1/12/2015 to 1/18/2015

January 12, 2015

3 miles at Upper Campus in late afternoon. I did the first mile with Karl. We immediately set off at a lightning-fast pace, which we kept up around the Hospital Hill loop. He handled himself possibly even better than I did on the icy descent, possibly due to his having twice as many legs. Cheater. The rulebook doesn't say that you can use four legs. By the time we got to the straightaway that comes after Hospital Hill, he was dragging and his tongue hung about half a foot out of his mouth. He sped up to a full sprint as soon as he rounded the row of flags at the far end of the field and saw his goddess (my mom) walking towards us. I handed over the dog at that point and did two more miles.

January 15, 2015

4.4 miles on Upper Campus. The first two were with Karl.

January 16, 2015

Two miles on Upper Campus. I started the usual way, then went down the Mankiller trail and back up. I rendezvoused with my mom at the top of the hill and tried to take the dog for the last half mile, but he refused to leave her behind, so I handed the dog back and took off alone again. Total time: 15:40. Total pace: 7:50. Both miles were in the 7:46-7:50 range, but I did the last tenth of a mile at a sprint (roughly a 5:40/mile pace).

January 17, 2015

3 miles at Upper Campus in the morning. I ran alone and slowly, doing one extended hospital loop and one regular one. My time was 23:45 and my pace was 7:54/mile.

3.2 miles at Briar Creek Lake Park in the late afternoon. Last time (link to other post) I said that I would go back there for a short run if Upper Campus ever had me bored senseless. Both criteria were met, so I headed over there. Last time, the place was like a bog, but this time the lake was frozen over (apparently pretty thickly; some people were messing around out on the ice in the middle of the lake) and even the trail was iced over in places. I headed along the south side of the lake, at one point going out a few yards onto the ice to see how solid it was (it was very solid). I then ran up along the dike and then let my momentum carry me down it. I then looped around the fields, through the Fowlersville Covered Bridge, and back to the lake. I did a smaller loop that involved sprinting up the dike and then returned to my starting point at the western end of the lake. My pace was about 7:55/mile, maybe a bit slower.

January 18, 2015

10 miles at Weiser. I checked out one of the side trails. It was a dissapointment, but there are other trails, like the South Branch Trail. The last seven miles were all between 7:24 and 7:45. My overall time was 1:22:50 and my pace was 8:17/mile.

1/5/2015 to 1/11/2015

January 6, 2015

Three miles at Upper Campus. This week is the coldest week this winter. It's so bitterly cold that I'm only doing twenty miles instead of the usual twenty-five. I have a blister on one toe and there are a couple of inches of snow on the ground, so I took this one slowly. I did two loops around the fields and Hospital Hill and then one loop around the upper fields. I did the last tenth of a mile or so at a sprint. Total pace: 8:16/mile.

January 8, 2015

Four miles at Upper Campus. Somehow, it was even colder than last time. Around the fields and Hospital Hill, then around the eartern loop, and back. Then once around the soccer fields. My splits hovered around 8:00s except for the last mile, which was 7:15. The total pace was in the 7:50s.

January 9, 2015

Still bitterly cold. Another four miles at Upper Campus. Pretty much the same course as yesterday, but after three miles, I took the dog with me for the last mile. The first three miles were slow. The last one wasn't. Once we get going, he was a good running partner, just like the last time I ran with him. For a while, he was bouncing and galloping haphazardly, apparently excited to be running. He settled down after a quarter of a mile, but once we reached the far side of the fields and turned around towards the car, he darted ahead, almost pulling my arm off. It was all I could do to keep up. The last mile was spectacularly fast for a training run.

My time was 31:15 and my pace was 7:49/mile. My first three miles were 7:53, 8:07, 8:12, and 6:59. That dog is energetic.

The dog in a state of repose. For those who don't know, his name is Karl.

January 10, 2015

2x2 miles on Upper Campus. This is the coldest day so far this winter. The first time I ran, around 11 in the morning, it was around 1 Fahrenheit counting the windchill, making it probably the coldest weather I've ever run in. I was heavily bundled up. The run took me around two loops around the fields and no Hospital Hill loops. One the first lap, I was blasted by a bone-chillingly cold wind on the way out. That part of the loop was also in the shade. Then I headed out into the sun as I followed the loop back to its starting point. The wind all but vanished and it felt about twenty or thirty degrees warmer. I was seriously considering taking removing a layer. It was almost warm. Then it got bitterly cold on the first half of the second loop, only to warm up again on the second half of the loop. My first mile was in the 7:40s and my second was in the 7:30s, but I don't remember the exact time or pace.

The second run was in the late afternoon. I went directly over to the fields in the east at a slow pace. Shortly after entering the loop, I looked at the fairly wide view of the area. Across the field, I spotted three dogs heading towards me along the trail. They were about four hundred feet away as the crow flies and about four times that via the trail. I didn't want to be held up by them this time, so I presently slipped onto a side trail that follows the main trail. About fifty feet of hedges separate the two trails and I evaded them with no problem. I did eventually run into them on the access trail that follows the powerlines, and was held up there for a minute or so. Once I got going again, my Garmin died, so I don't know my pace. I finished at the parking lot near the soccer fields. My first mile was 8:18. The second was probably faster, but I don't know if I cracked 8:00s.

January 11, 2015

5.1-ish miles at the Robbins Trail. Temperature in the 30s. Compared to yesterday, it was almost warm, but it was damp and dreary. For some reason, I took a shortcut through the bicycle skill park to the trail and then headed out on it in the direction I usually go. At the bridge, I saw that Mahoning Creek was iced over. Being me, I stopped to throw a few small rocks at the ice to try to break it. It didn't break and the rocks just skittered and bounced over the ice. That ice must be indestructable. I followed the trail around the the Mahoning Flats Natural Trail and followed that along its full length to the main trail, then along the spur that parallels Mauses Creek, then back to the natural trail, to the powerline access trail, and back to the parking lot. I ended the run with a sprint in Hess Field. My Garmin died just over 4 miles in, but my pace was just under 8:00s at that point.

No map this time since it's late.

Busy

I'm busy with real life now that the winter break is over. I'll skip this week, but there will be a post next week.