Double Time

Last week, I ran into a Hope Express/Extreme Team alum who suggested I start running twice a day, at least once a week, to prepare for my three 6-mile legs coming up next month (!!). I wish I could say I had thought of this on my own, but I didn't...so lucky for me our paths happened to cross (thanks Pat!).

Today I ventured out for two 4-mile runs and overall, they went great! I've found that clocking mileage at home is tricky for some reason. My parents live right off of a main road, and I've also noticed I typically incorporate a lot of littles into my runs - small parks, downtown area, parts of campus, etc. I didn't realize I did it, until I found it challenging to plan routes without them. Nevertheless, I planned two different routes for today - one new and one I've done a few times this trip home. I'm certainly sore now and will be tomorrow, but that's all the more reason to be glad I've added them into my training now.

Also worth noting, it was high teens/low 20's for the runs. Ek! It really wasn't bad though, which just confirms what I remember about last winter. The hardest part about cold weather running for me is maintaining consistency throughout the majority of the run, despite temperature outside/inside all my layers. On my second run, I went without my (new!) jacket, which was a good move, minus the fact that my stomach was so cold towards the end that I couldn't tell if I was having stomach issues or it was just frozen...odd. Even the new jacket seemed a bit warm for today's frigid temperatures, but instead of getting sad that it wasn't a good purchase, I reminded myself that I now live in Michigan. I an't seen nothing yet.