8 miles at general aerobic pace.  7:51 AP today.  31 degrees, feels like 22.   

I have been struggling with a sore throat and congestion for the past two days.  You know what?  Marathon training don't care.  I busted it out.  Happy New Year.

Seriously though, I began feeling much better by the afternoon today.  It definitely would have been a mistake to run this morning, I felt much more up to it by 3:00 after a nice warm pasta and ground beef lunch.  I'm so glad I did not work today, because there's no way I would have managed to get my run in otherwise.  

I ran for the first time in my new New Balance 1080v3's.  I love them.  They will replace the 1260's, which I have run in for a long time. The 1080v3's have descent arch support, a moderate amount of cushion, and are pretty light at 10.15 ounces. 

While I was at the New Balance store I also tried on the New Balance 1290, which is a little lighter at 9.4 ounces.  The 1290 is amazingly comfy with the most cushion I have ever experienced.  The only reason I went with the 1080v3 was that it will get me much higher mileage than the 1290 will.  Paul, the guy who fit me, told me to expect only about 400 miles out of the 1290.  He suggested buying the 1290 about two months before a marathon to train in and then use as a race day shoe.  I may just do that.  

Boom!  After taking 4 days off to do battle with a viral upper respiratory infection I think I'm back.  7:37 AP.  24 degrees.

My hands and fingers went numb several times this morning.  It even happened near the end of my run which worried me a little.  I was also worried about my recovering lungs taking in big gasps of 22 degree freezing air.  It can't be good, right?  I just couldn't hold back any longer though.  It felt good to get out there and beat myself up to a Pfitz 16 mile long run.

First 8,  8:15 AP

Last 8,  7:19 AP

The plan was to run the last 8 at 7:00 (marathon pace), but I think I did pretty good considering 4 days off and recovering from sickness. 

General aerobic run this morning.  8:01 AP.  28 degrees.  

I have two pieces of great news to report! 

The first is that I'm really feeling like I'm recovering from my upper respiratory infection!  That's awesome because running and life in general is so much more enjoyable while not feeling under the weather.  I've been trying to really focus on positive thoughts these past few weeks, and this last week was a great opportunity to really test my resolve.  As soon as I fully recover the bad memories of not being able to run and feel my best physically will simply be an illusion because those things no longer exist.  I can simply discard those thoughts and focus on positive thoughts, just as I can do with any bad memory from the past. 

The second piece if great news is that Alisha and I put an offer on a house on Sunday that was accepted last night.  We are so excited about this.  We are getting an awesome house that has virtually all the amenities we want.  It has a whole lot more breathing room than what we currently have, and it is in a great neighborhood that is still about as close to the trail as our current house.  Cheers to having your cake and eating it too!

Mid week MLR.  7:52 AP.  49 degrees.  

When I woke up I put on my clothes that I had laid out the night before, which included long pants and a turtle neck.  I dressed and went to the kitchen to get a snack and check the weather.  Last night the hourly forecast said it would be 40 degrees, but it ended up being 49.  So I went back to my bedroom to change into shorts and short sleeves.  

The conditions were very misty and damp this morning with a slight wind out of the north. 

My legs are still really sore from my workout on Sunday.  I probably should have taken it a little easier since I had not run in four days, and I had not done a long workout like that since before the marathon in November.  I will be taking it extra easy on my recovery run tomorrow. 

Recovery run this morning.  It was raining this morning, but it wasn't coming down too hard.  8:31 AP.  48 degrees.  Winds at 8 to 10.  

My legs are still very sore, but I'm sure this recovery run helped work out that soreness.  I'll be doing a 9 mile general aerobic tomorrow that I will probably still take at a pretty relaxed pace. 

General Aerobic Run.  8:26 AP.  44 degrees.  Five miles with Kevin.  

My legs are still a little store from the pace run Sunday and the MLR Wednesday.  

Recovery run.  8:10 AP. 

The temperature was an amazing 54 degrees this January morning.  It was pretty windy at 11 to 13 mph and from the north, but at 54 degrees I'll take it as long as I don't have to run too many miles into it.  

Long Run.  25 feels like 15.   12 mph winds.

Yeah, it was a touch cold this morning.  I wore my nylon jacket over my turtle neck.  Instead of wearing my hat and ear warmers, I decided to break out the ski mask for the first time this morning.  The left side of it was frozen somewhere around mile 10.  For the first two miles I thought the ski mask was too much.  I couldn't really feel the wind at all and in fact I was beginning to feel too warm, but eventually I was very glad I decided to wear it.  When I got out on the open trails with the north wind to my side or when I was running head on into it I was very happy with my choice. 

I felt my right achilles tendon just a little near the end of the recovery run yesterday and again this morning.  I thought it was going to be a problem this morning when I started to feel it between the 1 and 3 mile marks, but it eventually went away and did not bother me for the rest of the run.  I know that sounds bad like I warmed it up and ran through it, but I'm pretty sure from a past injury to my arch that tendons don't work that way.  If they are injured or torn they will start to hurt and not get better as you go.  I felt the tenderness way down low right near where it would be attached to the back of my heel on a few steps.

There were a few icy patches on the trail this morning.  I lost my balance one time and felt like I through my shoulder out of socket for a moment trying to recover my balance.  Fun times. 

Tuesday MLR to be followed by the usual MLR on Wednesday.  Build the base is the mantra this week.  7:38 AP. 18 degrees.

The wind was not as bad this morning as it was on Sunday.  I thought I felt that weird tenderness in my right achilles again, but it was very faint.  

A weird sequence of events resulted in my new head lamp going out of commission.  Hopefully it is not broken.  Follow me here:  I grabbed my gear and headed out the door this morning only to realize I did not know where my new head lamp was.  I then remembered I left it in my jacket pocket.  It was in my jacket pocket because on Sunday I ran without my hat, because it was so cold and windy I needed my full head mask.  Since I ran without my hat Sunday I tried clipping the light to my jacket sleeve, but that was very annoying because your arms move in ways that are not optimal for a head light.  I ended up just holding it for most of the run, but while I was getting a drink or otherwise not needing a light I would put it in my pocket.  Turns out I left it in there after I got home.  Alisha, being the good wife that she is, washed my running gear soon after I got home.  Thus the new head lamp got washed and now the light does not work.  I'm going to try replacing the batteries to see if that works.  Hopefully I didn't break it. 

13 MLR.  7:26 AP.  18 degrees.  Calm winds.  

I'm definitely going to be sore after to MLR's in a row.  Especially since I ran both less than 10% slower than marathon pace.  I still felt that tender soreness in my lower right achilles for the first 2 to 3 miles, but then I really didn't feel it after that.  

I'm going to take it real easy on the recovery run tomorrow, and preserve my strength for my first tempo on this cycle on Friday.

Recovery run.  8:33 AP.  Nice and easy.  33 degrees.  It was so nice to finally feel the "warm" weather once again!  Seriously it felt warm after 5 or 6 days of sub 20 degrees in the mornings.  

I still felt the weird mild tenderness in my right achilles.  It's not what I would call pain, but definitely a small thing I'm keeping in my mind.  I'm excited to run my first tempo of this cycle tomorrow.  

I ran 11 this morning at a nice and easy 8:24 AP.  It was 32 degrees with a slight breeze.  

This was my first run back after taking 7 days off to prevent what I felt like was a looming achilles injury.  I felt pretty good this morning.  I run an easy 5 mile recovery run tomorrow morning, which is good since today was my first day back

Recovery run with Kevin for 2.5 miles this morning.   8:46 AP.  32 degrees.  

The achilles is feeling good.  18 tomorrow!  I'm going to try not to push my self.    

It felt so good to run 18 miles this morning!  It was 45 degrees, but with 12 to 13 mile per hour winds.  It was nice out all things considered.  

My AP was 7:58.  I really kept my pace in check this morning.  This was my first run of 18 or more miles since October 28th, and I'm still easing back in off of a week long break from an achilles issue.  

I will rest tomorrow and get a good workout in on Tuesday with a tempo run.  

First 5 miles AP: 8:13

Last 13 miles AP: 7:51

Tempo run with 5 at tempo pace.  This morning was an unbelievable 67 degrees.  It's January for Pete's sake!

I felt really good going in to this workout.  I hit all of my splits in under the time I was aiming for.  My achilles felt totally fine throughout and after the workout, but I did feel a little twinge in my right calf during my cool down. 

2 warmup miles: 7:51, 8:04

5 at tempo: 6:48, 6:47, 6:44, 6:44, 6:50

2 cool down 8:52, 8:26

I am especially proud of that last split in the workout because it included the hill from hell.  I will be running pretty easy on my MLR tomorrow morning. 

MLR of 14 miles.  36 degrees with 22 mph winds. 8:12 AP. 

I almost didn't wear my wind breaker jacket, but I stepped outside and immediately felt the wind and changed my mind.  Then then after the first 2 miles I was regretting wearing it because I was really heating up with all the wind at my back.  I almost discarded it before I got on the trail, but decided to keep it.  After I got about 1 mile down the trail I was so glad I kept it because I got into an area where the wind was just blasting.  I ended up lowering the zipper for the parts of the run that the wind was not blasting me in the face and then raising back up with it got intense.

 My legs felt pretty sore from the 18 long run on Sunday and the tempo run yesterday.  I really felt like I should have been running a recovery today instead of an MLR, but I ended up just taking really easy keeping my pace just above 8:00 minute miles. 

Recovery run.  8:34 AP.  22 degrees. Calm winds.

My calves are a little sore still from the tempo on Tuesday.