Comes in like a Lion.......

Yes, it is finally March - February is over and Spring is on the way, right?  Well, not so fast as Mother Nature has tossed us another curve ball and it snowed (and will snow more tonight) once again this weekend.

I certainly can agree with Eeyore's sentiments.

I was scheduled to run the Millcreek Distance Classic Half Marathon in Youngstown, OH this morning, but with the very iffy forecast for the weekend, I decided to bail on Friday and run a long run yesterday and my normal recovery 6 on Sunday.  After all, if the conditions this morning in Youngstown were anything like the Greater Cleveland area - it was a long 13.1 mile race.

The gang at the start of this morning's run - and this was before it snowed more and basically froze our eyelashes shut in the wind.

Yesterday would have been perfect as it was in the high 20s/low 30s during our run and while there were still some snow and ice covered spots on the all-purpose trail, for the most part - it was clear (probably 85%).  I ran a bit over 19 miles and while they seemed a bit tougher than last weekend's 18, I did get them done and still in a 9:35 pace overall. My last 4 miles were quicker than the first 15 which was good but partially due to the fact that I ran the first 3 by myself in the dawn's early light and it was a bit harder to see and the snow/ice was hidden.  I was a bit disappointed in how tired I actually felt yesterday afternoon and I forced myself to get up for this morning's run in spite of the cold temps (11F) and snow.  Even though I had to dig out and run in those Icebug shoes again, the legs feel great now which is the real purpose of a recovery run, isn't it?

The rest of the week runs were pretty good considering much of it them were forced inside due to snow flurries and cold temps.  I did have two pretty productive "speed" sessions - one on Tuesday and one on Thursday.  I was tired at the start of Tuesday's run, but I did knock out 4 x (1) mile at 7:19, 7:20, 7:15, and 7:05 even on the indoor track and on Thursday, I ran a hard 7 miler with 12 1 min hard /1 min easy repeats (and I ran many of the hard 1 min segments at below 7 min per mile) again on the indoor track.  Wednesday, I did get outside for an easy 5 miler which was done once again in the cold and windy conditions and therefore not at a breathtaking speed.

Overall, I'm pleased with where I am to date, but also not sure of whether or not I'll get to where I want to be.  Need to get reading more of Dr. Stan's book for sure.

Coach Emily had an incredible run this morning in Long Island, so I'm guessing the storm has not yet reached the east coast.  My daughter, in school in Boston, says that the weather will skirt to the south of them, so LI will undoubtedly get hit with a least some cold temps and some snow.  Being out there in the Atlantic might help though.  Back to Coach Emily as she ran a 3:14:59 missing an American record by 68 seconds and shattering the course record.  A 3:14:59 would be an awesome time for anyone at the marathon distance, and she ran 8 more Kilometers.  Kudos, Emily as you are certainly doing something right!  And thanks for all your help over the past few months.

Things are not all gloom and doom here in NE Ohio in spite of the weather.  A good running friend of mine in Atlanta was recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor - prayers to Jerry, and Czar Putin is consistently flexing his muscles and currently having his way with southern Ukraine.  It is hard to believe or is it that Russia exercised their power so soon after they were in the Olympic spotlight, but Putin appears to be a power hungry bottom feeder - so nope, not a surprise.  The local Sunday paper also had tow wonderful uplifting articles: one about an 83 yr old woman who finally received her GED and one about a truck driver who rescues strays from the SE US and brings them to adopted owners in the NE US.  There are still lots of good things to celebrate.

Back on the running front, here is the recap of this week's runs:

Mon - Day off; Core class
Tues - 7.5 miles  Done as 4 x 1 mile repeats; Work with trainer
Wed - Easy 5 miler outdoors
Thurs - 7 miles with 12 1 min on/1 min off repeats
Fri - Core class
Sat - 19.2 miles
Sun - 6.02 miles in the snow

WTD:  44.7 miles     February finished with 157 miles which was 2 miles short of January with 3 less days.
YTD:   345 miles

I was also interviewed for the documentary for the Boston Marathon.  I expect my story to remain on the cutting room floor, but it was still a very cool experience.

50 days.