Surviving Winter? More like Owning it

 

Marathon Training Journal Entry for February 8, 2014

Day #1,287 of winter in SE Michigan.

Got up at 6am to run.  After seeing the forecast (-3), I was delighted that it was so warm.

 

 

I was supposed to run a half-marathon according to my schedule, but it’s Michigan and its February and no one is stupid enough to put on a half-marathon here.  So, I decided to just run 13.1 miles and create my own “Metropark Half.”  Start time was 7:30, and surprisingly, I was the only one who showed up.  On the bright side, I took first place. 😉

It was damned cold, obviously, but I dressed warm, as I’ve been doing for the last 6 weeks, and headed out right at 7:30. It wasn’t snowing, and the views were nice.

 

I chose the Metropark because they do a good job of plowing the paths, but even the Metropark guys couldn’t overcome the ice that formed last week after it warmed up and rained ¾ of an inch, then froze once again.  We had more record-breaking cold this week, so the ice was still there, and it was dicey in many spots.

 

 

I ran along the edges most of the time, since there was more snow than ice there, and I took it really slow (for me).  Sometimes I got lucky and the path cleared up a bit and I could actually run with confidence, but most of the time I was—well, treading on thin ice, lol!

I ran an out and back to start, and that wasn’t actually too bad.  The nice thing about doing the Metropark in the winter is that you don’t have many people to contend with. 😉  In fact, I only ran into one person the entire day, a guy who was dressed much like me but walking in the opposite direction.  To my surprise, as he came past me, he started applauding and called out, “That’s the spirit!”  I thanked him and told him I was glad I wasn’t the only crazy person out at 6 degrees. 🙂

My legs were pretty cold for the first 4 or so miles, but eventually they warmed up.  On my way back during that first leg (about 7.6 miles total), my stomach started really hurting.  I had a banana before leaving, thinking I should have something in my stomach for the long run, but it turns out that was a mistake.  I was dismayed to find that the first park rest area I saw was closed (*sob*) but I eventually found a bathroom and was happy to take a break and make my stomach feel better.

Once I had that break, I actually felt quite good (once my fingers warmed up in my husband’s super-thick work gloves!).  I was running around a 12-minute mile, which would be a very easy pace for me normally. (For comparison, I ran an entire half-marathon at 9:50 back in the fall!)  I felt like my body could go much faster, but with the ice, I knew it would be foolish and dangerous, so I just kept going slow.  I made it back to my car just before I hit 8 miles, and though my fingers were still cold, I felt like I really didn’t need the break.  I took it, though, just to warm up my fingers a bit and have a small bit of chocolate Gu to fuel me.  I hadn’t been doing mid-run fuel for my last 5 or 6 long runs, and I decided today that I’d get back to it.  I know it’s necessary—I just usually forget!

Back on the trails, I only had about 5.5 miles to go.  Right after I got back out, it started to snow.  Of course it did, because it wouldn’t be a Saturday long run for me if it didn’t snow. 😛  It wasn’t ideal, because it became harder to see the non-icy parts of the path, and it made the icy parts that much more treacherous. But on the other hand, it sure was pretty.

 

 

 

As the snow continued to fall, I had to slow down even more due to the slipperiness, but I wasn’t too concerned, because I was feeling pretty good and was just happy that I wasn’t having to avoid piles of slush or on-coming traffic!  I did a figure eight in the upper part of the park, and when I rounded the last bend, I saw the coolest thing in the snowbank and had to stop for a shot.

 

 

One of the things I love about running is seeing surprising things that I would otherwise miss in life. 🙂

After that, I turned off my music and just enjoyed the view and the peaceful quiet.  When I ran back through the woods, coming in the opposite direction from when I’d gone down a few hours before, I saw the most beautiful sight.

 

 

I just loved that tree arching over the path.

When I was done, I stopped and took my usual post-run selfie, and when I saw it, I laughed.

 

 

I look like a snow-bunny. 😉  My time was definitely nothing close to my 2:10 PR in November, but I didn’t care.

 

 

When I was done, I actually felt great.  I wasn’t exhausted or frozen or miserable from stress.  I was relaxed, and I actually ran another 5 minutes back to my car because I’d mis-calculated my route and had to get home fast to make a birthday celebration at my in-laws.   I not only made it to the celebration (only a little late), I had a good time, didn’t feel like I wanted to go home and crash, and then afterwards I drove an hour with Daniel so he could play hockey—again. 😛

Today was the first day since I started training that I began to actually believe that I could run a full marathon.  It’s amazing what running at a truly comfortable pace can do for you! I know I could have easily gone farther today.  I may not end up finishing the marathon in that magical “5-hour” timeframe that’s in my head, but I definitely think, after today’s run, that I can finish it.  And that’s definitely a big step forward from how I’ve felt in the last 2 months!  Maybe all this hard-core winter training is finally starting to pay off.  🙂

That’s it for today—thank you so much for reading!