It did actually snow Wednesday, but only after it made me look silly by getting out before the sun came out and made things nice. As the 3-4 inches of snow fell that evening, I wondered if I’d even get in a run today. But it was sunny and 43°F (6.1°C) when I left for the park… oh yeah, and windy. Windy enough to put a cold edge on outside. You’d think it was winter in Colorado or something.
I picked my route today based on what I guessed would be clear of snow. I did the loop around the park with my turn around the Mesa bridge. I started out going south, which meant a long slog up the east side of the river. I usually run down that side, not up it; and it’s a major mental block for me to run north on that side (though both my half and my 10K were both out-and-back runs along that part of the trail). I had to take a couple of walking breaks. I think I’ll try to run that side going north more often, maybe I can get over that mental obstacle.
I rounded the turn around at the Popsicle Bridge doing an 11:40 pace; and knowing I had about half a mile to go, I thought I’d do some penance for walking: see if I could drop that pace to 11:30 by the time I was finished. So I set about trying that…
Speaking of goals, let’s talk about how I did with my
February Goals
In my January Wrap Up, listed these goals for February:
- Keep up the consistency
- Finish runs without walking
- Running the loop
- Push 3+ miles
- No further injuries
How’d I do? Well, I think I may have set the bar too low, because I managed to achieve all of these. The loop is shorter (by a mile) than I’d remembered. The only one of these I struggle with still is finishing runs without walking. As I push my distance, I can continue to work on this one.
I impressed myself a few times with my pace. I’m likely never going to be a fast runner (the fastest pace I’ve ever consistently done was around 8 min/mile, and I was 18 and a smoker and running strictly under duress). I’m no longer 18 (but also no longer a smoker) — but you can see I’ve never been too speedy.
Here’s a table comparing last month to this month.
| Category |
January |
February |
| Activities |
15 |
12 |
| Longest Run Time |
29:29 mm:ss |
47:55 mm:ss |
| Distance |
24.43 mi |
35.35 mi |
| Avg Dist |
1.63 mi |
2.95 mi |
| Avg Active Time |
19:07 mm:ss |
34:42 mm:ss |
I didn’t do any “extra” runs this month.
March Goals
- No further injuries
- Keep up the consistency
- Four-mile runs
- Run 5 miles
- Finish runs without walking
- Hope to Achieve: Expand the loop to the entire length of Monument Valley Park
Spring time in Colorado usually brings heavy wet snows; but if February’s harsh cold snaps didn’t keep me home, March’s weather shouldn’t be a big factor if I don’t let it. Even though I ran outside MVP, and probably will do more of that for variety, the MVP loop is a convenient goalpost. I already have some thoughts for post-March goals, things I’ve thought about while out running.
Today’s Stats
3.21 m
36:49 mm:ss
11:27 avg pace
Today’s route
