Weekend Workouts - outside before the storm

I have noticed a direct correlation between running outside and frequency of blog posts.  I had five whole days of running outside this week, and it was heaven.  Probably not to be repeated for some time.  Sigh.

Sunday I took it easy, and had a quick one mile run around the block.  I'm fairly sure I was in regular shoes and did not fall down nor find any giant holes to step into. That becomes relevant later in the week.  Sundays are sometimes a work day and sometimes a slack day.  This Sunday had slack written all over it.

Monday I wound up going for a run after work.  I recall it being hard to motivate myself to move at all, but a run around the lake on a plowed path held much more appeal than a run around the sidewalk on un-shoveled garbage.  (Incidentally both those options held more appeal than trying to park at the gym.  I got myself together and headed down to the lake for a nice run, and wound up going 5 miles.  The best part was on the second lap of the lake when the plow guy came by and cleared up the path even more for me.  When I got home, I did a full 20 minutes of stretching which felt great as well.

Tuesday I did a seven mile run in the morning. It was quite cold in the morning, especially along the lake.  It warmed up later in the day, but 6am was still quite nippy.  Some of my neighbors are not so effective at snow removal, which becomes its own battle on runs.  As you can tell from some of the lap times.

Wednesday was the greatest day ever for running.  I did 11 miles, up one side of the river and back down the other side.  Snow was melting like crazy which resulted in puddles the size of my living room.  I found one that went all the way up to my calves.  Luckily I was very near the end of my run, or I would've been concerned about frostbite.  Wednesday I ran with a spare camera and got lots and lots of pretty pictures.  After the run, I was very intentional about stretching and got in a full 20 minute session.

Thursday marked my fifth day in a row, and also my final day this week, for running outside.  The city had what started as a sleet storm, and quickly changed into something far worse.  I strapped on my yak trax for the mile loop of the bloc around my house, and then stayed in the rest of the day.  That photo is also the last time I smiled about being outside this week, and the last time my street was properly plowed.  Sigh.  After the run, I spent some quality time with a foam roller. 

Friday I woke up early and tried to make it to the gym.  I got stuck 2 times in my parking lot, and a 3rd time trying to make it onto the main road.  That 3rd time was really spectacular and involved a Russian dude with a tow strap to finally free me.  I hadn't really checked the weather or road conditions before I left, and will now freely admit that I shouldn't have gone out at all.  That was probably one of the most dangerous things I've done since I moved here.  I can tell you also the upshot of all this was that I literally had the track to myself for most of the workout.  And that was nice too.  I ran five miles, then walked half a mile and stretched out.  When I got home, I didn't even attempt to get my car onto a side street.  I left it parked on a main road about a block away.  I was able to work from home, and was also able to document the carnage.  Minneapolis got 10 inches of snow, and the city is still struggling to get it all plowed properly.

Saturday I was still having nightmares about my car.  No joke.  I wound up sleeping in, skipping Zumba and Body Pump, and heading to the gym a bit later.  I took one look at the track and decided it was a firm "No" and headed over to a treadmill.  Also surprisingly busy for the time of day.  I ran for about 15 minutes.  Then I went to 1pm Pilates.  It was crazy packed.  You'd think a exercise class at 1pm on a Saturday wouldn't be that popular, but then we'd both be wrong.  After Pilates I walked on the track for a while and listened to Car Talk.