Sun 22 Feb - Long run today. It was about -5C when I headed out the door at 7 a.m. this morning, and it wasn't dark out! Wow, that makes such a difference on the motivation.
I started down the street and decided on my itinerary. I had taken off the studs from my shoes last night but the roads we pretty clear so traction wasn't a problem. I decided I would add a couple out and backs to my 30 km loop to bring my distance up to 38 km. As I headed down Main road toward the ferry, it started to snow. Not a big snowfall but just a fine steady flow. At my turnaround, the roads were getting covered, but not enough to merit studs. About an hour into my run, I passed the rendez-vous point for the Hudson runners club (now known as Hudson Athletic club) and saw them getting ready to head out. I had spoken with Bryan earlier in the week and we needed to touch base to get the Hudson Harrier Race organized, so I decided to run with them for a bit. I knew they weren't out for a very long run so it would be fun to run with the group for a little while and then continue on my own.
We headed toward Sandy Beach and ran in the trail network of Hudson for about 10km. I had no idea the trails would be so compacted as to permit us to run on them in the middle of winter. I guess with all the dog walkers, they are pretty well used year-round. We crossed at least a dozen dogs and walkers throughout that jaunt and the network is so different in the winter. There were some sections that looked really foreign to me, even though I had been through them many times in the summer and fall. Anyway, I could have used my studs there for sure...The group had spread out and two fellows I was running with had a faster pace than me on the road segments (I was doing a long run and they were doing a 10k pace run). It was not as noticeable on the trails, but on the road they took a few 10 second walk breaks while I caught back up. I was tempted to run faster but that was not the purpose of my training today - and I had to stay on plan, as much as I could anyway. I did end up running the entire 10 km with that group faster than I should have, but definitely not as fast as I could have. I guess that is sort of okay.
When we reached their rendez-vous point again, I said my good-byes and continued on my way. I had 12 miles to go. Now that I was out of the trails, I did notice the wind had picked up and it was snowing more as well. I was regretting not having my studs, even on the roads. I decided I would stick to Main road instead of running through the horse country of St-Lazare.
12 miles seemed like such a long distance to go at this point and I was not to keen on the conditions but I kept on. I had to concentrate on my footing and my legs were starting to get tired. I passed the Nichoir bird rescue. It was one of the checkpoints of the Harrier race that people had a hard time finding. I will have to make it more obvious next time...I ran by the house that burned down and the owners had abandoned because their insurance company refused to settle. Apparently the insurers told them to leave everything in the house until the investigation was completed, and in the meantime, it has been burglarized - that sucks. It's a second-hand story but thinking about it passes the time. I took my time down the steep hill to the railway crossing, making sure not to slip and I thought it will be quite an experience coming back up later. I passed Thomson Park where I took the girls kite flying the summer before. I passed Finnigan's market - It was nothing but a white field now but in the summer it is a busy spot on Saturday mornings - you don't want to run around here during that time. I then passed the current small town news story. A Mexican billionaire is having a waterfront mansion built and people are complaining the fence at the front of the property us unsightly, blocks the water views, and is contributing to light pollution. Although I can't say I like the architectural influences of this property, it is a huge lot and the house (if you can call it that) does not seem oversized on the lot. Personally, I would have sited it more setback from the road. As for the fence, I see nothing wrong with 4 foot high mason pillars about 16 feet apart with wrought iron fencing in between. Each pillar has a decorative light on it. The view is not really obstructed - you should see some of the walls surrounding houses in France and South America! I guess the problem stems from the fact that the property is so big that there are 40 such pillars making up the property frontage! I reach the Hudson town limit and continue past Montée Lavigne into Rigaud. I want to see the condo development called Hudson Club that is located here. At this point, I turn around and head back home. A snow plow passes so I decide to run on the cleared side of the road. It is much easier. This time, I use the landmarks I passed on the way out as a type of countdown to my final stretch home. As I crest the killer hill back to the burned house, I am looking forward to being home. I drink some Ultima and chew on a few Sharkies. Then I pick up the pace down the slight hill toward town centre. There is much more traffic and I have to move over to the side every few seconds to leave room for the oncoming cars. I turn up Cameron and mentally prepare myself for the hills that are ahead. I do my hill sprints on the next 5 hills and feel the burn in my legs. As I walk the last 200 metres to my house, I realize I probably overdid it today. 22 miles. Not so much the disctance, but the conditions and the pace during the trail run portion. I hope it doesn't hamper my next week's training.
Mon 23 Feb - Sore quads today. I decide I will be better served to do my Q1 training on Tuesday instead.
Tue 24 Feb - Interval runs today. 6x800 metres. I was a bit stiff this morning but after my warmup, I had a spring in my step and was good to go. I was comfortable at this speed today. The treadmill is almost at it's max speed and I comfortably maintain it for the entire half mile intervals. Total 10 km.
Wed 25 Feb - Had to stay home from work today - Chloé has an ear infection. My cross-training consisted of shovelling the driveway and moving boxes in the basement. I make a killer chilli for my post-workout lunches this week - yum! I also had a fundraising meeting at the local gym that was very promising. Stay tuned for some interesting news.
Thu 26 Feb - Brent Butt loves chili cheese-dogs (for those of you who watch Corner Gas). I can assure you, Brent Butt is not a runner! I had chili for dinner last night and today was a 9 mile race pace run. By the time I hit 4 miles, my stomach cramps were so bad, I had to take 10-second walk breaks every 5 minutes or so to help get rid of some gas...thank god there were no other runners around me. Needless to say the next 5 miles of my run were quite an undertaking and I suffered through my workout. By the time I finished, I stretched for about 15 minutes (by the way, the Downward Facing Dog can be a pretty embarassing pose when you are gassy). I headed back to my office after a quick shower and then the chills hit me. It seems that I caught some kind of bug (from my daughter, I suppose). For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening I felt like crap. I guess that also explains why my run today seemed so diffucult - I really had no energy at all. Tomorrow is another day - Hope I am up to it.
Fri 27 Feb - 6 km TT run today. Still not 100% but better than yesterday. Total 10km with warm up cool down and easy segment.
Sat 28 Feb - Slept 12 hours last night. I need rest. I am still under the weather so this weekend will be about recovery. no running today.
Total weekly mileage : 69.5 km
