This week was a bit of a blur really looking back no run really stands out. This week we were cursed with Sheila’s Brush, a Newfoundland term for a later winter’s storm on the heels of St. Patrick’s day. Really over the last decade or so with temperatures getting warmer winter is over come March for the most part. We got a few hours of freezing rain followed by about 15-20 cm of snow on Wednesday into thursday, enough to shut us down of the day and toy with my emotions for sure. The week was a few degrees colder than you would expect and my trainees had a big week so here goes. PS my mom is just ‘not getting this running thing’ and it’s freaking hilarious!
Tuesday: 4 km Shake Out: Early morning run with my trainees. No big deal and really very slow I did about 3km with them but it was their second run in their couch to 5k plan. I had an extra km to do after and as I took off down the road my mom legit hollered after me where was I going, ummm running? Also this marks the start of an ongoing you live in the hood joke. For context I live 5.7 km further down the same road as her and it is decidedly not a ‘hood.’ It’s actually an upscale, ocean front commuter community to the city which is growth limited by the landscape so like half the cars out here are pretty damn fancy. They were headed out after the run and I told her if she had to leave just throw my keys under my truck. She was of course horrified by this suggestion and I was all like, “you’re probably right” and the I whispered, “this isn’t the best part of town.”
Wednesday: Speedwork 8 km Fartlek: Of all the speed work fartlecking is my least hated and the most fun to say as a verb. On my own it was cold and I ran to the local marina, waterfront, amphitheater area. Yes that’s right we’re all fancy and have an ampitheater, actually you can read more about my tiny town’s many crazy projects here but I digress. My schedule didn’t make me get up early that day but the incoming weather sure did, wasn’t spring starting this week or was that a lie too? Run was fine, I was cold, meh. The storm didn’t come that night as predicted and since I cancelled all my students and got my run in early I went collecting beach glass instead that evening.
Thursday turned into Friday: 4 km recovery: Thursday was continuing ongoing snow so run day got moved to Friday and the discussion of, “yes you can run on the road started in earnest.” Everyone agreed Friday was probably best, and then the power went out. My mom and I had this long phone call where she told me both of them were totally freaked out about running on the road. I suspected this we totally meant me but, I told her all the reasons the road was actually safer:
- No one will shoot you as hunting season is 6 months long
- Hunting and drinking tends to go together though it shouldn’t
- If something happens where are you going to call the ambulance too? the grover of birch tress next tot the sugar maples?
- I suspected they don’t always know exactly where they even are up there
- If someone is truly out with ill intentions to hurt runners the trail is better hunting grounds as it’s not that well traveled and even though the road is not busy someone is likely to come by or see from their house.
- If you need less help than that you can flag someone down
- I have run about 1800 km on these roads in the past 4 years never hit. Grocery shopping and in a crosswalk hit!
- The main road is the best taken care of and a special plow clears the shoulders
She agreed that those were all goof points and they went in a subdivision with no shoulders in the slush and had not such a great run on their own.
We worked till after dark and as I went out after dark. Partially as see it’s fine and to put minds at ease I sent them my UFO girl pictures, it did not help.
Saturday: 5 km Shake out: OMG this running on the road thing!!! I was about to send a text to my mom that read: I really think you’re making a bigger deal out of this then it needs to be. JUST DO IT and then you’ll see it won’t be bad. Plus I’ll go in front and absorb any cars for us. And I thought a call was probably in order plus she might not get the Nike reference. So I called her and she tried everything to get out of it. Can we skip it? No that’s not a good idea especially in you first week. Can we do it somewhere else? You have to do this eventually. So I told her she let me walk to the beach about 1 km from my house unsupervised when I was 10, she said not 10 I said 10! Anyway I agreed to have them come to my 50 km/hr neck of the woods and run with them here, fine. She seemed particularly concerned about the drinkers and the high drivers. I told her the high ones are actually paranoid so they drive really careful and slow usually. I got off the phone and told Richard if anything did happen I would never live it down, plus thank god for snow since they wouldn’t be about to see the alcohol empties in the ditches.
I had a few extra km to do so I ran to meet them rather than drive and brought them some hailbut cheeks in my book bag plus she made me muffins. In the night there was a lot of sirens and everyone in a small town needs to know the gossip so by the time I got there another 6 something am walker filled me in on the details (a small electrical fire near mom’s house, everyone was fine).
My mom, doesn’t get running quite yet and was surprised to see me running up and said don’t worry we’ll drive you home. Face Palm. My stepdad forgot to lock his fancy car when we jogged away and the joke continued it was fine in this neck of the woods isn’t the whole hood by you guys on fire or something. Turns out “we’re really concerned about this,” meant I’m concerned about this enough for both of us cuz stepdad was totally cool with the whole thing. I prepared note cards with funny reasons the road was better, for example, getting better use of your tax dollars and more reason to be mad at the government and so on. Anyway she agreed that it was actually no big deal even with the snowbanks. It was a fine run and started week two in their training. But the phrase, “I don’t want to die!!” was legit uttered. They waved at me from the Audi as I ran home. Ps More beach glass during my photoshoot!
Sunday: 13 km long run: I spent most of they day thrifting with the lady half of our current customers which was super fun. They’ve actually become amazing friends over the last year and we spend a lot of time with them and enjoy their company immensely. But… they are paying our mortgage at the moment so… It can make for a bit of a high pressure situation but as soon as we started out that all flew away. I told her I could stay out until two hours before dark since it was long run day. And that’s exactly when I got home so it was racing the sun and colder than I’d like about right at freezing. I like having my warm Nike sweatshirt and it’s prefect to make cold runs possible but I hate running in it, especially long running. Wore it and after last week’s somewhat tortuous 11 km run it was weighing heavy on my mind but we got her done! Not bad given the fact I packed my fuel and left it on the kitchen table.
So for a week I said went by as a blur that’s a lot to say! But my trainees popped their road cherry so hopefully that won’t be a thing going forward. OMFG if it does though! Can a run coach quit if their only client is family? Stay tuned!
If you’re interested in the plan I’m using it’s the realistic 1/2 marathon training plan I wrote available here. While you’re there check out my other plans too including the new bare minimum 1/2 marathon training plan, more info here. What are you training for this season?
Sweat Sweetly 