Week 5- Pig Training Run Down

Mother Nature did not play nice this week and as a result I ended up with 4 "rest" days.

The stats:

Monday- Rest
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- 3+ hours of shoveling/Rest
Thursday- Yoga, then 5.5 treadmill miles (speed)
Friday- Rest
Saturday- 7 miles including the Chili Bowl 5K
Sunday- 1640 yard swim, 9 mile run, 40 minute trainer ride

Tuesday the snow started around 2 PM. My commute home took an hour and a half, as opposed to the usual 20 minutes, so I bailed on my Tuesday night run I had planned. The roads were closed out by David's work and he couldn't get home, so I spent the night snuggled up with the cats.

Wednesday I woke to over a foot of snow and had to call off work. I managed to shovel my way out by about 5:30, taking periodic trips outside to shovel for 15-30 minutes at a time. Pics of the process below.












Thursday I finally got some workouts in. I headed to yoga in the evening and then went to the Y and got my speed workout in. 3*1 mile repeats. 6:27, 6:52, and 6:53 on the treadmill. I was glad to get the run in but it did negate the 75 minutes of stretching I had just done as I left with incredibly tight hamstrings.

Friday night was the Cleveland Interclub Social. I spent a few hours snacking and chatting with friends before heading to my pals house on the west side for the night. We stayed up a bit late chatting but I finally climbed into to bed around 1 AM.




Saturday was the Chili Bowl which you can read about in this entry. And yes I did have a bowl of Chili after my cool down! Here's some more photos from the event:









Yesterday I woke up early despite feeling exhausted and headed out to my bi weekly swim class. Unfortunately the roads kept deteriorating as I went and after picking up Sam we ended up turning back and instead going to her gym for a short swim. My stroke was wacky and my breathing was labored. I guess maybe this was from the shoveling this week. Who knows.

I headed home and tried to determine when and where I was going to get in my long run. Instead of heading out I ended up napping. Turns out that was a good idea as I obviously needed it.

I finally dragged myself out of the house with the intention of running 18 miles at North Chagrin. I ended up with only about 9 miles. I brought my head lamp, but it was much darker than I anticipated. It was very bizarre running through the woods in the snow with only being able to see about 2 feet in front of me. I did manage to snap some shots before the sun went down.





I almost got mauled by a dog whose owner, even though he spent about a minute yelling at the dog to sit, decided it would be bright to unleash the dog directly after I passed. I felt bad for the dog but I was more worried about myself. The dog left a nice bruise on my leg from jumping at me while I tried to run by.

The trail was not ideal conditions. Most of it was partially plowed but there were sections they hadn't bothered to plow at all. Thanks to whoever managed to dig out a single track path on the trail running down to Wilson Mills! It was very pretty running down hill in the dark with the snow all around, albeit a bit creepy.

Upon arriving back at the car I decided to call it a night, I wasn't sure when the park closed and I figured there was probably a reason I was the only one out there in the dark. I headed to Chipotle and snacked on some chips and guac on my way home. Since I didn't get in the 18 I hoped for I hopped on the trainer for 40 minutes when I got home to round out the day.

I was tired this week despite all the rest days. I guess the shoveling took a toll on me. I am hoping this week goes better and that the weather will be a bit more friendly!