I was away all week for a work training and after long days learning about quality management auditing, I didn’t have the mental acuity left to write a grocery list, let alone a blog post about training.

Monday: 5.3 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk)
Tuesday: 6.1 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk)
Wednesday: 5.1 mi, trail (Bagley)
Thursday: rest
Friday: 8.4 mi, road + paved trail (Lakewalk + Minnesota Point)
Saturday: 15.4 mi, road + trail (road + Hartley Root Canal + Guardrail)
Sunday: 3.5 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk)
Total: 43.9 mi

Monday: 7 mi, treadmill
Tuesday: 6 mi, treadmill
Wednesday: 5 mi, treadmill
Thursday: 6 mi, treadmill
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 16.2 mi, paved trail (Munger Trail)
Total: 40.2 mi

Oof. A couple of tough weeks. I’ve already forgotten everything that happened in Week 4. Except I managed to run 15.4 miles in 3:32, so I am in better shape than I thought for this race. Maybe I won’t get cut! And I still have several weeks of worthwhile training to go.

Sunday-Friday I was in the Twin Cities for a work training, as I said. It was pretty tiring, but I did manage to work out every day that I stayed overnight (except Sunday, I ran before I left). I know it seems odd to have Friday and Saturday as rest days, but as I looked at the weather report, I saw that Friday was going to be pretty cold (like, a high of 15 F) and I chose to do 4 treadmill runs and rest Friday rather than freezing my butt off. And then on Saturday I woke up and decided not to run. Eh, I had 2 hockey games to attend, and I was tired.

Sunday’s long run was awful and I truly hope it’s my last long run in the cold until maybe like December. (I mean I would prefer I don’t have a cold long run in December either but I’m being realistic.) I ran on the Munger Trail now that I am positive that the snowmobiles are off it. While large stretches of the trail are bare now, there were lots of icy sections, including one where I walked for like half a mile because I couldn’t avoid the ice, and one section that was SO slippery that even sliding across the ice without picking up my feet, I lost control and slid (very slowly) off to the side without intending to. I almost biffed it several times along the way. And then it started to snow. And then I turned around and the second half of the run was into the wind. It was awesome. (No). I’m so tired. I took an ecologically-unsound-length shower to try to warm up and make my arms work again. It was my first run in a long time with my hydration pack, which is like a strength workout! Also I got sort of zoned out about 11 or so miles in and forgot to take a drink for awhile, and the water froze in the tubes. And I was so thirsty at that point! Or just annoyed.

This week I’m running a 10 mile race on Saturday, so it’s going to be a step back week, mileage-wise. Forecast says it’s going to be in the 40s or maybe even 50s, so I’m thrilled. Of course something crazy will happen and it’ll be 30 and sleeting.