Friday

Friday was my long run for the week.  Only 14 miles scheduled after 21 the week before.  Despite the shorter distance, it was a really tough run.  My legs were really beat up from my bike ride on Thursday.  On top of that, I was having acid reflux problems for nearly the entire run.  Very unpleasant.

In the end, I only made it 13 miles.  Part of it was exhaustion, part of it was poor distance estimating.  I thought that my final loop would get me up to 14 miles, but alas, I looked at my watch as I turned on the road home and was only at 13 miles.  I was too tired to even consider adding on an extra mile at that point.

After the run, I was still getting that acidy burning feeling in the back of my throat.  After a quick Google search, I found a couple potential remedies.  I tried what looked like the easiest solution – chewing gum – and it worked like a charm.  Within minutes, I was better.  I couldn’t believe it.  I may have to pack some gum for my next long run.

I finished off Friday with a 1950 yard swim in the evening.  Yes, I spend my Friday nights at the pool.  Exciting, I know.  I had a record swim, but more on that later.  I am hoping to devote a whole post to swim-related activities.

Saturday

I got a quick strength session in on Saturday morning before we packed up and headed across the state to the in-laws.  We have been wanting to see one of my bro-in-law’s basketball games, but they are normally during the week, so that doesn’t work.  He had a basketball tournament this weekend though, so we were able to catch 2 games. (They won both and the tournament.)

On top of that, I helped my father-in-law mount their new 50” plasma TV above their fireplace.  We still have some more work to do to hide the wires, but that will wait until the next trip.  Always fun to do projects.

Sunday

We got home late Sunday evening, so I had a late evening run ahead of me.  I didn’t start until after 9:00, so I donned my head lamp and reflective gear and headed out.  It felt great to stretch the legs out after a couple hours in the car.

Monday

Well, we got snow again – surprise, surprise. I spent a good part of the day shoveling the heavy wet snow.  It made for a pretty good cross training workout on my day off from running.  However, it is getting to the point where I don’t have anywhere to put the snow.  The piles at the end of the driveway are over my head, so I have had to start shoveling the snow down the street before I can pile it up in the front yard.  When is spring?

So, there you have it.  My weekend in review.

This week should be a bit easier as it is a recovery week.  A much needed recovery week.  Hopefully that means I will have more time to keep this blog updated so I don’t have to keep doing extended summaries.

Stay tuned!

Today was my long run for the week.  18 miles.  My longest run since the Grand Rapids Marathon in October.  I was not looking forward to it as it was. And then good old Mother Nature had to drop by and dump a boatload of snow on us the past two days and lower the temperatures into the teens.

I got up early to shovel the driveway before Jennie left for work, so I was all geared up to get the run done early and out of the way.  Unfortunately, I got caught up with work stuff and didn’t get to leave until after 10:00.

The first few miles of the run were very slow going.  The plows had been down most of the roads, but they were still covered with a slushy, snowy mixture that is like running in sand.  I did a lap around Reeds Lake, which was occasionally clear, but more snow than pavement.  6 miles in, I got to Calvin College’s campus.  The sidewalks and paths through campus were in great condition compared to the roads.  I ended up basically doing laps around the campus for 6 miles to take advantage of the sidewalks.  I was even able to duck into the gym and refill my water bottle at one point.

After doing about 6 miles on the campus, I headed back home via the same 6 miles I started with.  It was amazing how much the roads had improved in the hour I spent at Calvin.  They still weren’t perfect, but it was much easier going than when I started.  I ended up finishing in 2:36:28 for a pace of 8:42.  I was actually surprised to be under a 9 minute pace considering the road conditions, so I’ll take it.

Not leaving until 10:00 led to an all too familiar problem.  I got halfway into my run and I was starving.  I ate breakfast when I got up, but by 11:00, my body was ready for lunch.  So, as I ran, all I could think about was food.  That didn’t help; it just made me hungrier.  I really need to work on better nutrition and eating habits before my long runs.

When I got home, despite being hungry, my first priority was to take an ice bath for my legs and to shower.  During my run, I had a great idea for my ice bath.  Why pay for ice when Mother Nature had provided a yard full of snow?  And thus, the Midwest-Style Ice Bath was invented (patent pending).  Armed with a plastic container, I filled it up with snow and readied the tub with water.

Previously, for my ice baths, I would add the ice to the water before getting in. However, taking a cue from Chic Runner, I got into the tub first and then added the snow.  This helped minimize the shock of getting into a freezing tub.  I started by just taking handfuls of snow and adding it to the tub, but that was slow going and freezing my fingers.  So I dumped the entire container in at once.  YIKES!  It was instantly freezing.  Colder than ice.  I basically had a mound of snow on my legs.  I suffered through it though and it was definitely worth it.  I am pretty much pain free now.

I was sort of worried that the snow would melt too fast and wouldn’t be as effective as ice.  I was wrong.  Here is a picture of the snow that was still left in the tub AFTER I sat in it for 10 minutes.

There was even snow left in the tub after I took a hot shower while the water drained.  Next time, I don’t think I need as much snow.  Lesson learned.

So, there you have it, a Midwest-Style Ice Bath; something that all you warm weather dwellers are missing out on.  Or not.

Next week is another light week; only 20 miles total.  After 41 last week and 43 this week, I am very much looking forward to it.  Hopefully the lighter running schedule will give me more time on the trainer, which has been lacking.

Stay tuned!

We had record breaking snow today here in Grand Rapids.  Last night/today was the first snow of the season and we got dumped on with around 10" of snow.  We aren’t the only place getting snow either.  Apparently they are even getting snow in Houston!!

So, my day started bright and early at 6:30.  I got up earlier than usual so that I could get the snow shoveled be Jennifer had to head off to work.  It was heavy, wet, back breaking snow.  Not fun.  But, it is easiest to shovel early and shovel often.  Now that I got most of it up, the sun did the rest and now the driveway is dry concrete.

After getting the snow shoveled, I decided to get my run out of the way.  I love running in the snow.  Especially a fresh snow.  I had a long 10 mile run scheduled for today and was sort of looking forward to it.

I did two loops around Reeds Lake which ended up being a little over 10 miles.  It was 10 miles of running down streets like above.  Pristine, snow covered streets and sidewalks.  Nearly half of the run is on quiet roads which made the run so enjoyable.  Towards the end of the run, however, that peace and quiet was interrupted by the sound of snow blowers cranking up (FYI: Snow blowers are one of my pet peeves).  It was relatively slow going with the snow; 1:30 overall for an 8:51 pace, but I enjoyed it.