When I signed up for Race Up the Snake, I knew it wouldn’t be an “A” race. It’s six weeks before the race I’m targeting – the Deception Pass HM – and I was primarily interested in having fun & getting in a good workout. I had Friday afternoon off, so I decided to go pre-“run” the course, but because the race director warned about the snowy conditions I wore my snow boots & walked almost the entire way.

I got up at 5:30 this morning to swim before work. No, it wasn’t 3F in the pool, but I deserve extra credit for leaving the house when it’s that cold. 😊

#beatyesterday #garmin

#REINightRun

This was a “recovery run” and it was mostly snow-covered. Thus, it was slow.

The weather has wreaked havoc with my training schedule. This is largely self-inflicted, as I truly detest running on a treadmill and I haven’t mustered the discipline to resume core strength work. The sidewalks in our neighborhood are impassable, and the roads are so slippery that I’m leery of walking on the street. This has kept me from doing pre-work runs or walks.

#beatyesterday #garmin

I thought I’d talked myself into doing this workout on a treadmill. That didn’t work.

Ahead of time, I described this trip as “it could really suck, or it could be really awesome.” The end result was a bit of both, but having learned a few lessons, I plan to return.

I had a bit of an epiphany this past weekend: I think I know what’s driving me to attempt another ultra.

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.

I went for a run last night. The run itself was unremarkable beyond its status as my first post-sick cardiovascular challenge. But I believe it clarified that the problem with my right knee is largely due to IT band issues.

The good news? I can fix it. No surgery, no doctors visits, just strengthening my tetchy flute muscle.

The bad news? It’s all on me. No external fixes. Just me. Just me and my sketchy history with strength training. Bah!

Last Saturday’s Kim’s Bad Knee 5K was lots of fun. My initial plan was to take three weeks off from running to work on core strength & other fitness workouts, and then to start training for the Deception Pass Half Marathon using the 10-week training plan I’ve used for the other HM I’ve run. For some inexplicable reason, I started looking at other training plans; I ended up being enticed by a 16-week ‘intermediate’ plan, and I added it to my calendar.