Back to the Grind

Tough week, as I adjusted to being back at work and having a regular, non-holiday week to try to get back into the swing of running after an enjoyable holiday season.

I ran four miles on Wednesday and seven last night. Nothing really exciting or different to mention since the track workout, although my night run last night was very enjoyable. It was around 32 degrees, which I find to very comfortable. At that temperature, I can wear shorts and a long-sleeve shirt and start out cold, but it's not so freezing that I don't warm up.

I still like running at night, but I probably won't like it so much on much colder nights when I'll have to bundle up more. I like running in the cold, but I hate wearing long pants and a jacket as I run. However, there's a point at which even I realize that I'm an idiot for running in warm-weather gear. When it's 10 degrees and there's no sunlight out, I've probably reached that point. I'm honestly not sure how people run through the winter in places like Wisconsin :-) or Buffalo where it's much colder than here.

Last night, though, was very pleasant. Running at night is still new and interesting to me. It's quieter, and there's a greater need to watch my footing, which keeps things interesting. There's also still a few Christmas lights up, which makes running at night more enjoyable.

I'm trying to do a better job sticking to the schedule and mileage outlined in my training plan. I'm not kicking myself too much -- the program started December 18 and the holidays are a tough time to start anything new. But, I have a Beginner plan and an Advanced plan (I'll scan and post them at a near-future date when I don't know what to blog about). The Beginner plan has Monday and Wednesday as off days, Tuesday as the track workout, 4-6 miles on Thursday, a long run on Saturday and an optional recovery run on Sunday. My typical pre-plan training was 10 miles on Monday morning, 10 miles on Wednesday or Thursday morning, and a longer run on Saturday. So, the Beginner plan feels a bit too light on the mileage for me.

The Advanced plan, on the other hand, is tough. It has shorter 3-5 mile runs on Monday and Wednesday, track workout on Tuesday, a 6-8 miles on Thursdays, off-day on Friday, long runs on Saturday and a less optional recovery run on Sunday. That's six days a week -- way more than I've ever run before, but I want to err on the side of the Advanced plan as much as I can so that I can get base miles in and build up endurance.

I suspect I'll continue with long runs on Saturdays, take a short recovery run some Sundays (I can't this weekend, because I HAVE A TICKET TO THE EAGLES PLAYOFF GAME!!!), take regular base-mile runs on Monday and Thursday and take Wednesday off after Tuesday's track workouts.

Between my time trail on Monday, track work on Tuesday, and base miles on Wednesday and Thursday, I ran four days in a row this week. I'm not sure I've ever done that since I started running.