a streak of sorts

I had a nice run on Sunday with Brooke and John. 5 miles on the trail, with an easy recovery walk at the end. The weather was a little cool, but not bad in the woods.

Since Sunday I have run three days in a row. The streak was broken this morning, but I decided it best not to push it for a couple of reasons: I was feeling a little tired and I didn't want to increase my mileage too quickly since I have been so inconsistent. Ironically, it was actually above freezing this morning, so my run would have been kind of nice. Well, there's always tomorrow (plus I am taking a vacation day so I might try to run during the daylight... *insert big smile here*). I am hoping to get my mileage up around 20 - 25 miles / week by mid-March as I stretch my long runs a little further. Currently, the only race I am training for is Dances with Dirt, so there is some time yet, but I'd like to get to at least a 10 mile trail run before then.

Not much else to report - shoes are feeling good. A nice, comfortable ride. I have a mid-test feedback report to complete around March 11th so I'll have a few more miles on them by then.

DINO Trail Run #1

We were told it was the coldest and snowiest DINO Trail Run in their history... I believe it, though the snow wasn't terrible and it wasn't that cold (just a mere 22 degrees with a nice breeze to keep it comfortable). I did find the race to feel longer than 15k, though I did not see anything that said it was long. My pace was the incredibly slow pace of 11:18/mile. That is the slowest I have ever run a race in all races I have ever run... an new PR!!!

While I said the snow was not bad, it did make for a tough run and to add to it there was mud that was the whole width of the trail and then some - and not just in one place, but many. And as the race progressed (it was a 5k loop that we ran 3 times) the conditions seemed to get worse - muddier because of all the people, but also because the sun came out and started to melt the snow.

After the first loop I was ready to call it quits, but I was running with my friend John and he kept me honest and moving. So we continued on. The cold never bothered me, in fact I got just a little warm towards the end, but never uncomfortable. I have never felt like I worked more for a race than I did after finishing this one - only my marathons made me feel worse.

I am taking tomorrow off, then it is back to the gym for some lunch time runs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I'll need to review my training schedule to see what next weekend will bring - I am hoping for a step back week...

My wear test for the shoes New Balance sent me ended today. Seemed like a fine pair of shoes. I ran in them on the treadmill, outside even casually a few times (they instructed me to wear them in all aspects including casual if possible). I guess I'll see if they send any more goodies my way...

That is all for now. Hope everyone's weekend runs weren't too cold or snowy... spring is just around the corner...

A New Title

I am no longer just a husband, father, architect or runner. Add "Wear Tester" to the list.

A while back I signed up to be a wear tester for New Balance. I thought it would be cool to try out new shoes and apparel - especially for items that might be more specific to my size and my running style. Out of the blue I received a pair of shoes this evening with some different inserts in them to try out for 4 weeks. I have to give the shoes back when I am done, but it will still be cool to try out some new shoes and see how they work.

Unfortunately they are not trail running shoes, but I'll still get some good use out of them in the 4 weeks...