I just keep finding more interesting ways to run. Because of the heavy snow, I took Wednesday off. I decided to push all my runs back a day and run on Saturday instead of resting.
I got up early this morning and was willing to give running a try. It was quite the tease though. The path from the Art Museum to Lloyd Hall was well plowed. Nothing was plowed from Lloyd Hall on though. There was a narrow path from others who had attempted running or walking. I decided I would give them all day and they'd likely have it plowed.
I headed out this morning in my trail shoes. Since I figured the path would be plowed by the evening, I went out with my regular shoes after work. That proved to be a minor problem because the path hadn't been touched all day. Trail shoes would've definitely helped. Regardless, I had to give running a go.
I actually started at the Art Museum. I stepped in a puddle right before Lloyd Hall. Getting my feet soaked that early was frustrating. They did dry rather well though. Running on the small path carved out by others actually wasn't too bad early on. It was compacted snow, so it was a little slick.
The most frustrating thing was just trying to get even footing. Sometimes the footing was great, other times you'd sink into the snow and other times the path was uneven. The unevenness was the most difficult part and I nearly fell a few times because of it.
My feet took a real pounding and my left one was very sore. My legs are incredibly sore now as well. It actually only ended up being a 6 mile run, but it was like running 15 miles on a normal surface. I managed to get nearly two miles out. As I approached the Columbia Bridge and the grandstand, the path was starting to thin out. Not too many people were running that far. Rather that continue running, I headed back to Lloyd Hall.
I couldn't just stop my run at that point though. When I got to Lloyd Hall, I decided to run in the parking lot. I ran to the Waterworks Restaurant and extended the loop as long as I could. It ended up being about .50 miles. I ran it several times. If I didn't have to go to the bathroom, I might've actually considered running the loop over and over until I hit the full 11 miles. It's not fun, but it is effective. The route was relatively flat. I also switched directions, so that my legs wouldn't be too sore.
A cop was parked in the lot when I started. I left shortly after and came back a few minutes later. He must've thought I was nuts. He would've been right. There were some shady people in the area too, so I wasn't overly comfortable about running. You have to make due though. After the six miles, I got 6 hill sprints in too.
Today was originally scheduled as a 6 mile run, so I just ended up doing the normal workout. I want to get the 11 miles in though. Therefore, I'm going to attempt to run it as the progression run tomorrow. I will run the .50 mile loop 22 times if I have to. I also need to run 5 miles on Saturday. That'll get me to the 50 mile mark this week and allow a little rest before the 15 mile run on Sunday. I like the cold and challenges that winter brings, but I can't wait until it is over, so my training can really take off. My knee problems are one obstacle right now. I don't need another.
6 miles - 55:10 (9:14 pace)
No comments:
Post a Comment