day ?

Thursday, 3 X 10 min with strides, and then resistance training
Friday, walking
Saturday, 35 minute jog
Sunday, 30 minute jog. Well, more like 110 minutes (probably about 100 minus lights).

I woke up around 8 and decided to run soon after, but the -14C windchill set off an accumulation of excuses. A couple of hours later, my husband proposed having breakfast at Jean-Albert's; I changed into normal clothes and my run turned into a delicious omelet and a bit of grits. And then errands interceded, and then it was only a few hours until a family dinner. There was barely enough time to run and relax, and relaxation was taking precedence because I wasn't feeling that energetic and was already content with Saturday's 35 minute run. I'd earned a rest day.

However, my dog needed some sort of exercise. A half-hour of jogging, plus strides...this was the workout I was supposed to do, the workout I had successfully postponed for six hours by that point. It's amazing how quickly a half-hour jog has become a boring prospect. I live near a good path, I go out for 15 minutes and turn around and come back. Same-same.

The dog shared my enthusiasm: he lagged right from the beginning. He was going ridiculously slow and I was worried that the pace would aggravate my foot. Finally, after about five minutes of constant urging, he picked up the effort and we jogged for another ten minutes and turned around. The path was quite empty, the skies grey, a few tentative snowflakes drifting around but not collecting, not brightening the drabness.

About five minutes after that, a vision in white! (and purple, and other colours, I believe, but it was the white jacket that caught my attention)

Gaz?

It had been a while. It was fate. We had to catch up, and this required heading back out with her. I figured that we'd turn around at Bank street, but there was still more to discuss, even to Bronson. And I haven't gone past Bronson in ages and couldn't pass up running by the lake (didn't think that would happen until next year!), and then I figured that turning back at Preston would be fine, but then Gaz pointed to the distant green of the Arboretum and this was exciting, and we still had much to talk about.

My limit was long blown; I had jogged the furthest I have since August. Things had turned into one of those delightful circumstances of "well, since I've gone/done/eaten/drank/spent/etc so much already..."

We went through the Arboretum and then Gaz mentioned going through the Experimental Farm.

And then we went where I had never run before. We ran through the farm and I had no clue where we were. I recognized the street name, Fisher, but I wasn't quite sure where it went. Another reason to stick with Gaz for a few more minutes!

I was then nearly ninety minutes into my run, and I felt fine, but I was running out of time, and Gaz was nearly home, and I a few miles away from it. Time to split!

The dog and I dashed back up Wellington and I regained awareness of the weather: starting to turn a little foul. There was more snow. I felt great, my clothes were wet but I was warm and not sore. The dog started having issues with one of his feet near the end, but I brushed the snow out of it every couple of blocks and we made it home in about 1:50.

Total run: 10.8 miles. We lost 5-10 minutes due to lights and a few stops.

Many thanks to Gaz, and apologies to the running plan! I needed to be hauled out of it temporarily. This was a good workout physically, but more beneficial in terms of enthusiasm.

What I really enjoy about running is coasting for about 8-10 miles. That is the best sort of run, enough new scenery, enough endorphins, and not too much fatigue. I needed such a run!

Now that I know I can run for 10-ish miles, that changes things a little. I will still continue to follow the schedule I've been following, and I will move up to the Red Level next week and start tempo intervals as planned, and perhaps rejoin the Wednesday workouts with the run club. However, I will be extending my long run a bit longer than the schedule dictates. I think my next long run is supposed to be 40 minutes. Seems a touch conservative now.