The week started out frosty: our long slow distance run on Sunday was a balmy -23C (-9F). I’ve found that any time the temperature drops below -15C (5F), my electronics and water start to freeze, especially during long runs. I was able to keep my phone from freezing with a Lei Li Zoomhill thermal phone case bag tucked into my jacket’s inner pocket. I used a Polar Zipstream Insulated Bottle and added a Nuun electrolyte tablet to help keep my water from freezing. It worked, but I’d inadvertently bought the effervescent kind of Nuun tablets, and every time I opened the bottle, fizzy water exploded from the nozzle. Next time I’ll stick to the regular Nuun tabs. I also wore the new toque & heavy fleece Buff that I bought at the Running Room last week. The Black Friday sale was still going on, so I signed up for next spring’s full marathon training clinic at a twenty percent discount. Even wearing all of my cold weather gear and changing into warm dry clothes before driving home, I was chilled through and needed to take a long, hot shower before I could help hubby and the kiddos set up the Christmas tree and decorate the house for the holidays.
On Monday I ran on the t(d)readmill at the Commonwealth Recreation Centre, because my right Achilles tendon was burning after doing speedwork on track last Monday, and I didn’t want to chance it getting worse. The treadmill was pretty boring, but at least I got a run in. Monday was also the last day of the Black Friday sale on City of Edmonton Rec Centre passes, so I bought a 10-visit Multipass for 30% off. Next week I think I’ll get back on the track, but not push the speed so hard. My daughters had their school Christmas concert on Tuesday night. Between that and being busy during the day, I missed my run. Wednesday nights are Hill Nights. Our running group ran 5 X 2:30 minutes up Walterdale Hill. It was still pretty cold, about -15C (5F), but the real problem was the footing. It had snowed all day and running up the snow-clogged sidewalk was like running through deep sand. By the last climb, my legs were burning and I was exhausted. Not my best hill day by far, but on the bright side, maybe this counted as strength training? On Thursday, our Hypothermic Half Marathon training clinic ran 6K around the University area (the footing was a lot better, since most of the sidewalks had finally been shoveled and the snow on the roads was packed down). After running, we had a presentation on foam rolling by Caitlin Johnston, one of the Running Room clinic instructors who’s also a trainer at Crunch Fitness.I often use a foam roller, and credit it with helping to rehab my left IT band injury a couple of years ago. Caitlin showed us how to foam roll each major lower-body muscle group, and had a great tip: find the most painful spot in each muscle, and hold it still on the foam roller while applying pressure (without rolling) for at least 30 seconds. This allows myofascial release better than actually rolling out the area. I enjoyed the foam rolling, but since I’d run hard and gotten sweaty, didn’t have time to change into dry clothes, then sat on the cold floor while foam rolling for half an hour, my Raynaud’s Syndrome flared up with a vengeance. Not only were my hands and feet numb and white, but my entire body felt painfully frozen. I still had to grab a quick supper then drive to St. Albert to go feed my friends’ cats while they're on vacation. By the time I finally got home I was almost paralyzed with cold. I spent the rest of the evening shivering and chattering my teeth in front of the fireplace. Note to self: make the time to change into dry clothes, no matter what! I worked on Friday, then had to stay home to look after my daughters while my husband took our son to his hockey practice. This all added up to no time for a run. I worked all day Saturday, too, and then went straight to the Oil Kings game, where my oldest daughter’s choir was singing Christmas carols. This particular game night was also the Teddy Bear Toss to benefit the Stollery Children’s Hospital, which made the evening run longer, and of course the game went into overtime. We didn’t get home until nearly 11pm, so once again I missed my opportunity to sneak in a run. That’s the Christmas Season for you. Week 9 (Dec 1-Dec 7) Training: Training Schedule: Dec 1 Dec 2 Dec 3 Dec 4 Dec 5 Dec 6 Dec 7 12K LSD OFF 4 Tempo 5 Hills 6 Steady OFF 4 Steady What I ran: 12K LSD 5 OFF 5 Hills 6 Steady OFF OFF
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AuthorKathy Istace runs and races in one of the coldest cities on earth. Archives
December 2020
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