Going Long (again) in 2024

8:34 pace; Donnelly Circuit.

8:36 pace; Goodwill Route.

Freezing rain falling, and quite slippery for running.  Okay, as long as I avoided the pavement and stuck to the gravel shoulder.

8:23 pace on a new route:  The Garson-Coniston Highway.  The hills are a lot more gentle than the sharp ups and downs on the Donnelly Route.  And only a couple of side streets with people pulling in, so a bit safer from that perspective.  Of course, it IS on the shoulder of a highway, so heavy and fast moving traffic.

8:43 pace on the Donnelly Circuit.

Really mild at 9C/48F.  Pretty much all the snow has melted.  Windy though!  65kmp winds (40mph).

8:51 pace on the Donnelly Circuit.  The snow is back - with a vengeance.  Came down pretty heavy, to the point where it was hard to see at times.

9:02 pace on the Donnelly Circuit.  Lots of snow coming down, so it was kinda like running on the beach.  Except colder.  And with lots of distracted drivers.  And no lake.  But yeah, just like that.

9:02 pace on the Maley Extension route.  Still pretty sloppy out there in places.  Cold too - my gatoraide turned to slush.

8:17 pace on the Garson-Falconbridge Hwy Route.

Coldest run of the season so far.  Glad I had my face mask on.  -24C/-12F with some wind.  My face was pretty much frozen over by the end.

Wow - we're getting clobbered with snow.

I was going to brave it, but I only took one step and sunk up to my shin.  So I turned around and hit the treadmill instead.  I figured the drivers here are nuts when the weather is good, so best not to push it.  School busses cancelled, people stuck in their driveways, and so on.

Anyway, 5 miles at about an 8:48 pace.

So, I checked the temps and decided to stay indoors again.  Wow, is it COLD!  With the windchill, -37C/-34F.  You KNOW it's cold when it's the same in both metric and imperial.

Besides, there are SO many car accidents right now, I figured I'd go the safe route.  That, and I wanted to do a bit of speed work, which I have not done in a few months.

So, 3 x 1 mile intervals, at 7:30 pace, with 400 recoveries.

Also decided on a 24 week training program for my 100 km Ultra.  Begins January 1st.  It's a bit more gentle than the 16 week program I was initially looking at.  More on that in the New Year.

Oh, one more benefit of the treadmill:  specificity of training.  I can run hot, and even now begin to prepare for the Southern Ontario heat I'll feel in mid-June.

Treadmill run; 8:30 pace.

9:08 pace to Holy Redeemer Church and back.  Not an easy run.

First off, it's cold. -34C/-29F with the windchill.

That led to the next problem:  My water and gatroaide froze solid.  I only managed a few sips before sipping was history.  So, no food or drink on this run.

It also led to the other problem: really sloppy sidewalks.  It has been so cold, the salt has not been able to work.  Plus, the street plows and the sidewalk plows are working against each other, and the street plows are winning.  So, far from a smooth running surface.  More like running through chunky mashed potatoes.

Anyway, I toughed it out and finished.  Sure speaks to the advantages of the treadmill, though, even though it's not easy to run in one spot for 2+ hours.

Took it outside today, since I was able to run in daylight.  But it may have been a mistake.  Ran a pace of 8:49, but changed my route multiple times ... the sidewalks were just not passable, and I avoided the highway routes whenever possible.  I think I'll stick to the treadmill until things get cleaned up a bit out there.

Treadmill; 9:00/mile pace.

On the treadmill; 9 minute/mile pace, with two 1 mile intervals of 7:30 each.

Back to the treadmill; set it at 8:45 pace and went 70 minutes.

Took it outside for 2:25.  Got a bit creative with my route ... down Maley/Barrydowne to Minnow Lake area, down Bancroft, return up Falconbridge and home.

It's pretty messy out there.  At -10C/14F, the salt they put on the roads did its job, but with a light snow all night, it was all slush by this morning.  The sidewalks were hit and miss - but where the plow had cleared them, they were good for running.

And in the heart of Sudbury shop land, I found the drivers to be extra careful around pedestrians.  I guess because there are so many of us out this morning.  Anyway, that was all good.

I deliberately started off slow, and picked it up for the second half.  Ended up with an average pace of 9:04.

It wasn't quite cold enough for my gatoraide to freeze this week, but my Cliff Bar sure did!  However, after holding it in my hand inside the glove for a mile, it was soft enough to eat.

So, that tops me out in my base mileage phase at 45 miles/week.  My official training starts January 1st, and I don't hit that mileage again for a month, so I think I'm in a good position going into my training phase.

8:31 pace on the Goodwill Route.  Even though it snowed all night and made it difficult for running, there was just no way I was going to miss running outside on a day when there is virtually NO traffic.  

45 minutes on the treadmill.  Beautiful, clear sky.  But a tad chilly at -39C/-37F with windchill factored in.  When the Celcius and Fahrenheit scales match, you just KNOW it's time to stay inside.  

Treadmill run - it's CRAZY cold today.  With the windchill, it's -43C/-45F.  Ouch.

Anyway, threw in 2 one mile intervals at a 7:30 pace.

72 minutes on the treadmill.  We are still in the grip of a polar vortex.  Brrrr!

Treadmill again today.  With a windchill factor of -36 (basically no difference between C and F), I went for comfort.  Besides, I'm training for a hot Ultra anyway, and can use the heat conditioning.

I set up an African Cichlid tank in my running room.  There is no t.v., so I get to watch the fish for the duration.  Actually pretty entertaining.

Last run for this year.  Monday begins my 24 week Ultra program.