All I have to say about this week is I am so ready for us to get back to normal cold weather winter temperatures. This below 0 weather is not the norm for winter in Virginia. It looks like we’ve got another really cold week ahead of us, but hopefully after that it will start to warm up a bit. The 20’s would be a nice change….
Monday- Took advantage of the day off of work for MLK Day, and went for an 8 mile run in the morning.
Halfway through my run my feet went completely numb. I stopped and loosened my shoelaces, and also stretched my achilles tendons which were very tight. Slowly, my feet woke back up and I took off running back down the trail.
I also tried out the PowerGels that I got in this month’s StrideBox. The flavor was fine, and they were gel-filled inside. However, I found them very difficult to chew, more so than Shot Bloks. I don’t know if they were just tough to chew due to the cold temperatures, though.
Tuesday- A blizzard moved in on us early Tuesday morning and lasted throughout the day. At one point it was snowing so hard, you couldn’t even see the mountains behind our house.
The dogs had a blast playing together outside and eating all of the snow off of the deck. I chose to stay inside as much as possible, and did a Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones workout. It had been over a week since I last did this workout, and I could definitely feel that.
Wednesday- Rest.
Thursday- Randomly decided to do my 10 mile long run after work, after joking with Barry that eating spaghetti for dinner Wednesday night meant I should be doing my long run. I guess the idea stuck. I ran on the treadmill, since it was below 0 outside with the windchill. I discovered that a towel over the treadmill display screen helps the miles fly by.
Friday- Rest.
Saturday- I was supposed to meet up with Kim for a run, but we rescheduled to Sunday due to the 40 mph winds we were having. I really didn’t want to go, but wasn’t going to say anything if she still wanted to go. I was so relieved when she texted me suggesting we postpone to Sunday. Instead, I tried out the other Jillian Michaels DVD I bought over the holidays- the Burn Fat Boost Metabolism workout.
This one was another winner. It was set up as a 5 minute warm-up, seven 6 minute circuits, and a 5 minute cool-down. All you needed for this one was a mat. The workout was a mixture of core work, strength moves, calisthenics, and kick boxing, and it definitely got my heart rate up and had me working.
Sunday- I met up with Kim for a 3 mile run on the Dora Trail. The weather was much more favorable, so I was glad we postponed.
Total Miles: 21 miles
Turkey Runner 
Pool opens in 117 days. Just sayin…
That can’t come soon enough.
I still love that you randomly did 10 miles in the middle of the week ON THE TREADMILL! I need to get into junk TV shows and start doing this!
Haha the beauty of not having a training plan to follow 🙂
This winter weather is putting a damper on my running too. I’ve spent way too many days on the dreadmill, and I never run as far or as fast as I would outside. Boo! Way to rock a 10-miler inside. That’s the upper limit of my treadmill patience, and it’s so boring!
I used to always run slower on the treadmill than outside, but lately I have found that I’ve been running faster on the ‘mill. I think it’s a combination of less hills than being outside and extra cushioning which makes my shins happy.
Mom said at one point she couldn’t see her mailbox this week because of the heavy snow. It must have been the same storm moving through! I’m heading down to see her in early March and wondering if you’ll be in town for a trail run on March 8. Maybe you can take me for a tour of one of the beautiful trails you run on!
It probably was! Unfortunately we are going to be running a trail half (potentially my first trail race) on March 8 in Danville. Boo. Otherwise, I would have loved to take you on a tour, as long as you didn’t mind slowing down to my pace. Or we could just meet at the end, haha 🙂 Maybe next time??
Bummer, and another time for sure! Have fun at your trail half!
If our weather is headed your way, LOOK OUT. It is not going to get above zero here today and wind chills are 30-something below!! Glad you were still able to get good workouts in even though it’s so cold.
Yes! We are having that weather now. Yuck. I am so over this extreme cold.
I’m hoping February will bring back the 40s! I’m glad I can at least run on the treadmill at my work gym when it feels below freezing!
Me too! That’s good that you have the treadmill at work to run on. It has just been too cold to be running outside lately.
The weather DEFINITELY affects the texture of most fueling options. Gels get super running or super thick, and chews get soft or, well, chewy. Try warming them in your mittens before eating, if you don’t like the chewier/thicker texture!
I hate when my Shot Bloks freeze in the winter or turn into goo in the summer. I’ll have to try and remember to think ahead and warm them up in my hand before eating. Monday it was like trying to eat rocks!
Those chews are chewy. I use them occasionally for a change from the gels, but during a race I prefer gels because they’re fast to get in. I like your snowy pic!
I’m not a big fan of them for fueling while running. Even Shot Bloks, which I used to love, have started to annoy me during long runs.