IT JUST FEELS RIGHT

After what seemed like 4-5 weeks of the exact same weather (25 degrees in the morning and 30-35 in the afternoon), we finally had a change. Last night around 4:30 it started to snow. 4 hours later we had 3 inches. This morning I woke up to 18 degrees with a wind chill of 5. Granted, that’s still probably above normal for this time of year, so I shouldn’t complain.

This morning I did an easy 5 miles before work. I was a little surprised that the trails weren’t that slippery. I thought with new snow on top of ice that it’d be treacherous, but the snow actually helped with the footing.

This evening I met my training group at this icon that appears near the TCM finish line. After warming up for 10 minutes, we ran the stairs for 10 minutes, ran out and back on Summit Avenue for another 35 minutes, ran the stairs for 10 more minutes and then cooled down. That was 77 minutes, so I called it 10 miles.

Since I’m in the base phase and not the hill phase, I’ve been taking it easy on the hills/stairs. I’m treating these parts of the workout as transitions into the hill phase, even though that phase is still 7 weeks away. During the 35 minutes along Summit Avenue I felt really good. I just hung out behind a couple of people and ran control – probably close to 7:15-pace.

I’m not sure how to explain it but right now my training “just feels right.” The mileage doesn’t seem daunting. The days I pick up the pace, I feel really controlled. Physically and mentally I feel great. I’ve improved some of the “little” things too, like giving up the big cookie I ate every day at lunch, getting over 7.5 hours of sleep, stretching, and doing some strength training – including my abs and back.

One thing I’ve been considering as I approach mileage levels that are new to me is building for 2 weeks, instead of 3 weeks, before cutting back – at least for this next cycle. One of the reasons is because there’s a half marathon on February 4th that I’m planning on running. By building for only 2 weeks this cycle, I’d be able to use my cut-back week as a mini-taper as well.