Compared to this time last year, my runs have been slow, but then last year I was running during the daytime in much warmer conditions. With working full time, I now run in the evenings, and running in the dark does make it seem like you're running much faster than you actually are. I haven't really minded so much, but now that my aim is to get some leg turnover back, I have been getting frustrated at the wintry conditions and losing some of the confidence I was getting towards the end of last year.
Last week, I finally got to run with Wilson and April again. It had been a while since they had been out with me - it had either been too cold, too icy, or too far for them to join me and I will be honest in saying that I was missing their company. Wilson was also acting like he was depressed - he always gets excited when he sees me putting on my running kit, but every time I was telling him no, he would give a huge sigh and go and plonk himself down in a corner, looking like he had been rejected and not happy at all. It always upsets me to see the dogs like this, so I decided to split my 10 mile runs - the first three miles, I would run with Wilson and April to the dog park where we would meet Andy and Tillie (Tillie doesn't like to run too much, especially this time of year,but she is always happy to see us when we meet at the park), then I would head off to do the remaining seven miles on my own.
One night following a winter storm, I ran around the local Telford Lake again, and the snow was ridiculously deep with the snowdrifts. I thought I would get really peed off with it again, but it was such a lovely night otherwise, albeit windy, and I did kind of enjoy the run despite the snow again. I had a couple more runs like that again - feeling really good and raring to go, but held back by the weather, but then I can't control the weather on race day, so I may as well embrace whatever Mother Nature throws at me :)
Last weekend, I headed up to Edmonton to do the parkrun again. I was really hoping for a decent run as things had warmed up, but despite a good start where I hit my target marathon pace, things went backwards very quickly, and I barely broke 23 minutes again. I averaged out at around 7.40 miling which was pretty good compared to of late, and whilst I could quite easily have been mega disappointed, I took it as a sign of progress and knew that I could improve on things over the coming weeks.
A good massage afterwards was much appreciated, and it made me realise that I really must go to see Paul more often as these old legs were like planks of wood being massaged!
That same weekend, we had booked a cabin for the night with the intention of doing a winter camp out if there was space nearby. Unfortunately it wasn't what we were expecting, and our plans for making another video for release in January went pear shaped. We went home disappointed and frustrated at not having recorded anything, but we had some ideas that we hoped to put in to practice in the next couple of weeks, so not all was lost.
As I mentioned, specific marathon training is now in my schedule, with planned speed sessions and marathon paced runs. Last week I did 5 x 1km repeats with a goal pace of sub 7 minute miling - I couldn't get anywhere close, averaging out at 7.40s which was disappointing again. The following Saturday, I had 25km to do with the last half at my current marathon pace, which at the minute is probably around 8 minute miles and I really need to speed things up.
I went out on my run in fairly mild conditions and I felt great! I really enjoyed the run, and whilst the second half felt hard, I was chuffed to be running a relatively comfortable 7.52 average which was slightly quicker than a similar session I had done ont eh treadmill a couple of weeks earlier. I felt so good last Saturday that come Sunday, I was once again really looking forward to my run, and I felt even better than the previous day, doing my easy paced run much more quickly and feeling comfortable the whole way.
Tonight saw me doing another speed session, this time it was 5 x 800m. The temperature has plummeted again, and we are once again under an extreme cold warning. When I ran at 5.30pm, it was already feeling like -29 celsius, and I was once again feeling like the Michelin Man with all the layers. It was also extremely icy in some sections and I had to ease back a little to make sure I didn't go flying, and yet I had a really good session and felt really, really strong. I am definitely edging closer to those sub 7 minute miles, and it is making me feel much happier and far more confident. I have a half marathon in a couple of weeks and I'm hopig for some favourable conditions so I can finally have a decent run and not blame my terribly slow pace on snow, ice and the cold!
The winter weather again means that some of the videos we had planned had been put on hold, but the good news is I did get a running update posted which detailed my race plans for this year as well as what else is coming to the channel, and then last weekend, I finally got to do the winter camping trip.
The camping took place in my own backyard as I wanted to be close to home should the sleeping setup fail in the snowy and chilly conditions. It turned out to be a great weekend and you'll be able to see that video shortly once we have finished all the editing. And if you didn't know already, you can of course view my channel and all the videos by following this link.
So as I say, running is going well and I am starting to see gradual improvement in my pace. We are now in February and I can already see that the the nights are starting to draw out and it is daylight until around 5.30pm which means I get to see some beautiful sunsets when heading out on my runs. I'm sure there will be more cold spells, I'm sure there will be more snow - that's just the nature of Alberta - but I also know that things will now start to warm up, and hopefully things will get easier when out running on the roads.
For now, I shall keep chugging forwards and do my best, with every intention of enjoying my runs, and knowing that with every session, I can only get better.
Happy running folks!
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