Rest Day

Took a day off to recover from the early mornings of late. So I'll do a book update and be done.

My last update was January 27th. Finished:

1. The House of Intellect by Jacques Barzan - better than the title suggests
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - good
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - good
4. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - not so good relative to the others
5. Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen by Fay Weldon -just ok but learned a neat trick on how to keep coffee grounds at the bottom of the coffee pot
6. Science and Culture - edited by Gerald Holton. - a collection of essays. Most extremely tedious. One or two worthy of reading. Got a good tip on a classical piece of music. Most interesting in this collection was an essay critical of the Apollo program (book was written in 1965 or so).

A long march in February

The winter that will never end put just enough on the roads last night to make it a sheet of ice once plowed. And the plows beat me to the roads.

No choice after two miles but to run the airport back and forth, back and forth. While not icy, it was full of little drifts and high winds.

Trying to leave the airport a dog blocked my path as his owner sat in a nearby car oblivious. He had a bumper sticker that said "Support Cannibalism. Eat me." Yes, I'm afraid we have our share of the lower classes here too.

16 miles. Trudge. 9:43 pace. 135 HR.

Slush & Recovery

5 miles in ankle deep slush. Nice & slow. 9:52 pace. 133HR

Speed Day

4 x 800 w/800 jog in between.

10 miles total.

Monday

15 miles @ 8:34 pace. 141 HR.

Coming back

17 excellent easy miles with three friends this morning. Pace ~ 8:27 @ 139 HR.

Sunshine, conversation, dry roads. What more do you need?

Finally, a good run

Got in 11.5 glorious miles this morning on a snow covered airport. The sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. And I felt fine. Ran really slowly but I didn't mind. HR 132.

HR High

And not the feel good kind either.

4 miles @ 7:54 pace. 149 HR. Right leg hurt too just to make things complete.

Still Ill

The cold is hanging on.

I went out this morning to put some blood in the legs. No hills, just a nice jog out the highway. The heart rate was very high indicating my illness. I also got to try out a new headlamp. I had forgotten how much I missed seeing where I am going.

7 miles @ 8:04 pace. 149 HR.

OK

5xhill this morning with a short warmup and cooldown. Right leg sore but ok.

Hopeful

Yesterday I got in an easy 20 with Mike & Ozzie. The right leg felt fine the entire way. This after Thursday's bail out with right leg trouble. Perhaps it's coming around.

No run today. Another day of rest. Thinking long term. Keeping healthy. Legs feel good today so a hill workout looks like a go.

Weather has been horrid. Here's hoping for just one street with pavement for tomorrow.

3 x hill

Right leg hurt. That is what I get for rushing and not stretching prior to the run. Lesson learned.

This hill work is tough.

Irving Burning

I knew today's run would be cut short the moment I stepped onto the street. I almost fell.

Ice ice ice. I could barely run down the street for fear of falling but finally got a grip heading up the hill. So I plodded along until I reached the main road where I had hoped for dry pavement. No go.

It was just as icy and and it reflected all the yellow, blue, and red lights flashing madly a quarter mile down the road. The Irving was burning.

A gas station on fire is dangerous with all the propane and large fuel tanks of explosive liquid on site. So naturally I got as close as I could. There are going to be some seriously grumpy people this morning. Where are they going to get their muffin and coffee?

I stood there with the local grocery store manager. He said he ought to get back to the store and make some sandwiches. Otherwise there'll be a riot.

After awhile I turned around and went home to check on my woodstove.

1.4 miles. 29 minutes. 94 HR.

The skunks and I emerge

The groundhog may have seen his shadow but the skunks proclaimed the end of winter this morning with celebratory spray, eerie rustling, and startling appearances that sometimes were nothing more than apparitions. February 6. The skunks are back.

And so am I. Some would say that is fitting. Nevertheless, the leg felt great today as I started up phase two of training (for the yet unchosen) spring marathon - Hills.

Ended up with an hours worth of work with 10 x hills, 3 x strides, warmup, cooldown. Maybe 5 miles total.

13 weeks of buildup to a peak of 98 miles, 2 weeks rest (last week 9 miles), and now on to traing a different system. I think this might work.