Playing catch up

So the leg injury coupled with the major snow / winter weather (and throw in a bit of laziness on my part) has severely hampered my running lately. I ran a few times last week; nothing over 5 miles and then I took off completely on a quick vacation up to Vermont. (However, I did get in some awesome skiing while up there. Yay! for trying new activities).

This week, however, I am back and ready to go. My leg is feeling better; it’s not quite 100% but it doesn’t seem to be suffering when I do run on it. I went out for a good 5 mile run on Monday and yesterday morning I did had an amazing 10 miler in the early morning hours.

One of the pluses to the piles of snow and lack of access to the bike path, that hasn’t been plowed because there are obviously higher priorities, not to mention the downed trees every quarter mile or so, anyway, one of the pluses is that it has forced me to seek new running routes. One thing I’ve discovered is how much fun it is to run through the side streets in the surrounding neighborhoods. As I mentioned, the bike path is a no-go and likely will be for some time, the main roads and sidewalks are still a mess and I feel very unsafe running in the road along such heavily trafficked routes so it was either the side streets or nothing.

With the snow piled high along the roads and most people still not quite dug out, there are much fewer cars on the road, which means I get to be queen of the roads for a while. Running through the silent, snow covered neighborhoods at 5 in the morning is just so peaceful and new. I’ve discovered some beautiful houses and views of DC I didn’t know existed so close to home. I’ve found some great hills and curvy, windy roads that don’t seem to fit so close to the city.

On Monday, I went out for a run a bit before 8 in the morning and it was nice to see people out shoveling the snow off their cars and sidewalks. People were friendly; saying hello or have a good day. On the bike path, I’m luck to get a nod from most runners/walkers/cyclists.

Tuesday, as I mentioned, was a predawn run and it was a beautiful – cold, crisp, clear – morning to be out for a long run. Ten miles is the longest I’ve run for nearly a month and while I was getting tired toward the end, it was reassuring to be able to run that distance. I know I haven’t completely ruined my training for the Country Music Marathon in April. I’ll have to work hard (and smart) in order to build up to the marathon distance without re-injuring myself but completely Tuesday’s run gave the confidence to try.

Daily Dozen:
Strength training and stretching in the morning
3.3 miles @ lunch hour on treadmill