So this happened on Saturday morning…

On Friday, I was seriously considering not registering, since my first week of training was not going as planned. It was cold and miserable outside, and my digestive system was staging a major rebellion against all the holiday eating. I thought “Really? 18 weeks of this?” But Lincoln fills up fast, and Jordan convinced me to register. He said I’d regret it if I didn’t, because I love training and racing. The man knows me well. So I signed up.

Let’s talk a little more about that crummy first week of training. Christmas break had me all excited to get in lots of outdoor running. I didn’t have to be at work, so there was really no reason to not run outside, right?

Well, I guess those are reasons. I felt like a weenie staying inside every day, but before it snowed, it rained. Rain in December means ice, and temperatures that never get above 20 mean ice that doesn’t melt. So I went to the treadmill. Call me a wimp if you want, but I’m a wimp without injuries, so there’s that.

Here’s how my treadmill-full week went.

Monday: 

9 miles with 4 at tempo — my first tempo run in months. It was hard, as tempo runs always are for me. I also did two rounds of the Runner 360 post-run.

Tuesday: 

11 miles easy. That was my longest treadmill run in quite some time, but I discovered a new show to help get me through. Anybody watch How to Get Away With Murder?

Plus, I had this sweet new medal hangar (a Christmas gift from my in-laws) to motivate me.

Wednesday: 

5.3 recovery miles. I had to add the .3 because I was NOT ending the year with a decimal. I have issues. So I ended 2014 with a nice, even 2305 miles. After my run, I did some core work and, believe it or not, stretched!

Thursday: 

I was going to run outside Thursday. The temperature was up to a whopping seven degrees by mid-morning, which is cold, yes, but doable, especially since the sun was shining. And then J pointed out that seven and sunny does not melt ice. And he pointed out all the unshovelled sidewalks. So back to the basement I went for 9 easy miles and some strength training.

Friday: 

We had to go to Loveland (about an hour and 20 minutes away) to do some shopping and meet up with friends, so I had to run before daylight. So this would’ve been a treadmill run regardless of the temperature outside (which was cold, anyway). 5 recovery miles followed by core work and stretching again. Who am I?

On a side note, one thing I was shopping for was YakTrax or something similar so that I would be more able to run outside when conditions are like they were this week. (I tried the screws-in-shoes thing at our Christmas lights run, and while they were okay for 4 miles, they were bugging my feet by the end). One of the friends we were shopping with (who is moving and trying to get rid of lots things), said she had a pair that she’d never used and that I could have them. Score!

Side note #2: We went to see Unbroken. It was amazing. Go watch it.

Saturday:

I should have titled this post “My Husband Is Always Right.” Saturday morning, I was sick of the treadmill. I did not want to be on it for 15 miles. It was my first week of training, dang it, and I needed an outside run. I didn’t care if it was cold and icy and slow. I said all of this to J, who argued that I needed to stay inside. It was still very icy and not very safe out there, he said. And, looking at the radar on his weather app, a nasty storm was on its way.

Grumpily, I went downstairs. To make the run bearable, I watched Sleepless in Seattle (thank goodness for Amazon Prime) and every 10 minutes, I hopped off for a minute of strength or plyo moves. About 45 minutes in, it started snowing outside. Sideways. Once again, J  was right — visibility would have been terrible if I had been outside, and most of the sidewalks were still not run-able, so it really would have been dangerous out there.

So I finished my 15 miles. Ta da.

Sunday: 

An hour of yoga. I’m determined to do yoga at least once a week during this training cycle.

Total: 54.3 miles.

I was inclined to gripe about the treadmill, but then I realized how stupid that was. “Oh, poor me, I have to run on my own, personal treadmill, in the basement of my nice, warm, safe house, with a fan blowing on me and a movie on my laptop.” Wow. You really have it hard. *rolls eyes at self*

But I do plan to get outside soon. This cold snap is uncharacteristic of Colorado, and once the ice mostly melts off or I get my friend’s YakTrax, I’ll feel a lot safer out there.

But in the meantime, it’s back to work and back to treadmill runs at 0’dark thirty, so it’ll be Saturday before I venture back outside.

What’s the longest you’ve run on a treadmill?

Do you own YakTrax or something similar?