It feels like I’m fully recovered from the brief cold I had over New Years Eve & New Years Day. This was pretty productive week, workout-wise.

Monday’s workout was hill repeats. I’d planned to run the west side of Badger Mountain, but ended up on Candy, instead. It was a good choice. The trail on Candy allows for a good warm-up, and it’s not so steep that I cannot run it. My average heart rates during the intervals were 159, 140, & 176 – and that last one was on the descent. It was a short workout, but an effective one!

My intent was to get up every morning at 5:30. My hope is that if I make a habit of it, it’ll become a habit to get to bed earlier. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, but I did get up at 5:30 Tuesday and do an easy recovery run. It’s a great way to start the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel great much of the day and ended up going home early. Resting made me feel better, and I didn’t force myself out of bed early the next morning. Wednesday was scheduled as a rest day, with a core workout, but I felt not-great on Wednesday, too.

I’d planned to get up early to go swimming Thursday morning, but again, the extra sleep mattered more than the workout. The scheduled workout was ‘do something different.’ I went out with the Nomads, but I opted to walk, and I stopped every minute or so to do calisthenics. Wow – a minute of jumping jacks is hard! (And next time, I’ll remember to wear a different bra.) I like the idea for future recovery workouts, so it’s a keeper in my workout rotation.

Friday brought another hill repeats workout. This time, I went to Badger. Another good workout, although my heart rate shows I wasn’t pushing myself as hard. With the exception of the first part of the first interval, I was running on the access road. It’s rockier & steeper than the trail, so my going slower may have had a lot to do with watching my foot placement. This run was the first in my new trail shoes – a pair of Altra Timps. I’ve run in the Lone Peaks the last several years, and I love them. My purchasing decision was based on what REI had on closeout. The Timps are great! The Lone Peaks have almost 400 miles on them, so they’re due to be retired. (I only got about 200 miles on my first pair of Lone Peaks, but they were a half-size too big; I suspect that’s why they started to hurt me. I still use them as running-around shoes. Because they’re a bit too big, they’re easy to slip on & off without untying them.)

I think Saturday’s run let me know it was time to retire the Lone Peaks. I got a blister on the ball of my right foot – I think that’s my first-ever blister from running, but it’s in the general area where I’ve developed blisters while hiking. It’s toward the front of the bunion, and the blister developed underneath the callous. (That’s a terrible spot to get a blister, especially if it gets big. (That’s happened.) When the blister pops or comes loose, the callous comes off and there’s no protection for that spot.)

But oh! it was a fun run. It’s the longest run I’ve done since the Snake River Island Hop at the end of April 2018. I didn’t hit every trail at Chamna, but I covered it pretty well. I ran a 3:00/0:45 run/walk ratio, and it felt pretty good. I’m pleased with the almost 15:00/mile pace. Yeah, it’s slow, but given the distance, that it was my first long run in nine months, and I’m still twelve weeks from my “A” race (Deception Pass HM), it was a good day.

I have a week & a half left on the $100 DietBet I’m doing, and I’m 1.6 pounds over my goal weight. This started right after Christmas, when I was carrying a lot of extra water weight – which I lost within the first week. I’ve been hovering at the same weight the last few weeks. Thus, the next ten days will be a lot fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and water. My hope is that the $100 will be sufficient motivation. *fingers crossed* My diet has been really healthy since Boxing Day; if nothing else, that’s an advantage. One of my goals for 2019 is to get down to my racing weight – 145 – by the end of the year. My hope is that my knees will greatly benefit from not having to carry as much excess fuel as they are now. That’s twenty-five pounds less than I am now. It’s a lot, but I think it’s do-able.