 8, and knew I would drop with the additional inclines, didn't care. 7 done.   

Wednesday: 6 miles. Snow in the forecast, hasn't started yet. Going for my normal wed 6! Tues, hydrated, foam rolled, decent rest. Up just before my alarm. Coffee, short workout, felt pretty decent. Out the door shortly after 6. Brisk! Felt decent to start, but legs got heavy early. Going for a comfy day, we'll see. Inclines added up. Felt them before my fav hill. Decided to rethink my route today to see what I can get in with just sticking to my neighborhood streets. Usually after zigzagging, I do a loop around as well, which involves sidewalks that I know wont get shoveled. I may have avoided my hill, but still got inclines in. lol.. Got my 6 in. Think I could zigzag twice to get about 5, even more repetitive. We'll see. How the snow and streets are tomorrow! 

Miscellaneous Cardio: .5 hr shoveling.

Thursday: 5 miles. Wed, well, it snowed! Didn't start till after 1 pm, but it didn't stop after that. With some wintry mix in there as well! Went out for a round of shoveling last night hurt my shoulder early. But got the main sidewalk and driveway entrance done. Checked it again before bed, looked somewhat ok. Up a couple tmes, but decent rest. Slept until my alarm. Passing the windows on my way to grab coffee... Looked like I didn't do any shoveling, 'doh! Short workout, only core, no weights. Hurt shoulder and will be shoveling again. Yaktrax on and ready to go! Plows went by last night, but the snow didn't stop and they waited to do the next round. Barely looked like they didn't anything as well. 

Going to be a good leg workout at a slower pace. Once up my short steep hill, was able to see at least one set of tire tracks most of the way. Occasionally getting better push off the compressed snow, going back and forth. Did a similar route as yesterday. Zig zag my normal streets, without going around the outside loop (busy road). Could tell the sidewalks/parking lots of the loop, wouldn't have been touched yet. Pretty much staying in the middle of my neighborhood streets. Only had to deal with a couple cars going by. Of course as I was finishing, the plows started up. lol.. Pacing: comfortable around 9, but it was a good workout. Felt completely safe. Once done, did about 40 min of shoveling. Heavy wet snow. Fun stuff.. Lost track of time and was a few late to work. lol.. Ooops.. no worries. 

Miscellaneous Cardio: .5+ hr shoveling.

Friday: 5 miles. Decent rest, but up around 3, and tired when the alarm went off. Was not motivated to get started. Coffee, short workout, and got moving. Crazy how once you get moving it's not as bad! lol.. Out the door around 6, although spent a few extra minutes getting my gear ready. Fail on prepping the night before. Had two pairs of shoes ready. Put on my current trainers and had my yaktrax (on retired shoes) ready in case. Out the door, stoop mostly clear, but some ice. Went out and checked the street in front, clear in middle, black ice on sides and intersection. Going with my regular shoes and off I go. Feeling the first incline from the go. Not sure if it's the recent extra miles, hills, shoveling, whatever. First few streets, pretty clear in the middle. Still cautious though. Especially at my turnarounds (plenty of ice at the end of the streets), intersections that have water sit, etc. Pacing, early, was better than it felt. Definitely not working on speed under these conditions, just going with the flow. Of the about 13 streets, only two ish weren't in great shape. Had to be more cautious there. Traffic wasn't an issue. Only had to pull to the side for about three cars.  Avoiding the loop around my hood for a few days (sidewalks, mostly not well maintained), found that I can get 5-6 with only doubling a few streets. 

Saturday: 12 miles. Long run day, trail day, yay! Fri, carb load, foam roll, relax. Decent rest. Adjusted my alarm by a few minutes, up before my alarm. 18 degrees at start time, most likely snow/ice on the trail, planning on getting there in full daylight (so I can see any dangerous conditions), around 7. My trail Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle, Welsh and Terwood Rd. Parking lot completely covered. Trails as well. Not sure why I thought sun may have melted some. Glad I packed my yaktrax just in case. Plan was to do 12, so I can hit 50 tomorrow with just 1 and then rest. Immediately rethinking that, we'll see. Did the more gradual incline side to Rockledge Park first. Immediately saw tire tracks, thank goodness. Portions the ranger drives had tracks. Pacing, started slow and comfortable, gradually got it sub 9. Tracks narrow in some places, occasionally carefully switching tire lanes. Tracks were compacted, got a decent push. Saw very few people out there, went off tire lane when passing, not much footing there.. Places where the trail crosses streets, ice to be extra cautious. End of the trail at Rockledge, can see where the ranger stopped, only about .2 for a bridge and then the end. Return to midway. Didnt enjoy portions of the beginning, but got more used to everything. Hydrated at my car, off to the more wooded side to ByBerry Rd. Hoping the ranger did this side as well. Small area from parking lot the ranger wouldn't do, cant tell yet. Entrance, they did, yay! To ByBerry and back. Hands were warm, dropped the gloves at hydrating, fingers totally refroze, took a bit, finally defrosted. Took some pics along the way, but not all the points I wanted, hands a bit cold. Lol.. back from ByBerry, had about 1.3 as I passed the parking lot. Off to the other side again for .7 and back. Glad I didn't adjust my orig goal. Cold, challenging at times, but manageable. Never felt unsafe, but did come close to rolling ankles from the way I landed. 

Sidenotes:

clipped my ankles once or twice with yaktrax. (Metal coil), but that's my fault. 

Saw a fox, it didn't stick around for pics. 

Saw a couple snowmen, didn't take pics, some dogs visited them. 

Tire tracks were nice, but the compacted snow may become compacted ice when the snow is gone. Trade offs.. 

Full pics on Facebook

Sunday: 1 mi. Saturday, hydrated very well, foam roll, relaxed. A couple beverages, but well behaved. Tried sleeping in, made it to 6:30. Coffee and taking my time. Eventually out the door after 8. Doing one mile to cap the week at 50. Going to try to push it a bit. Have to do a different 1 mi route, my normal 1 mi route is almost all sidewalk, usually takes a while for some people on that route to take care of it. Focus on breathing and foot strike. Starts with a short steep hill, 1 min pace alert was better than expected. Mostly level rest of the way with one incline on the way back. About 3 min in, turn down one street for a few and back. It was rough, but most alerts started with a 6, the one or two above 7, had me push it again. Better than expected for how I've been feeling this week with the weather challenges, etc. 

Miscellaneous Cardio: .5+ hr shoveling. (Wed/thu were needed areas, today was more of nice to have done). Back patio, at least an inch thick of ice! ended up only doing the door, steps, and path. Don't need the rest, not hurting my back for it. lol.. 

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 50 miles running completed 

Strength Training: Goal 150 minutes, 181 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 7 days 

Miscellaneous Cardio:  1.5 hrs yard work. (shoveling)

Training Plan: Not on a plan at the moment, but use the below:

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: (and year end goal)

Calendar is clear 'till next year! 

But.. I did set a new goal for year end! Over the summer, during #GVRAT1000k, I saw that I was on pace for my first 2k year. But as #GVRAT1000k ended, I started to take (and needed) rest days. Followed my marathon training plan to a T. Between cutting back after #GVRAT100k and then a taper, fell behind a bit for 2k. After my marathon, saw that if I had a decent Oct, I could get back on target. Tried not to force the issue (too much) and now I'm back on track!

UPDATE!!! Passed 2000 miles on Monday. Didn't celebrate. Wasn't going to push it, but 2100 may be doable. (previous high 1750). 2044 mi as of 12/20/2020

Do you have any more races this year? Or year end goals?

Be sure to check out my Race and Gear discount pages. #BibRavePro ;)

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races(virtual or IRL), please remember to review them on BibRave.com! 

Weekly Running Update: November 18, 2018

Hi Everyone!

It's been a couple weeks since NYC.. I think I'll do another marathon? The Philadelphia Marathon!

My Week in Training:

Monday 4 miles before work. Sunday was rest day, but was also a late Philadelphia Eagles game. Was up way past my bed time. Up till at least 11:30, and up before my alarm on Monday. Not as tired as expected. Foam rolled before I head out. Weather getting a bit chilly this week, the brisk air felt great!

Tuesday: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the run streak. Run streak day 1,025. Poured overnight. Last night, the forecast showed it may end by 6, well, it didn't. Was still coming down hard when I got up, but lightened up a bit. Wasn't looking forward to stepping out, but wasn't bad once I did.

Wednesday: 3.11 miles before work. Went to bed early, up before my alarm. Took my time getting ready. Foam rolled.Out the door before 6. Legs starting to feel a bit fresh. First mile was under 8 most of the way, reduced to a comfortable pace after the hills. Felt pretty good overall.

Thursday: 1 mile Rest day. One for the run streak. Run Streak day 1,027. There was a possibility that today would be my last streak day. Had a eye dr appointment on Tuesday. They said I may have a retina tear and had an appointment today to verify. No symptoms, but high anxiety. Obviously my eyes are more important than missing a couple weeks of running, but feeling relatively healthy, was definitely caught off guard. Did my scheduled mile, pushed a bit hard. Also did a few min of yard work after. Dr appointment, no tear, maybe eventually down the road due to my level of astigmatism, but good for now!

Friday: 1 mile before work. Thursday, forecast of a coating to an inch. They lied! Snowed all afternoon, changing to rain/wintry mix overnight. First Yaktrax run of the season! Mush most of the way, good to have these on just in case!

Saturday: 2 miles. Relaxed pace. Hydrated like heck, Epsom salt bath, and foam rolled.

Sunday: 26.2 miles?! The Philadelphia Marathon! Sorry, kept this one under wraps. Before NYC, I was already planning a spring marathon, but after NYC, I couldn't wait that long. I strayed from my plan in NYC and suffered from it, driving me nuts. I monitored my recovery, signed back up for Philly before the deadline. Still monitoring recovery going in, prepared for a "no go" if something came up. More details to follow in a race day recap!

Marathon Training Program: image from Coach Jenny Hadfield's training plans. 

Two weeks between NYC and Philly Marathons: Image from Hal Higdon:

Total weekly miles: 38 miles
Total cross training: 20 min (taking it "easy" this week)

Fall Schedule: 

With the TCS NYC Marathon/and Philly Marathon coming to it's conclusion, so does my race schedule. Depending on how recovery goes, may squeeze in a fun run in before winter. Will be sure to let you know! 

Spring Schedule 

03.31.19 - The Love Run! Love the Love Run Philadelphia half marathon! Check out my review from last yr, here. 

04.06.19 - Hot Chocolate 15k Philadelphia. Use code BRHCPhilly to receive a free smart phone arm band. Check out my preview, here. 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G 

Weekly Running Update: February 11th, 2018

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well! How's everyone's training going?

Couple days mixed up, but got my miles in!

Monday: 1 mile after work. I did my 50 min scheduled run for the day on Sunday and flipped Sunday rest day to today.  Sunday was the Super Bowl! Go Eagles! Definitely much needed rest after last night's Eagles win! Pinally! I would have taken off work today, but my backup already had it scheduled. It was a very long day. Lots of coffee and water. Through the motions for the streak day mile!

Tuesday: 3.11 miles after work. A little more well rested than yesterday! A bit chilly, but not freezing, decided to go with lighter layers and work on breathing and pacing..  Felt pretty good overall.

Wednesday: 4 miles. Work from home day, lunch run. I slacked on foam rolling/stretching on Mon/Tues. Made a point to get it in today. We had some sleet/freezing rain overnight, early morning. It had warmed up a bit, but not enough by lunch time. Time to test out my new Yaktrax! I recently retired my Yaktrax Pro's and purchased the Runners. Will be sure to write a review at some point! At lunch time there was a light rain going, wanted to keep my upper body warm, may have overdressed, I was pretty hot! Had to shed my hat/gloves early! Felt safe with the yaktrax. They definitely require a bit of extra effort from the calves/quads (and maybe glutes). lol basically hind legs up!

Thursday: 3.11 miles.. early! Yesterday's ice was washed away last night, poured all day! Had my alarm set to get up early. But woke up in the middle of the night, thoughts of the day ahead, got up after tossing and turning for a bit. Was still feeling the extra effort from the yaktrax run, but got it done.

Thursday social activity: Eagles Superbowl parade! I have a few more pics on my IG if you want to check them out!

Friday: 5 miles after work. Foam rolled and stretched this morning, hydrated throughout the day. Wasn't really thinking about tonight's run, but it started out well and went with it.

Saturday: Long run day! 12 miles! Back to double digits, back to carb loading the night before. Friday night = pasta night! Also got two rounds of foam rolling in (morning and night). Good night's rest, up before my alarm. Worked for a few minutes to kill time. Had my coffee and light breakfast. Got to the trail (Pennypack Creek) around 7:30.  My trail is 5.25 miles (10.5 back and forth). Parked in the middle. Did the side with a gradual incline first. Back to the mid point, I turned around and did a few more minutes on that side. I fueled around the 45 min mark. Passed my car around 6 mi, hydrated a bit. Over to the other side that has a hill towards the end. Got to the end of that side, left the trail for a few minutes and did a lap around a nearby business complex, back to the trail, refueled around 1:30, hit 12 miles just before the parking lot. Goal was to start with an 8:20 pace and fade to about 8:40, was able to maintain my desired pace. Will probably let myself fade a bit more for the 13-14 milers.

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the streak. Streak day 750! Not sure if 1000 is my goal, but 3/4 way there! Woke up to pouring rain. Took my time getting out there. Overdressed a bit, but rather be hot when it's raining. Wanted to just get it over with, went with a 5k pace and worked on breathing. Felt good overall. Will take it easy remainder of the day. Hydrate, stretch, and relax!

This was week 8 of half marathon training. Using the training program below. 

To credit the images, it was pulled Coach Jenny Hadfield's training plans. 

Future races registered for:

• 03/25/18 - Philadelphia Love Run half marathon. Love the love run! Check out my 2017 review here. 
• 04/07/18 - Hot Chocolate 5k/15k!! (15k) Join me using code “BRHCPHILLY18” to score a BONUS Hot Chocolate branded cap!  

https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/philadelphia

Check out my Hot Chocolate 15k race preview post here! 
• 04/14/18 - Newport Rhode Races! Half marathon. They do have 5k and full marathon options as well! Use code "BibRave" to save 10% on race entry!

runri.us/newport-race-info/

Check out my race preview post here! 

• 05/06/18 - Broad Street Run!  Assuming I win the lottery! My 2017 review here. 

Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Weekly Running Update: January 7th, 2018

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year!

I'm not going to do an entire post for my 2018 goals. Here's what they are so far:

1. Respect recovery days. Cut back on Tues/Thu. (current training program has those days listed as strength training/non running days.) 
2. Foam roll (I just got 2 rollers for xmas, need to master it) and stretch more.
3. PR: 2 pr's (half and full marathons). The half seems far off, hopefully the first 2 goals help get me there. 
4. Trails: check out more trails!
5. Become a better blogger. I'm still new to this, I'm sure there's some tweaking I can do.  

My week in running:

Monday: 5+ miles. A bit tired from NYE festivities and extreme cold temps had me taking my time to get ready. The streets are clear, but I prefer to do trail runs when I can. It's been a couple days since the last snow, but not warm enough to melt it away from the trail. Yaktrax day it is. Could feel the extra effort needed for the snow run, but able to maintain my desired pace. Wore proper layers, the temp was not an issue.

Tuesday: 3.11 miles after work. Back to work after Near Year's! I won't complain (much) about work here. But with everyone else back in the office today and seasonal spikes, it was non stop madness. Today's after work run hit the spot! Most of the sidewalks still had some traces of ice, kept it to the streets!

Wednesday: 4 miles. Work from home day, lunch run! Wind chill/heat index 35, it's a heat wave! Shins were a bit tight, I will "try" to do some stretching before tomorrow. Tomorrow should be fun, 1-3 inches of snow to wintry mix, may be interesting!

Thursday: 3.11 miles early! Forecast was a coating to two inches overnight and a second storm in the afternoon. Decided to head out before work. Was Just a dusting on the streets so far, but coming down good. Glad I got it in early, ended up snowing all day! 

Friday: 4.7 mi (40 min) run after work. Going to be a cold weekend! -8 wind chill! Wore ample layers, was fine temp wise, except hands were frozen for the first mile. There was still some slush from yesterday, wore the yaktrax just in case. Some clear paths, but better be safe than sorry, especially with black ice. 

Saturday: 9 miles. This was not a fun one. The snow was still powder at the trail. Made for some tough running. Thursday's snow was accompanied by some serious winds, was hoping the drifts would have been to the side, was not the case. Also hoping the ranger would have diven by to compact it a bit, also not the case. When there's no snow, the ranger is almost always driving the path. They state no winter maintenance, and it holds true. Thought about cutting it short several times, especially at the mid point as I passed my car, it wasn't pretty, but got it done. Oh, and did I mention it was cold? lol

Sunday: 1 mile. Rest day, one for the streak. Streak day 715. "Slept in" till 7 and plans in a bit. Wasn't excited to go back out into the cold, but it's "just one". If I was going much further, would of had another layer on, figured the cold may get me moving. Did the loop outside of my neighborhood, which I know isn't always shoveled well, couple houses had ice patches, but manageable. 

This was week 3 of half marathon training for the Philadelphia Love Run, aka #LoveRunPhilly. Am using the below training program: 

To credit the images, it was pulled Coach Jenny Hadfield's training plans. 

 

Future races registered for/considering:

• 03/25/18 - Philadelphia Love Run half marathon. Love the love run! Check out my 2017 review here. 
• 04/07/18 - Hot Chocolate 5k/15k!! (15k) Join me using code “BRHCPHILLY18” to score a BONUS Hot Chocolate branded cap!  

https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/philadelphia

• 05/06/18 - Broad Street Run!  Assuming I win the lottery! My 2017 review here. 

Good luck to everyone with the resolutions and training! Kick some butt! 

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G

Weekly Running Update: December 17th, 2017.

Hi Everyone!

How's everyone doing with their training during the holiday season?? Such a busy/exciting time of yr. Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

My week in running:

Monday: 5 miles. Day off from work, able to hit up the trail (Pennypack Creek)! Rare, slept in a bit, 7:15! No major plans till later, took my time getting ready. Temps hit 40 yesterday, snow around home was clear from the streets. Wasn't sure how the trail would be, packed the Yaktrax just in case. Glad I did. There were spots that were clear, but most of the way still had some type of snow. Mostly slush, but some packed ice, and a bit of powder. Felt safe, but definitely slowed down a bit, could feel the extra effort from calves up to the glutes.

New sign up, my rail trail has some history, woah! Rip. 

Birthday celebration #5 (or so). Dinner with my pops at Iron Abbey. Pic below is their sangria, and I had Stone Enjoy by IPA. Second pic is a Peanut Butter Bomb (a ganache)

Tuesday: 4 mi after work. First day back to work after a four day weekend, blah. After work, ran a couple errands first. Gets dark a few minutes out of work, so was definitely a night run! The hills got me today. Not sure if it was the extra effort from the snow runs, or the long day, but they got me. Will be sure to get some revenge on them at a later point. 

Wednesday: 3.11 mi. My work from home day, lunch time run! Today, was a bit chilly! Reports the wind chill could be in the teens to single digits! I'm sure we'll get a bunch of days like this through the season, but today was the first. First time busting out the running pants. Still trying to remember what temps, what layers, but I'm good in shorts 30 to high 20's. So. lunch time, ready to run! Still tight in some spots, and pants may have added to that, but wasn't bad. There were some points where wind was coming at me as going up hills, but got through it. Not sure what temp I'll need the face-mask, but was okay today. Guess the sun helped! ha!

Thursday: 5 miles after work. Wednesday night, it snowed about an inch. The roads were clear by the time I got out of work, but several sidewalks were untouched or icy. I was forced to stick to the streets. My neighborhood route involves some zigzagging, then followed by a big loop around, had to cut out that loop. Found my self doing straightaways back and forth and then moving on to the next block. This felt good early, and was able to maintain. Cutting out the sidewalk loop portions also cut out some of the worse hills!   

Friday: 5k before work. I woke up early, before 5. Tossed and turned for a few and then started thinking about running. That's it, I'm up! Had my coffee, did a short workout and then head out around 6. The wind chill was around 20, but felt good. Did more straightaways, but was able to incorporate a couple hills at the end.  

Below pics of the sunrise are flash vs no flash: 

Saturday: 8 miles. It snowed Friday afternoon into early evening. The township wasn't prepared for as much as we got. I had to choose between slushy and ice roads or the trail, which would still have all the snow. Went to the trail. Still not on a training plan for a few days, so went with no real agenda. But knew I wanted to do more than 5. Got to the trail after 9, the ranger didn't drive by yet to leave any tracks, plenty of powder, but surprisingly other morning people there already, plenty of footsteps already compacted some of the snow. It was a yaktrax day for sure. Tried to do a steady 8:45 for half marathon pace, but that went out the door quickly, definitely extra effort due to the snow. My trail is just over 2.75 in each direction, park my car in the middle, passed it at 5.5, stopped to hydrate, fuel, considered leaving, but got a second wind to do a few more. Snow running is fun at first, but it is work! 

I recently wrote a review of Yaktrax pros, if you are active in the snow, check it out here. 

Stopped at one of the bridges I pass by and shot a vid from the other side of the water. I never go on that side of the bridge, but found some more trails to explore. Not sure if they are suitable for running or geared more towards hiking. Will explore more in the spring. 

Sunday: rest day, one for the streak. Streak day 694. Most of the snow has melted from the streets, a couple spots of ice on the sidewalks still. Either they didn't get enough sun, or the people did a lousy job shoveling. Was clear most of the way except a few houses. Was a brisk 28 degrees, but 80% humidity. At least we have that going for us. haha.. 

December goals:

• Have fun! No race training for a few more weeks, enjoy the trail when you can and do whatever I want! Update: calculated days till race day. 14 week training plan starts 12/17! 
• 135 miles. No way I'll get 1700 miles for the year, but 1650 may be doable. 

Future races registered for/considering:

• 03/24/18 - Phillies 5k. Have never done races back to back, already registered for the Love Run, but would hate to miss the Phillies 5k. "Free" baseball tickets!  2017 review here!
• 03/25/18 - Philadelphia Love Run half marathon. Love the love run! Check out my 2017 review here. 
• 04/07/18 - Hot Chocolate 5k/15k!! (15k) Join me using code “BRHCPHILLY18” to score a BONUS Hot Chocolate branded cap!  

https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/philadelphia

• May, 2018. (Date TBD) Broad Street Run!  Assuming I win the lottery! My 2017 review here. 

What is everyone currently training for? Signed up for a race? New to running, or maintaining until a race peaks interest? Whatever it is, good luck to everyone with their training, keep kicking butt!!

If you do any races, please remember to review them on BibRave.com! Your opinions help other runners decide what races to run! #BibChat Follow me on BibRave: Joe G