Winter = Cold, Dark Training Runs

It seems that the weather, my work schedule, and the short days of winter have conspired to try my dedication to my training plan. I am having to run most of my miles in the dark, and in the snow, or sleet, or rain. I did manage 78 miles this week, but I did not hit the 82 miles in the plan. Further, I have consistently failed to hit my target paces. I 'll keep slogging through it and hope that I can turn that around. How long until Spring?

Monday: My first double, with 6 miles in the dark early morning followed by 4 miles after work. Running twice a day is difficult, considering how early I start work. There are more of these in the plan. My life gets better and better.

Tuesday: Ten miles at the track in the snow in the dark, with 10 x 100 sprints. Once again, I couldn't see the lane lines. To run the 100's, I ran onto the football field where I could at least estimate 100 yards. Total fun. Please sir, may I have another.

Wednesday: 14 miles after work in the dark, on the roads in Solon and North Chagrin Reservation.

Thursday: 7 miles around Independence at lunch, noteworthy in that this run was not in the dark.

Friday: 10 miles, mostly on the tow path in the rain. My allegedly 'weather tight' Nike Trail Pegasus GTX completely filled with water after two miles. Pleasant sensation.

Saturday: 7 miles around Solon in the very early (do I need to mention 'dark'?) morning before driving to New Jersey.

Sunday: 20 very early, dark, wet, sloggy, slushy, slow miles on the roads of Short Hills, New Jersey. I was not surprised when I checked my Garmin to find that my average pace was 8:50. I admit it was not my best effort for a long run, but I don't take all of the blame. My shoes were filled with water and felt like they weighed a couple of pounds each. The roads were sloppy with slush and snow and ice.

Total Miles: 78 miles

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Nike Pegasus Trail GTX Review Update: Despite the GoreTex uppers and sealed tongues, these shoes were ineffective at keeping my feet dry in bad conditions. Remarkably, they are very effective at collecting and holding ice water. Maybe a mistake was made and they sent me the Nike Pegasus Waterbuckets. Within the first mile, they became waterlogged and heavy...picture running with little aquariums filled with ice water strapped to your feet. I am disappointed, because I was counting on them to get me through the bad weather. I guess I should have spent the additional money and bought another pair of Pearl Izumi GTX. They were not great road shoes, and they wore-out quickly, but they were much more effective at keeping my feet dry.