Another week in the book.  It seemed to go by super-fast, without a lot happening either…

I didn’t run on Monday and belted out my Week 4 push ups. I completed a total of 97 push ups.  My core workout for today included Prehab: Core, Hip, and Elasticity.

Tuesday I ran about 4.25 miles from my house downtown and back.  It was a little cold (20) and windy.  Running into the wind wasn’t exactly pleasant but not unbearable either! Since I’m not doing all of the Core Performance workouts, I didn’t have any core work to do today!

On Wednesday though it was even colder with a wind chill of 3, which I didn’t realize until I got home.  The weather app on my phone said it was in the 20’s, but didn’t show a wind chill.  Learned the hard way! I ran 3.25 miles around a snow covered Powderhorn Park. The required 113 push ups really started hurting by the last 2 sets.  It was painful but I also don’t want to fail! Today was a physioball workout.  I also bike commuted to work which takes a bit longer when there is snow on the ground, not only riding but also the whole layering system takes time.  I didn’t slip or get too cold so that was good!

By Thursday I was exhausted and didn’t run.  I almost ran in the evening to blow off some stress but opted to just relax at home.  I did my Prehab:Core, Hip, and Elasticity core workouts though.

Friday morning was the coldest yet with a wind chill of 0.  I wore 4 layers on my upper body and felt comfortable, except for not wearing my face mask! It was a very uneventful 3.1 mile run.  On days like this it is hard to keep the body temp comfortable, when I was running into the wind my body was on the cold side and with my back to the wind it was on the warm side.  The joys of winter running! I also completed the required push ups – 140 to be exact. I almost couldn’t get the last set of 33 out – I had to pause a few times, but I made it!

Saturday was the weekly Polar Bear runs and it finally lived up to its name! We woke up with an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground and the temp was in the mid-teens with a harsh -3 windchill.  We ran a loop around the Mississippi River from Lake Street to Plymouth Ave which is just under 11 miles total.  The run out was brutal because of the wind and the River Road’s trails hadn’t been plowed yet for most of the run.  That made for a tough workout, between the poor footing and losing some of the normal return it required more energy to complete the same workout from 2 weeks ago.  We finished right at 1:26:00 for about 11.78 10.78 miles.  I did my push-up exhaustion test, completing 36, which keeps me in the middle column going into Week 5.

It was bitter cold on Sunday for the 7.25 miles that we put in.  It was an interesting morning though – Rob and I were followed by a weird stalker guy while driving to Fort Snelling.  He started tailgating us and honking his horn, matching our every turn and then passing us on the right when we entered the parking lot.  Rob called 911 to report him and we followed him around the parking lot before parking.  Then he pulled into the spot right next to us (on my side) and just sat there with a weird look staring at us.  He would also randomly just honk his horn. Rob got out and talked to some of the guys to tell them what was up and then when the whole group showed up we got out.  Nathan tried talking to him, but I don’t even think he rolled down his window.  Paul told him we had already called the cops and he finally left – we thought maybe he’d try and run us over but everything seemed fine once he left.   After that adventure the run was really good.  We ran on the snow covered trails of Pike Island.  Down on the island the windchill doesn’t feel as fierce but the temp was about 4 degrees with a -3 wind chill.  We didn’t see any deer until we got into the middle of the island and then they were everywhere.  It was a good run!

Weekly Mileage

Running – 28.6 miles

Biking – 7 miles

This Week Last Year

I posted a guest review of the Monster Mash Dash in Indianapolis and completed the third part of my training analysis which was for my Mid-South Half-Marathon.  And of course Foto Friday!  Last year’s mileage was 9.5 miles on the (indoor) bike, 1.2 miles on the elliptical, and 15 minutes on the rower.