Totals: 25 miles running; 3 hours swimming; 2 days weights; some snow fun!
Sunday PM: 30 minute recovery walk/run, treadmill, hills — ~2 miles. The previous vacation week in Pennsylvania had been high-mileage for the off-season — about 40 miles, mostly flat and fast. My legs were feeling it. After spending the day driving back from NYC, I needed something to get the blood flowing, so I escaped to the gym for a quick dreadmill hill workout.
Monday AM: 60 minute morning swim. First swim in over a week and man, my arms felt great. I felt like Missy freaking Franklin.
Tuesday AM: 5 miles easy run, treadmill; light weights.
Wednesday AM: 12 miles hilly road. What better way to start off the New Year than with a hilly outside jog in 10 degree weather? I headed up the Belmont hill to check out the trails, but they were too icy to run on. After 6 miles, my face and fingers were frozen, so I stopped by the house to warm up and give kisses to Mr. P and Little Boy. Then I headed out for 6 more miles of frigid fun.
Thursday AM: 60 minute morning swim. With the big storm in the forecast, I felt a weird sense of urgency during this swim, like it would be my last swim ever.
Thursday PM: Experimental snowshoe jog. I laced up my Xmas present — lightweight snowshoes meant for running — and headed over to the town field to try them out in the blowing snow. I trotted around the field for maybe 10 minutes. They felt good and light, but I’m heeding advice to take it slow at first, as these contraptions are hard on the tendons.
Friday Noon: 6 mile speed run, treadmill; light weights. I had to work at home on Friday due to the morning snow storm and Little Boy’s school being closed. I got cabin fever around lunch time and risked vehicular danger driving to the gym in Watertown for a fast, hard, some might say frantic run — followed by a light circuit of glute, hams, quad work.
Saturday AM: 60 minute morning swim; 20 minute aqua jog. I headed over to the Waltham branch of my gym, a weekend luxury — the pool is longer, nicer, and flanked by heated exercise and whirlpools. I can feel my swimming endurance growing after only 6 weeks back in the pool — I managed 20 minute of non-stop, mod-high effort freestyle before stopping to soak in some leisurely backstroke.
Saturday PM: 2 hours XC ski. The snow at the nearby conservation lands is too powdery to resist! I ducked away from the boys for an afternoon of gliding through the forest on my backcountry XC skis. Perfect! Exhilirating! And I drowned out the guilt (knowing Mr. P would love it, but hey, he was on-call at work anyway) with Operation Ivy blasting on my iPod Shuffle. I followed the tracks left by other skiers and discovered trails that I never knew about. I did 2 winding, meandering loops around the property and twice passed the creepy old Metfern Cemetery for the old state hospital and the infamous Fernald school. All of the tiny grave markers were covered in snow. I randomly remembered a quote from Jack London — “I’d rather be ashes than dust” — which burned in my mind as my skis danced through the snow, arms pumping and heart racing.
- Following the tracks
Metfern Cemetery
The Balm after the Storm
