If you were to ask me yesterday, I’d say I was almost over my cold/crud/whatever. Today, a relapse.

Monday: 5.6 mi, trails (Bagley), 134 bpm
Tuesday: 6.1 mi, treadmill (cold and rainy), 136 bpm
Wednesday: 5 mi, treadmill (cold and rainy/snowy/gross), 136 bpm
Thursday: rest (travel)
Friday: 5.3 mi, road and trail (Westwood Nature Center), 134 bpm
Saturday: rest (hockey)
Sunday: 8.5 mi, road, 139 bpm
Total: 30.6 mi

I’m back in the mileage range I want to be in, but I do wish I’d been able to get in a long run. I was planning on doing a longer mid-week run and possibly even doing another MAF test, but the weather turned sour and I decided to take it inside.

Thursday-Sunday, I was in the Twin Cities for a hockey tournament. I worked Thursday and we drove down after work, so it was a planned rest day. Friday I ran around my old neighborhood and into Westwood Nature Center, which I reviewed last year around the same time. Saturday I planned on getting in a short run and instead slept until 11:15. I guess I needed that.

Sunday’s run was… somewhat of a mistake. I returned to Duluth around 5 pm and headed out for a run at 6 pm. I ended up running about a mile and a half longer than expected and was out after dark a lot longer than I wanted to be. The temp dropped about 10 degrees and I was a little underdressed in just a hoodie and short sleeved tech tee on top. Fortunately, I had gloves, but my arms and hands were pretty cold by the end. Whoops. It’s no surprised that today I’m tired and feel yucky. A long sleeved shirt under my hoodie would have been perfect. The good news is, if I ran at the same pace as I did yesterday for the entire Zumbro 17, I’d come in under 5 hours, as is my goal. Obviously that’s not realistic, but running during the day, in milder weather, with food and water readily available, maybe it’s still possible.

This upcoming week is going to be my last tough week, with a long run planned for this weekend. I’ll ease up a bit the following week, and then kinda sorta taper during race week. I am really winging it with this training cycle, which has its advantages and disadvantages, but it’s kind of relaxing to have so much flexibility. We’ll see if it pays off on race day.