Triathlon Training: Week 6 - Tuesday Morning Run in the Cold

I barely squeezed this run in this morning. I woke up tired. Ava was up at 11:00 to about 11:40 last night. My legs were tired. My quads were shot from the bike work only 9 hours prior. I sent out an message to the running group about getting together to run, but I was not too optimistic about anyone joining due to

-weather - it was a warm 10 degrees out this morning with a slight wind
-some of the runners are not back to school until tomorrow so they are probably enjoying sleeping in while they can
-other commitments and training plans that have caused a shift in run focus for the time being

I headed to Y just in case anyone would show. Nobody did so maybe that was a sign that I am stupid/stubborn for braving the cold this morning. I headed outdoors in my cold gear and started up my 60 minute run. Actually it was a great morning for a solo run. It was so peaceful and the stars were amazing. In hindsight I think I enjoyed this run because I was solo(no offense Crazies!!!). For how slow I started out I think it was best so I did not drag the group down or push too hard too soon.

I started slow. I was tight. I could not get loose in the cold weather so I took things nice and easy to avoid burnout and injury. My first two miles were slow as it took some time to get my legs ready to pick up the pace. Finally mile 3 I cut some time off.

My original plan was to run 30 minutes and then stop and turn around and head back, but as I was running I decided to make a big loop. When 30 minutes came around I realized I had better pick up the pace if I wanted to make the loop in 60 minutes.

Therefore around 3.5 miles I picked up the pace and you can see how my mile splits dropped time quite a bit on the back 3.5 miles or so. I was able to get to 7 miles in 60 minutes, but based on where my location was when I hit 60 minutes I decided to keep running as I did not want to walk in the cold with sweaty gear on. I ran an extra .4 miles to make it back to the Y.

I was very happy with this run. Happy I ran outside as I was quite comfortable to be honest. Happy with my body adapting to the tough training schedule I am putting it through that it is not used to. Happy with picking up my pace towards the end. I hope my runs continue to feel this good and continue to improve. It is my one place among the three disciplines that I feel very confident about in myself. I hope come race day I feel as confident on the bike and water. I know that if I keep training like I have been there will be no reason not to confident about all three disciplines.

Last, today was Tuesday weigh in. Last week I weighed in after the holidays and noticed I gained a considerable amount of weight in about 3 days. I was disgusted. I ate whatever and knew weight gain would occur, but not that much. I am happy to report that after 114 miles last week and some good miles this week I am back to where I was two weeks ago at weigh in. It is amazing how quickly the weight and fat can be put on the body, but how hard you have to work to take it off. I hope to maintain this weight throughout the rest of the winter and then slim down come race day. I need to get some weight training in to build up some muscle, but just don't know where to put that time in among my busy schedule. I will get it figured out.

Happy Tuesday!