Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

Another night on the treadmill with the preset hill routine. Thirty minutes at 10:00, but I decreased the level to 15, which means I spent the whole time between 5.5 and about 12 percent. Still a decent workout. 

If you get a chance, follow this link to the Altra photo contest. You should vote for Catherine's entry. It's the best picture there. And I say that objectively, of course. 

I got out late tonight, and I only had time for 30 minutes before the gym closed. I decided to start and finish with an easy mile on each end of two miles at tempo. It wasn't the best workout, but I think it was good enough. 

Another short night at the gym. This time I warmed up with an easy 10 minutes before cranking the grade up to 15 percent for another 20 minutes at an easy pace.

Another night with the hill routine at the gym. Today I dropped it all the way down to level 12. It's amazing how quickly the intensity drops off, because on that level the grade only goes between 3 and 9 percent. I settled into a mellow 10:00 pace and cruised for 40 minutes while watching The Godfather on AMC. Some say I should watch that movie. 

This evening I had the great idea that I would try to do my long run for the week at the gym tonight instead of tomorrow. I thought that the weekend would be much more manageable if Catherine and I both didn't have to do long runs on the same day. But I didn't make it to the gym until a little after 11:00, and although I still planned to go long, I was so sleepy that I just couldn't do it. At times I though I was going to fall asleep on my feet, so I called it after four (very) slow miles.

Now I have to run 12.5 miles tomorrow. I'll find the time somewhere.  

This was one of those days when I really should have stayed in. With the Buffalo Run around the corner, I know I should be getting more miles than I am. But after last night's run, I should have known better than to try too hard today, especially since my late Friday night meant I wasn't any more rested on Saturday. 

Anyway, I decided to try to run in Corner Canyon. My plan was to run my typical loop, with the extension up Jacob's Ladder thrown in for good measure. I wasn't counting on there being so much snow, however. By the time I reached the saddle at the top of Clark's I had already been forced to do a significant amount of walking, thanks to the snow pack. Too make matters worse, I felt beat. Exhausted, sore, hungry, whatever . . . I shouldn't have been running. 

I thought about turning around, but I figured that with Catherine pushing so hard these last few weeks, I had no reason to be a wimp. I started down toward Ghost Falls, but the snow was so deep that I decided to head down Canyon Hollow instead. Once I was on the Draper side, the trail was better. But I was still trashed. Eventually I made it back to the car, and I was glad I did.

I need more miles, so I entertained the idea of going back out in the evening. But ultimately I decided to invoke the "time > miles" doctrine and call it a day. Instead of running more, I took a nice nap.