JoeG : Weekly Running Report: February 7, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well!

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?

How's the weather in your area? Affecting your training? Still getting it done or adding other cross training to make up for it? We've had some now, black ice, and more snow on the way (outside of Philly).

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

This was Week 9 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training:

Monday: 6 miles... Sunday, focused on recovery, hydrate, foam roll, massage gun, relax. A couple SundayFunday beverages, but well behaved.. So, Sunday. Current forecast of 10-15 inches of snow Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning. Started earlier than forecasted, snow for a couple hours, wintry mix, and back to snow. Plows out at least once by Monday morning. Well rested. Coffee, short workout (30 min (core only, avoiding weights until I'm done shoveling). Out the door by 6. Going to try not to worry about pace for a few days and just get 'r done. Soft snow, with tire tracks from the plow. Manageable, but with the yaktrax and snow, definitely feeling inclines and hills. Won't be doing my fav (or least fav hill) for a while. Loop around the hood is sidewalk only (busy rd), that won't be shoveled, and even when it is, there are a few slackers (residential and/or bus). But I did add one hill that is not part of my normal route. 450 ft elev gain overall which is about normal for my normal 6 mi. Round 2 of shoveling done before work. Briefly looked like it was going to clear up, nope, snow all day. Round 3 shoveling done after work/dinner.

Tuesday: 7 mi. Monday, hydrated, foam roll, and tired. Decent rest, up just before my alarm. Coffee, 30 min core workout, and out the door by 6. Another round of snow overnight! Plows done last night, but another good coating. They were just getting started as I was. A little more rough today. Every other street hasn't been plowed done yet. Working through powder. Tired. Briefly thought about cutting back and adding to another day, didn't want to stray from the plan. Pretty similar route as yesterday, although I did add a mile around a apartment complex that has a nice loop. Thought it would have been a little more clear in that complex. Nope! Round 4 of shoveling done before work. (actually late to work) usually done running by 7. A few min late. Work at 7:30, wasn't don't and clean until 7:45. No worries. Snow is supposed to clear up, hope it finally does! Update: light shoveling later in the day, not that bad.

Wednesday: 3.11 miles. Tues, hydrated well, foam rolled, could of gotten a better night's rest! In bed on time, but wasn't ready. And then up every other hour throughout the night. Coffee all day (for sure!). Shoulder still hurt from shoveling, but getting back into weights today. 45 min strength training, and out the door a few min after 6. Supposed to be "non-running" day, and even thought about doing just one for the streak today, but ended up doing 5k. Cautious 5k, don't think I could of done much speed anyway, legs recovering, but still tired from snow running. etc. Slush and black ice in spots. Cautious throughout, but almost fell after my run! Took my eyes off the road during my cool down. Strolling down the street, looking at my devices, almost slid across black ice at the corner intersection, 'doh! Wil be sure not to do that again!

Thursday: 6 miles. Wed, hydrated well, foam rolled and was sure to get a better night's rest! Up once, but much better! Coffee, workout (30 min now, 15 at lunch), roll my back out and out the door by 6. Heading out the door., can already tell there will be no speedwork yet.. black ice on my stoop and driveway. lol.. Once past the first intersection (right at the beginning of my run) Things got a little better. Center of the road was good. Still plenty of snow banks to the side (narrowing the street), but some clear street to work with. Each street isn't that far out and back, black ice at the turnarounds and intersections. Every other side street, can tell which ones are primary to the ER snow route vs secondary. Definitely a little more ice on the road every other street. My route is already shortened by not doing the loop around, have to do these streets, just cautiously. Got some decent strides in some of the clear areas, but not for long. And of course felt it as the hills added up. Pace better than how it felt, but still can't wait till normal conditions. Not sure how my long run is going to go, oh and there's another snow storm possibility on Sunday. booo. lol..

Friday: 4 miles. Thu, hydrated well, failed to foam roll, 'doh! Did participate in Thirsty Thursday a bit, but behaved. Up a few min past bed time, 9:30. Decent rest and up just before my alarm. Coffee, short workout, and out the door a few min after 6. Temps above freezing most of yesterday, but dropped back down. Snow melting, but a little refreeze. Was hoping the black ice would be gone, but still have a little. Rain in the forecast in a bit, but.. Snow to wintry mix for my run! Since I'm still not doing much speedwork, head straight towards my hills. Hills usually start around mi 2, did a straight line towards them, started around .75. Did each of my three hills avail twice. Probably had distance/time for another set, but worked my way back. Felt them. lol.. The wintry mix started laying a bit more on my way back, had to be pretty cautious the last mi or so. Ended up 300+ ft over 4 mi. Probably could of exceeded 400 in 4 mi if I did that one more round. Nah.. I was good with two rounds. lol.. Temps mid 40's later, hope more melts! But still too much snow to do a trail run tomorrow. :(

Saturday: Long run day, ~~trail day, yay~~! 16 miles. Fri, hydrated really well, foam rolled, carb load, and relaxed. Decent night's rest. Was not looking fwd to today's run. Still too much snow, not going to the trail today. keeping it 'hood. Two reasons why I wasn't looking fwd to it, first, my 7 mi route has some duplication, that means some streets will be quadrupled. Boring! Second reason.. hills! My 7 mi route has 500+ elevation gain. Knew this would be 11-1200+. Going to be rough. Two goals. No daydreaming. Streets are clear, but black ice at intersections and at the ends of the streets. Doing my 11 or so streets up to 4x, that's up to 40+ turnarounds with some black ice. Fun times. Second goal. Patience. Don't treat my first round like a normal 7 mi 'hood run. Keep comfortable pace to survive the second round. Up before my alarm and taking my time, hydrate, roll my back out, and out the door after 6:30. To start, head down my street, that I almost never run on, usually take off to the street that leads to rest of the 'hood. Added just a little. To my normal route, there is another street I have never run on right away! It's a nice hill! Remainder of the way is my normal route with full out and backs. The first mi was faster than planned, but continuously pulled back. Cruising in the 8:20's. Sunrise starting, each street heading towards the sun, trees/power lines/roof tops, couldn't really get a good pic. :( Three hills at the end of my hood. (around 4 mi) Made it through the first round of hills. After 5mi, done every street at least once, working my way back, time to start duplicating. Sun warming up, interesting to see one street had a stream of melt, where the rest still had black ice. Back near the start, did the new hill, and passed 8 mi. Back at the starting point, added one more hill! My street has a very steep hill (that I never do, it's levels before my starting point. Went down and up. 8.something. done. Pace around 8:30. Time to start round 2 of my hood route! Skipped hydrating when I passed my house, 'doh! hanging in there. Fueled later than normal, and could tell I needed it. A little lightheaded. Tired in my second round of the three hills at the end of my hood, but made it through, and added that new one at the end of my run. Fun times. Pace: was hoping to survive at 8:45-9, but went much better than planned! Think trying to focuson keeping it comfortable early instead of pushing it through helped. Ended with 1200+ elevation gain. I usually avoid my hood for double digit days, but today I proved to myself that I can do it if need be. Shortly after my run, did an extra round of shoveling before the next storm tomorrow. Extra, as in a path to our backyard, basement door, and clear a path to the generator in case we need it. Sheet of ice with a few inches of snow. hard, and heavy! (that's what she said! (yes, immature and quote The Office a bit too much))

Sunday: 3.11 miles. Saturday, foam roll, hydrated very well, stretch, and a good night's rest. Did have a beverage or two with/after dinner, but well hydrated. Up around 6:30. Coffee, check the weather, 35 and rain! Roads are clear! 30 min core workout and routine. Well.. Temp dropped and heavy snow started as predicted! Coating quick! Forecast mentioned up to 2 inches per hour, and they got it right! Definitely need my yak trax already. Cautious 5k done. Felt yesterday's run and the extra effort needed for snow and yak trax. Towards the end, added a hill for fun. lol.. Snow forecast 6 inches, ending before Super bowl time. Will be doing another round of shoveling later. Blah!

Outside of Running:

What did I do besides run, workout, work, and chores this week? Not much besides shoevling. lol//

What shows/movies did I watch this week? Groundhog day, The Office, South Park, Family Guy, WandaVision, Soul, and How it really happened. (murder documentary), basketball. Two outings to dinner. Farm and Fisherman (farm to table restaurant) and Mad Mex

Q: How about you? Anything exciting outside of running? Any adventures? Or binge watching anything?

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 45.5 miles running completed

Year to date: 260.6 miles running

Strength Training: Goal 180 minutes, 240 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: 6 days

Training Plan: Week 9 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol..