Monday, March 10, 2008

Week 8 - A Short Week

The week started off great. On Monday the 3rd we were treated to some great weather. I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and ran 4 miles in McDonald (in shorts and t-shirt). Even if it was short lived, I needed this for my sanity. I was somewhat stiff from the half-marathon the day before, but it felt good to be out running on a warm sunny day.

On Wednesday I had another good run. The weather cooled off some, but it was still a pleasant 32 degrees. I got out and ran 5 miles at an easy pace. I could still feel the hills of the Mill Creek half-marathon every time I pushed a little harder or ran a hill, but again it was enjoyable not running in single digit temperatures.

On Friday the snow came. It was described as a winter storm of epic proportions. It lived up to its billing. It was “THE PERFECT STORM”. Unfortunately, running was not going to happen. On a weekend of activity cancellations, road parking bans, and rescheduling of about every major event in the area, it was hard to convince myself that I would no be running this weekend.

Friday there was no way. I did not even venture out of my house. On Saturday, I went out and cleared the driveway and decided to go see how bad it was for myself. I got into Elle and we traveled over to Mill Creek Park. From my house, the park is about 15 minutes away. After a 35 minute ride, I was starting to doubt I would be running. Once I got to the park, I thought maybe I would run around Lake Newport twice for my 10 mile run. This is a heavily traveled road and I figured it would be one of the first roads cleared. Big Mistake! The roads in the park had not been touched. There was a foot of mashed up brown and white snow covering the roads. Reluctantly I drove home. I stretched out and sat and watched a movie pissed that I could not run.

On Sunday I noticed that the Village of McDonald had done a real nice job of clearing my road. This was a good sign. I waited until the sun came out and then I prepared to get out for my run. I went out at about 11:30 a.m. and it was great. Sure there was a little ice and a little slop, but it is March in northeast Ohio. I trudged on and ran for almost 50 minutes. I chalked it up to 6 miles of running.

Not a great week of marathon training, but sometimes you have to take what the good Lord gives you. Here are my unimpressive numbers for the week.

Total Miles = 15
Long Run = 6
Inches of Snow = 10

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