Ice, Ice Baby!

The run streak continues, except now I am half way through the Advent Run Streak, and so far so good. I'd be lying if I said every run has seen me feeling absolutely fantastic - in fact, last Wednesday's tempo run was awful, and I hated every minute of it!

Things started off pretty well on Monday with just a nice and easy 6km. Mondays are usually a rest day for me, but given I would be running slowly and it was only a short run compared to my normal distance, I actually quite enjoyed it. The Advent challenge set by Sinister Sports for that particular day was to play our favourite Christmas song whilst out on our run. I don't tend to listen to music when I'm running as I like to absorb my surroundings, but when I arrived home, I did opt for "The Christmas Present" album by Robbie Williams, and with a mix of old and new Christmassy songs, it certainly put in the festive mood :)

Things got moved around a bit this week when it came to speedwork, and my usual Tuesday evening "oh my gosh, I hate speedwork!" was replaced with a nice and easy 12km run. It was ugly sweater time for the day's challenge, and I happily wore my wonderful snowflake sweater for the duration of my run. I certainly got some strange looks whilst pounding the local pavements but I didn't mind, and as I posed for a quick piccie at the Telford Lake light display, I got that buzz of excitement that I always get leading up to Christmas :) It was a good run, I was feeling great, and it really didn't feel like I had done two weeks of running already without a rest day.

Things took a turn on Wednesday though. It's usually group run night, but we had had some freezing rain and the roads and pavements were horrendous and covered in sheet ice. I had a tempo run on my schedule but really didn't want to do it, much preferring to do my usual Wednesday evening run with the pups. I hadn't ran with the pups for several days and I was feeling extremely guilty, but I knew that if I ran with Wilson - who was the one making me feel more guilt that the others! - we would both end up on the floor with an injury as he just runs so fast and I wouldn't be able to control things on the ice. I reluctantly left them at home and headed to the rec centre instead with the intent of doing the tempo run on the treadmill.

I hate tempo runs, and I aren't a huge fan of treadmills, so I was already beaten before I even pressed the start button. Usually I can do my tempo runs at around 7 to 7.30 miling these days, but I really had no motivation on Wednesday, finishing my run in a disappointing 48 minutes or something. I tried to speed things up, but every time I did, I felt tired and couldn't be bother, so I ran at a relaxed 7.50 pace instead and that was enough.

Of course, by Thursday I was back to feeling pretty good again - this running game really is a strange one! - and with 10 miles of easy running on the schedule, I was all set to go. The pavements were still treacherous with an inch of solid ice pretty much everywhere - there's a shortage of ice melt and salt right now, so nobody is able to clear the ice from around the houses, and there was no way I was prepared to run in residential areas at an 11 minute mile whilst navigating the icy conditions.

I decided to head out onto the range roads at the back of our house, and whilst they were still icy and covered in snow, they were far better than the sidewalks as there was at least some gravel underneath which gave some traction. I took my Fenix headtorch out with me as there are no street lights out on these roads, barely any houses, and it really does get dark, and I ended up having a fantastic run out there. At one point I was just merrily trotting along and heard a rustling in the bushes which did startle me. When I turned to look, it was just a cute little porcupine going about his business, and as my headtorch shined brightly in his little face, he let out a squeal and I'm sure he was none too impressed at the light shining right in his face. I left him be to do his thing, but it was great to see the local wildlife out there. Thursday's run wasn't fast, but I definitely felt much better, and I got home feeling more content.

Friday was another easy 6k, and tonight it was about getting off the beaten track. Unfortunately the trails are even more lethal than the sidewalks with the amount of ice, so I kept it local again and headed out to Telford. taking in the Christmas lights once again on a dark but relatively mild winter's night.

I was really looking forward to running this weekend. Andy has been away all week and things have been hectic with being home alone, and I haven't been getting back from my evening runs until close to 8pm. Being the weekend meant I would finally get to run in daylight, and with decent temperatures and no rain or snow, it has been pretty nice running outdoors. The pavements are still horrendously icy and I have still been wearing my spikes, but yesterday and today, I had some fantastic runs, getting a lovely 10 miler in on Saturday, and a wonderful 16 miles today. The legs are feeling tired but I'm also feeling fit and strong, and I have really enjoyed the running. My lower back and hips are a little tight and feel fatigued, but I  know that is from trying to balance in the icy conditions when I'm running, and all in all, it's been a great weekend of running.

We have been spoilt in both autumn and so far this winter as things really haven't been too cold and there has been very little snow. The freezing rain has been a pain along with the ice, but in general, things have been good. Overnight tonight however, things are really going to cool off, and we are looking at highs of -18 degrees celsius over the next few days with the potential for snow. From a running perspective, it really makes no difference to me as I will be out and about in whatever the weather brings unless I have a speed session scheduled. But the dogs aren't big fans of the really chilly weather, and certainly our two Mexican girls are not made for freezing temperatures, so much so that when it does get as cold as it is going to get, Tillie refuses to go outside, and April can only tolerate it for around 10 minutes or so.

I made sure to take the pups for some good walks at the dog park this weekend whilst things were warmer, and they sure had a great time. These pups are so good at keeping me happy and entertained when I am home alone, and I can never say enough about how much they really do mean to me. We were going to head to their favourite park in Edmonton this weekend, but I had read that it was a skating rink and the last thing I want is for any of them to slip and hurt themselves on ice - it happened to Brandy and it led to her having to had knee surgery a few months later. In the end, I kept it local, but with three great dog parks on our doorstep, I think the dogs were more than content :)

Andy should be home in the next couple of days, and with him being away, I haven't had time to be making any videos, so things have been on hold for a few days. I'm pretty sure that when he gets back, it will be all hands to the pump, and I will be getting some great videos out over the next few weeks. I have to admit that I am kind of missing doing the video work and whilst the break has been nice, I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

So that's another week done, and it's now less than two weeks until Christmas arrives. I'm getting excited, and so, so looking forward to having that time off.

Have a wonderful week folks, until next time ..... happy running, and puppy snuggles to all our furry followers out there :)