Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far! Yesterday was my long run day and I had 6 miles on my schedule. Since it snowed Friday afternoon/evening, the roads and sidewalks were still pretty icy in the morning when I wanted to do my run. Also, it was about 16 degrees with a real feel of 6 degrees. Definitely not my ideal running conditions. Knowing that no race is worth a busted ankle (and let’s face it, I don’t need ice on the ground to do that), I decided to do my long run on the treadmill. Not my favorite thing in the world, but better than spending the day in the emergency room.

Longest run ever on a treadmill, wahoo!

My plan for this run was pretty simple: run for an hour and see what happens. I did adjust the speed every 1/4 mile to keep things interesting (I started at a 6.2 pace and eventually worked up to 6.9). There were a few walk breaks thrown in here and there. I was way overdressed for a treadmill run so I started to feel uncomfortably warm at some points.

Long sleeves, tights, and compression socks = way too much for the gym.

Considering how tough my last two treadmill runs were, this run felt 1000% better. The combination of varying speeds and some Sex and the City reruns kept me from being bored. I still would have preferred to run outside, but at least I feel like I conquered the mental challenge of a full hour on the treadmill. The only downside is that after my run and throughout the day I felt little aches and pains periodically in my left shin. I have no idea what is up, and I’m hoping its just a case of my body trying to adjust to the increase in my training this month.

Hmm, already almost 20 more miles than last month, plus more cross training. Maybe my body is telling me to dial it back some.

The last time I felt these same symptoms was during the early days of marathon training. My plan right now is to take things one day at a time and see how I feel. The good news is that I didn’t feel any pain when I was actually running, so hopefully I can knock whatever this is out early and get on with my training.

After my run, I did a quick change into some dry clothes and then dashed off to a yoga class. This class was mixed level, so definitely more challenging than I’m used to (which is good). I even attempted crow pose for the first time, and didn’t fall flat on my face (of course, I held the pose for less than a second, but whatever). One thing the instructor Kelly said that really resonated with me was to focus on being in the moment. This was absolutely what I needed to hear. Friday was a bit of a challenging day at work, and I needed to be reminder to focus on the present moment rather than worry about what has or will happen. This is something that is hard for me, and I felt my mind wander a number of times during class.   One of my goals for this coming week will be to incorporate this into my everyday life more. A challenge for sure, but I think I am up for it.

After an afternoon of laundry and relaxing, I met up with some friends for the 5th Annual Blackthorn Rocks Ryan event. Good food, good beer, good music, and good friends. Even if people singing “Come on Maureen” to the tune of “Come on Eileen” gets old.

Now it’s your turn! Did you brave the ice for your long run or stick to the treadmill? Any fun Saturday night adventures? Tell me about it!

Tagged: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Long Runs, running, Treadmill