I’m in survival mode right now, which has resulted in a lot of treadmill running and not much other stuff. I’m moving in a couple weeks and have a lot of other stuff to take care of on top of training.

Monday (2/5): 7.9 mi, treadmill
Tuesday: 6 mi, treadmill hill workout
Wednesday: 5.6 mi, treadmill
Thursday: 8.1 mi, treadmill
Friday: rest
Saturday: 8.4 mi, trail (Hartley)
Sunday: 16.1 mi, trail (Munger)
Total: 52.1 mi

Ever have a training run that feels as amazing as a race? That was me on that 16.1 mile run on the Munger trail. I was flying at the end, even after suffering through some bitterly cold winds in the last 5 miles.

Monday (2/12): 6.2 mi, treadmill
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 6.2 mi, pavement (Lakewalk), fartlek
Thursday: 7 mi, road (Minnesota Point)
Friday: rest (I closed on my house this day!)
Saturday: 8.7 mi, trail (Hartley)
Sunday: 8.3 (3.1 & 5.2) mi, treadmill
Total: 36.4 mi

This was a planned cutback week, although I intended to run more on Sunday. I planned to run outside on Sunday (or do a split indoor/outdoor), but then decided against it due to the snow (it snowed Sunday-Tuesday), and then I ended up with a shorter run than planned since my stomach was acting up a bit. The weather was fairly balmy Wednesday and Thursday, so I was able to get outside and run. I’ve been carrying a head lamp in my pocket and putting it on if needed, but it’s so pleasant to have more daylight.

Monday (2/19): 7.9 mi, treadmill
Tuesday: 8.3 (2.7 & 5.6) mi, treadmill
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 5.6 mi, treadmill
Friday: 8.1 mi, treadmill
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 2.5 mi, treadmill
Total: 32.4 mi

This last week ended up being an unintentional cutback week. I knew that due to snow, we’d have to make a weekend trip down to check on our new house and to shovel the sidewalks there, so I tried to front-load my week as much as I could. Wednesday I had dinner with friends, so I knew that would be a rest day. Thursday was brutal. I’d stayed up extremely late watching USA win the gold in women’s hockey, and couldn’t fall asleep after due to the adrenaline and excitement. I slept poorly and was a zombie at work all day, but I still managed to get in a workout. Hooray for me. Friday I stayed up even later watching USA win the gold in curling, and there was no chance for a workout the next morning. Saturday I drove down to shovel the sidewalks at our new house, and then got a few things done there. I stayed overnight due to the weather, shoveled again at the new house, did a few other things to prep for the move, then drove back to Duluth to shovel at our current place. I was glad to get any miles in at all on Sunday.

Other than shoveling, I haven’t been doing much strength. Maybe some push-ups or planks here and there. I need to get back into that, but at the same time, I’m in survival mode, so I’m trying not to wear myself down. Since I’m a master procrastinator, what I should do is start my strength routine while I’m in procrastination mode (specifically on the weekends), instead of waiting til after the workout is done, when it’s dinner time, or when I get home from a run and I’m chilly from wearing damp, sweaty clothes. I am dreaming of the balmy spring days just around the corner, when the temperature doesn’t sap my energy.

Now that the Olympics are over (I devoured as much Olympics content as I could, sometimes watching a TV feed of one event and a stream of another), I have a bit more flexibility with my running. And maybe I need to wax up my cross-country skis and get out on the trails in this fresh snow…

UMD women’s hockey is also done for the season, so that frees up a little more of my time. Trying to get a run in before an afternoon hockey game was kind of a pain in the butt. Ugh, the amount of time and mental energy I expend procrastinating my runs is really starting to add up. Sometimes I spend more time procrastinating than the actual run takes. It’s a vicious cycle that I need to find a way to escape. It’s extra vicious in winter, so I know it’ll resolve itself in a few weeks, but avoiding that entirely next winter would be nice. Maybe next winter I’ll be so much faster that my runs won’t seem so onerous. Hahahahahaha.

Great news, though: I signed up for FANS 24 hour again. Game on. Never mind that I’m in a mental mindset right now where I can’t imagine racing – that’ll pass. At least, it had better pass, as I have a race (Hot Dash 10 mi) in less than a month!