Running by effort

I have been busy that's why I'm a bit behind on my blog posts. Don't panic, I have been keeping up with all my runs. Another 20 miler last Sunday, I'm done with the really long runs now. Tapering until the marathon February 28.

Last weeks total mileage was 52 miles. All ran outside in a pretty brutal week. Temps around -30C/-22F. Windy. I added a layer for my legs (3 layers now) and that actually really helped. It's hard to find the right pant for winter temps. Some have extra wind stopper pads on the front but then my hamstrings get extremely cold. Legs need to warm up so more layers work.

Arizona and I are going to be friends, I can feel it!

Tapering for Phoenix now. I'm very excited to spend a few days in warm temperatures. I also will be visiting my son in Seattle for 2 weeks so I'm for sure going to be spoiled weather wise. I know Seattle can be rainy in winter but I don't mind. I love it there and I think it's gorgeous!

I have been running by effort these past few months since the NYC marathon. No use of a gps since it's only going to be frustrating. The run will feel hard but the gps will show a slow jog. So that's why I am also going to run the marathon by effort, no watch. I am curious how I will do. Will I have a hard time even finishing it or will I have maintained a fairly decent fitness level? I don't know, we'll see. Either way it's going to be interesting.

I gauge my effort by the way I breathe. Long run effort is usually breathe in 3 steps, breathe out 2. Nice and easy. A tempo run I will usually run at 3 steps breathe in, 2 out then 2 steps breathe in 2 out. So that counts 3 in 2 out, 2 in 2 out. Faster effort like longer track workouts, a shorter race or the end of a longer race I breathe 2 steps in 2 steps out. Then you have all effort, 400 meters etc, anything goes, just breath hard and run hard until you feel like puking.

I have been racing one half marathon and one full marathon without a gps watch and I loved it. It's great to just listen to your body and run accordingly. It feels a lot more free from numbers. Also you don't have to panic if the watch doesn't receive the correct data like in big cities. Just go naked!
Interestingly I have been doing quite well at the naked races. My half marathon was actually a pr and at the full I was only 2 minutes off my pr but felt extremely good until the end.

Just try to run without a watch if you can. Even if it's just your easy runs. You'll love it!

I want to be this dude!! (stolen from the adventure running blog)

45 mile week

Finished a 45 mile week today. It was a tough one. I don't think the temp. was above -30 for the entire week. It's been extremely cold for 2 weeks now and I had enough. I really need a little break. Hopefully next week is better.

Sunrise this morning.

I did 12 miles today but I divided it in a morning and an afternoon run. I just can't run that long in this cold. It's too hard on my body.

Polar vortex dog. Allie loves running outside in this weather

I also have to find a way to keep my butt and thighs warmer, they just get too cold no matter the layers. Anybody with suggestions feel free to let me know. 

Ok enough with the whining. I am still going and part of the success is for sure  you people reading this blog. This week I was seriously contemplating the treadmill but I made a deal with myself to run through winter so I'm going to keep at it. 

Thanks for reading. :)

What a difference a day makes

Beautiful sunny day to run 6 miles. Can't believe what a difference of 10 degrees of windchill makes.

The temperature today was the same as yesterday -20C/-5F however the windchill today is -27C/-14F compared to -37C/-34F. This really made my run a lot easier. My bones were not so sore and I did not have to wear as many layers.

Sunset in freezing clear temperatures can be gorgeous. The snow reflects the beautiful pastel colors of the sky.

Post stingray survival run

I had two days of rest after my debacle with a stingray. Make sure you never get stung by one of those babies because it's seriously painful. My foot is still swollen from the venom but it doesn't hurt anymore. Actually I think I could have run yesterday but I did not want to push it.

We are in the north of Nicaragua now and it's the area of eternal spring. It's nice and warm but never hot like in the rest of this country. It's the area of coffee. 

I did a 55 minute run in town this morning. When I got outside at 5.30 am I saw a guy with a shotgun sitting across the street. No uniform or anything just a regular guy. I did not know if this was a good or bad sign so I just started my run. It seemed there was a guy like that on the sidewalk every other block or so. Lot's of people out running and exercising here so all seemed good.

I wanted to take a picture of the guy with the gun but when I was done running he was gone. I did see him in the park where I took my last loop so I snagged a picture from the back. Him and his buddy.

I love early morning runs and see people get ready for the day. People in Nicaragua are extremely friendly and happy.  It's a great country to visit. That is if you are a bit adventurous. If you are an all inclusive resort type this country is not for you. 

Barefoot rancheros

800 meter repeats barefoot on the beach how does that sound?

Not too bad right? 

Yes after feeling sorry for me for the last few weeks  you may now envy me. 

We landed in Costa Rica on Sunday and I did a few easy miles early in the morning. There's nothing better than explore a new city on an early morning run. Great way to get to know the new place.

Yesterday we traveled up to Nicaragua, San Juan Del Sur to be precise. Met a great girl that I had missed for too long!

So this morning I did my 800 meter repeats barefoot on the beach. 6 of them, all in around 3.50-3,55. Not too bad after a night of margaritas.

Travel time

Long run this Saturday morning. Last one before my trip to Nicaragua. I'm flying out tomorrow but we're heading to Edmonton today. The flight is at 6 am and the drive there is 3 hours so leaving tomorrow is not an option. I'm writing this blog lying in the most cloud like bed you can imagine. Very unfortunate that I can only enjoy that for a few hours.

Long run was 2.5 hours, about 15 miles. Nice crisp cold weather, nothing crazy.
Every day I use the lacrosse ball and a foam roller to self massage and hit trigger points. Even more so after a long run. Now that I am going on a trip the lacrosse ball is coming along. It's small but can hurt oh so good.
I highly recommend lacrosse ball self massaging. It's painful in the beginning though.

Cool off!

This is my Allie after a run in 7C/44F. She got so hot that when we came home she threw herself in a snow bank to cool off. So funny! She did not want to come in knowing that would be way too hot.

I guess it's a warm spell here, just a few days but so much fun to run in. Yesterday I ran 5 easy miles. Today 20 minutes warm up/cool down and 2 X 9 minutes @ tempo effort. I took my watch and actually ran a good tempo for the 9 minutes. Ran about 8.50 which would be about right for a tempo run. I am pretty happy with that because it means that when it's warmer I do run a bit faster even though there is still a lot of snow on the ground which is slushy.

I was very warm myself and had to take off my ear warmers and gloves. I bet I could have been running in just a long sleeve! Crazy for this time of year here.

I better get used to it since I will be traveling to Nicaragua coming Sunday for 17 days. Hope you guys don't mind tagging along and see some colorful pictures instead of these blue and grey winter ones.

Unbelievable!!!

It's true. I'm doing my recovery run and another runner passed me. Seriously there are hardly any runners here. In summer there are lots of bikers and hikers but never runners. Getting passed by another runner in winter is truly traumatic. Of course I tried to speed up but this lady was fast too! Not cool!

This is not her. I was even too slow to get my phone out from under all my layers. 

Did 4 miles, 2 with my favorite puppy and 2 by myself.

Then some weight training. Squats and Turkish Get Ups. At the same time watching netflix at home. 

2 thoughts that get me through the long run

Temperature: -8C/17F windchill -13C/8Fb

Long run of 2 hours. 11 miles.

One of those days that the temperature felt colder than it should. Went back because my face was cold in the wind but I didn't want to put my balaclava on because I knew it would be too warm. Lathered a lot of vaseline on my face and went back out. Sure enough that did the trick. Can't do without vaseline in a cold climate!

One other pair of footsteps on the trail. Somebody's been brave!!

One of the things that keeps me going on a long run is thinking about the treats I am going to enjoy when back. Hot chocolate is one of them, the other is a hot bath with scented epsom salts. That's about it, I'm a simple woman.

Heat wave

Just kidding of course. But -5C/20F feels mighty warm after crazy cold temperatures.

I only had a 40 minute run on my schedule but I wanted to take advantage of these warmer temperatures so I ran 1.15 minutes with some fartlek in the middle.
Felt great! Days like these are awesome!

A colleague at work brought her puppies. OMG YES PLEASE!!

Running by effort

You would be surprised to know that running in -13C/8F feels extremely balmy after those brutally cold days. Well maybe not balmy but it did not feel cold at all.

Happy!

I'm training by effort. That means that I do not go by speed. Going by speed in this cold and all this snow on the ground means only frustration. No way you can keep the same tempo as when the temps. are fairly normal. Also all the snow makes it feel like you're running on a sandy trail. 

I guess runners who live in an extremely hot part of the world do something similar in summer. 

A gps watch is a great training tool. However I know myself and have the tendency to check it way too much and that way not be so much in touch with how I feel. Last year I started doing all my easy and unimportant runs without a gps and I have to say I loved it. It felt more relaxing and I had more time to actually enjoy my surroundings.

This winter I will run mostly by time and effort. This is how a week could look like:

Monday: rest

Tuesday: 50 minutes

Wednesday: speed, 6 X 3 minutes at 85% effort with 2,3 minutes recovery (plus warm up and cool down off course)

Thursday: 40 minutes

Friday: 50 minutes plus pick ups (fartlek)

Saturday:  40 minutes

Sunday: long run, time equivalent of 13 miles (probably around 2 hours)

Obviously I have to consider the weather every day. If Tuesday is a beautiful day with little wind that would be the day I do my speed and not wait for Wednesday when disaster can strike again. Flexibility and ready to adjust without freaking out will be key.  I know I will also miss runs here and there and that's ok too.

If any of you have other tips or experiences please let me know!! It's a lot of trial and error for me. 

Failed attempt...............

This is not me but if could have been. I tried to go for a run but stopped at 1.5 mile, a very hard 1.5 mile. 

My inside runner person feels like freaking out but I know it will be ok. Just rationalize those crazy OCD thoughts away. I worked the kettlebells instead. 

Temps around -22C/-4F don't know the wind chill but it was cold.

There's always tomorrow....

It's decided. I am going to run outside in the Northern Alberta winter. No excuses just do it.

I know there will be many challenges but hopefully just as many solutions. Anything is possible.

Please follow me and help me to keep going!!!!

Today was 4 miles easy. There was freezing rain so it was very slick. I ran on the snow to avoid falling. Not too cold around 32F/0C. The above picture is from last year.

Still running easy, recovering after the NYC marathon.