After last week’s injury scare and mileage cutback, it was back to regular programming this week!
Dustin (my husband) was on a ski trip in Canada with some buddies, which meant I was a solo dog mom. Except I only had Matilda, as Ruth was at an overnight “bootcamp.” This bootcamp was through a company called “K9 SF”. As part of the training, she stayed at Downtown Dogs all week. Though I missed her greatly, I’ll be honest that it was a bit easier not having a puppy to rush home to after work. (But I am excited to pick her up this weekend!)
Anyways here’s how this week went in training for the Atlanta marathon:
Monday: I had to drop Ruth off at Downtown Dogs before work, so I resigned myself to post-work running. The temps looked warm enough (upper 20’s) but I didn’t realize I would be running in the middle of a snowstorm! The snow was pelting my face and eyes. It really stung! It was not my favorite run, but at least it was a run. 8 miles at a challenging-feeling 9:30 min/mile pace. Even with my Kahtoola nano-spikes, it was hard running on all the fresh snow!
I had also snuck out over lunch for a 1:1 Discover Strength session to get in some weights.
Tuesday: After the tough run on Monday night, I opted for the warmth of the treadmill. 7 miles on the treadmill after work. I watched the documentary “Cheer” on Netflix which was pretty good! Those athletes put themselves through A LOT to compete.
Wednesday: Another treadmill run; this time with some speed. 30 minutes easy, then 6x(2 minutes at 7:45, 5 minutes at 8:20), which was essentially a 10k of work in the middle of a 10 mile run. It was challenging! I have a tougher time doing workouts on the treadmill; the paces feel harder to me than outside. 10 miles total with a 9 min/mile average.
Does shoveling count as a workout? I also had to shovel snow multiple times this week! We live in the city of Minneapolis, so we have to keep our sidewalk out front clear or they won’t delivery the mail. I only have a small path to shovel between our house and the garage in the back, but I also shoveled a path for the dogs too. It was a lot of work!
Thursday: After an evening treadmill run on Wednesday, it was REALLY hard to motivate myself to get up before work to run. The turnover between an evening run and a morning run is challenging for me; I need to get back on the morning running schedule instead. Anyways, I did convince myself to get up because it was only 4 easy recovery miles. 9:20 min/mile. Discover Strength session after work. Dustin returned from his ski trip too this day; I’m always happy to have him home again!
Friday: Minneapolis (and a lot of the Midwest, to be fair) was forecasted to receive a big blizzard over the weekend, so Christie and I decided to get our long run out of the way before work. Yep, my alarm went off at 4 am and I was at her condo downtown by 5 am. So early and SOO cold! The actual temperature was 0, but the ‘feels like’ temperature was -13!
But we did it…as crazy as it was. And I’m so glad we did!
We covered 14 miles with 6x(10 minutes at marathon pace, 5 minutes), basically 14 miles with 60 minutes of work in the middle. I got ready at her place after the run and was at my desk by 8 am. Such a great feeling!
What did I wear for such a cold long run?
- I wore this pair of Craft running tights with a second pair of lululemon tights over them. My legs were not cold at all.
- This Smartwool sports bra
- Smartwool socks
- Kahtoola nano-spikes
- Craft gloves- THIS pair are the warmest ever and worth the money.
- This amazing Patagonia Capilene Air Crew base layer (LOVE it). If you run outside in the cold, you MUST buy this!
- An old Nike running jacket that is no longer available, but is SO warm. This is similar.
- A Nike face mask
- This Oiselle beanie
A lot of gear for a long run in January in Minneapolis! The only thing that was cold was my face when I pulled the face mask down when it got frozen (with saliva, eew, but true.)
Fuel: Christie brought along a bottle of Gatorade that we stashed in the snow at the midway spot; it was semi-frozen by the time we came back to it, but still drinkable and really helped us power through the run.
After I got to the office, I ate this recovery gel; it wasn’t my favorite. I also had oatmeal and coffee and more Gatorade.
Saturday: I was so so glad we made the decision to do our long run early as we received about 5-6 inches of heavy snow with intense wind gusts. The running paths were definitely not cleared in the morning.
Dustin did his long run on the treadmill, so I had a leisurely morning reading before doing an easy 4 miles myself on the treadmill when he was done.
Sunday: After the blizzard, the temperature dropped again. Another treadmill run. 7 miles.
We picked up Ruth from bootcamp and she was so excited to see us! And then she crashed…all that learning is hard! We have a two hour session tomorrow with the trainers to go over everything she learned to ensure we continue to enforce it.
Summary: 54.5 miles of running, 2 strength sessions. 33 miles of that total were on the treadmill, 22 miles were outside. That’s all I can hope for in January in Minneapolis!
I was reminiscing a little bit about finishing the Abbott World Majors in 2017. Chicago was definitely the outlier; 2007 was the incredibly hot year where the race was officially cancelled. They ran out of water and Powerade pretty early on in the race, but you could finish at your own risk, which I did…slowly! Part of me wants to go back to Chicago to have all my majors under 4, but probably not this year…maybe 2021!
Occasionally, I like to share a plug here for my coaching services. I had an athlete run the Houston Marathon today, and though she didn’t quite get the BQ she was hoping for, she’s getting closer! I’m confident she’ll get it soon. Congratulations lady! (I ran the Houston marathon last year and it’s a flat, fast course if you’re looking for a winter race.)
I’m linking up as usual with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner as part of their Weekly Rundown. Check it out!
that is a lot of gear to wear on a run! We don’t get anywhere near as cold but I am going to check out some of your gear. Have a great week
haha, yes, you probably don’t need quite the same level of layering in D.C.!
Love your gear list – so cold there!! One of my friends in Minneapolis lives in an apartment block in the downtown area and has been posting pics of the snow coming in. Hope you’re all OK!
There was a lot of snow! But not as much as predicted.
What a week! Lots of strong runs (and some challenging ones). Congrats on that big 14-miler on Friday! Last fall, Barb and I spontaneously decided (mid-afternoon on a Friday) to meet up after work for a 10-miler. It was early September (I think?) and horribly hot and humid, but there was either a big rain storm (or even hotter weather) in the forecast for the next morning…so we did it. I later made it to the HS football game that night, and felt like a drunk zombie in awe at what we’d accomplished LOL We runners get it done, right?… Read more »
We do what we gotta do to get it done!
Ahh, the beauties of training during the Winter! You did a great job at adjusting and running indoors when needed!
I’ve heard so many good things about Cheer. I might check it out tomorrow when I’m off work!
Haha, right? Winter does not make it easy 🙂
Cheer was quite good, let me know what you think!
I’ve had so many coaching clients ask me if shoveling is a workout this weekend! Haha! I ran 2007 Chicago too! Holy heat Batman! It was my first marathon so I had nothing to compare it to, which may have worked in my favor. Props to you for getting out there so early in the frigid air on Friday to get that long run in before the storm!
You ran Chicago that year too! That’s awesome. It was not my favorite, but that’s why I need to give it another go!
The right gear makes all the difference on a cold run! And of course, the right attitude. So many of my friends swear by Craft gear for winter. I need to pick up some of their pieces!
Exactly- the right fits make a difference 🙂 Craft stuff is amazing.
My hat is off to you, treadmill runner extraordinaire! I moaned about my 4.5 miles (supposed to be 6)l on the TM–you were awesome! And hell to the yes, shoveling counts as a workout. My son and I shoved slush yesterday. It’s so heavy!
Nice week Jessie, you’re killing it as always!
Aww, thanks Wendy! I’m trying my best!
Brrr Brrr Brrr…congrats on getting your miles on in spite of winter. Atlanta is going to feel so good.
Totally!
Congrats to Ruth for passing her puppy training course! I can’t wait to read how she does once you know what her commands are and can start using them. Was Matilda happy to have her back home? Speaking of doggos, Pablo is coming over on Tuesday to stay through Sunday! I suppose being able to run 22 miles outside during the winter in Minneapolis is pretty lucky, but those 33 miles inside have gotta stink! In 2010 when I last ran Boston, we had a snowier than normal year and I had to run many of my training miles on… Read more »
Tilda is really happy to have her buddy bad! They have been playing a lot (after Ruth took like a 4 hour nap, ha!) I’m excited to meet with the trainers tomorrow to get trained myself 🙂
Enjoy Pablo’s visit!
I’ve yet to try any, but our local running store stocks a lot of Craft gear during winter – I guess that’s why!
Definitely, it’s great quality stuff!
Shoveling snow definitely is a workout. Here I am scheduling runs to avoid the 20s and you run in 0! I haven’t worn a long sleeve jacket for running in ages. I can wear a warm top + vest for the upper 20s as long as my hands are warm! Your dogs are SU cute!
Wow…pretty jealous of your weather Coco 🙂
What are you reading, anything you’d recommend? I love the shorts in your header pic and the cuff in y our work shirt at your keyboard.
Hope Ruth’s bootcamp went well
Kudos on getting out there in those temps
You are so sweet Cari! The cuff is from a shirt from Oiselle that I was sporting for casul Friday (and post long run Friday 🙂 Very comfortable!
I’m currently finishing a book called Beyond the Sky and Earth about Bhutan. I figured I should learn more about the country before visiting and there actually aren’t a ton of books available!
What an incredible (and brave) decision to run on Friday with those temps! All that gear sounds so surreal to me as the coldest day in Botswana would just need an additional long sleeved top for my run, LOL. Well done to you and Christie and I bet it felt soooo good not to have to treadmill that distance over the weekend! PS: So glad your you were back to normal after last week’s injury scare.
Thank you so much Shathiso! I was so relieved to be pain free and running like normal!
It looks so cold there! You really do have to bundle up! Occasionally so do we, but it’s usually $1 spot target gloves, a hat, any old tights and a long sleeve layered over a tank. It’s funny how different things can be!
Sweet Ruth! I hope she had a good snuggle sesh!
Haha, you are lucky Jenn! All kinds of layers are required for winter running in Minneapolis.
I didn’t know you did the Chicago Marathon in 2007! I was there too but could not finish the race. I was redirected downtown around mile 14? Great job on your runs outside and the treadmill. I know you are going to do fantastic in Atlanta.
I sure did! It was a bust. I was there with a friend who was running his first and he didn’t get to finish similar to you. So disappointing!
I’ve never heard of Craft gear. I’m thinking your gear is probably one step higher (warmer!) than my gear here in Ohio. Right now I’ve been getting almost more miles on my treadmill too. I’m just not motivated to get out in the cold! I love that you got your long run in before work. Those kind of days are the best!
The cold and dark are not very motivating! Good job getting it down on the treadmill Lisa!
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