Today was a great speedwork day. We actually got to the gym a little earlier than usual so I was able to spend a full hour on the treadmill. Started with an eight minute warmup (all times approximate), followed by mostly three minute intervals with two minute recoveries, and finishing with an eight minute cool down. The fastest ones were at a 6:30 minute/mile pace. It has always been very tough for me to have the self-discipline to do intervals, partly because I'm a lazy runner, and partly because I've never been much into racing so never focussed on trying to get faster. But since this latest round of training started, I've managed several sessions, alternating with hills every other week.

So although I will probably never love doing intervals, I love being able to do those intervals on the treadmill. It is a tremendous help, because it lets me know the actual speed, and I can't cheat by slowing down early. And when the treadmill speeds up, I have to speed up, so it largely overcomes the difficulty of just getting started.

Of course, if I were truly dedicated I'd have a more complete training schedule that spelled out how many intervals to do each week, at what attempted pace, etc. Instead, I tailor each session according to how much time I have, how fast my fastest ones were the previous session, and how I'm feeling that day. It may not be the most scientific approach but it's one that I can live with.

Tomorrow's schedule calls for 10 km. It's not supposed to be too cold, and I was thinking it would be an opportunity to get outside, but the sidewalks on the way home tonight were pretty icy so I'll play it safe and make it another treadmill run. Sigh... Remember my great plan to run outdoors all winter? Well, I have managed it on the weekends (with one exception over Christmas when we were visiting family and it was pouring rain) but the weekdays have been a bust. Ultimately, the combination of dark morning, running alone, and ice is one that I just don't want to deal with. No doubt in some eyes that makes me a wimp but I run because I enjoy it, not to prove anything to anyone. And not feeling safe or sure-footed really doesn't particularly make for enjoyment.

But weekdays inside, weekends outside is a reasonable adaptation for the darkest, coldest months. Of course, with a couple of exceptions we've been lucky this year, because the weekends have been relatively mild, but there is still a good chunk of winter to come and I'm sure there will be more opportunities for me to figure out my best cold weather clothing combinations.

One thing I know for sure is that I love my Yak Trax. On snow, or on snow over ice, they are great. The first time I wore them was a sunny day when the sidewalks/roads were mostly bare but the bicycle paths were ice under snow. I was amazed at the traction and how stable I felt. A little slower than normal, with a little more effort, but still a good run. There were a few patches of bare, smooth ice that called for slowing right down, but everywhere else was no problem. The next weekend was the one in mid-December where we got close to 30 cm of snow, and I went out on the Saturday before the main storm hit. It had been snowing, was still snowing at least part of the time, but the footing was great. Even where the conditions were miserable, which was down on the paths that had become very bumpy ice under new snow. It was pretty slow going, and I ended up doing only 19 km, but the Yak Trax really helped keep my footing under control.

Be careful what you wish for, and all that, but I would like to try out my Yak Trax on some new, lightly packed (or packable) snow. Not sure how to manage that, since when we have new snow we also have shovelling, not running, but maybe one day the timing will work out. For a short run, if nothing else.

One thing I was kind of worried about was having to switch from running on mostly asphalt to running on mostly concrete during the winter, because when the paths are iced over and the roads are busy, you're faced with the sidewalk. But so far the increased concrete doesn't seem to have caused a problem, and I've incorporated a couple of new things into my stretching to help it stay that way. Note: I am better about stretching but there is still room for improvement.

The upside of running on concrete was discovering a route down to Lakeshore that doesn't include too many traffic lights and incorporates a couple of decent climbs on the way back. And I am busy plotting new routes to include that stretch for when the paths are fully open and the long run distances are at 30+ km. It's going to be great for training, particularly once the weather is a little warmer.

So overall I'm feeling pretty good about where my training is at. At the end of the month my schedule has a 30 km long run so I am praying for decent conditions to do it. My longest distance since Scotiabank has been 24 km a couple of times, and 21 or 22 km another couple of times, and I wasn't exhausted after. But I'm anxious to do the 30 km, since that will give me some comfort that I can do a marathon in April.

What a difference from last year, when I was working up to doing 30 km for the first time at ATB, and was really wondering if I could do it (despite the 28 km training run - it didn't have any hills, LOL). Now 30 km is a long training run, not a scary distance on its own. Intellectually, I knew it should be that way. Emotionally, being at that point is still a strange feeling. But a feeling that I am grateful for.

And a feeling that I don't want to take for granted. One injury could mean months of being sidelined, and some injuries can happen so quickly. I like to think that having had it happen once, I'd be more likely to recognise the warning signs, but that's not a given. OTOH, the regular ART sessions probably help keep things in control. Speaking of keeping things in control - lately my left hamstring seems to be tightening up, although so far it doesn't seem serious and stretching seems to take care of it. Right now it's fine and I didn't have even a mild twinge during today's work out so that's reassuring.

And I should hasten to add that I am most definitely not taking either ATB or Boston for granted. Not with the hills in both of them, and those distances are far from trivial or routine. Especially not the marathon. The speedwork and hills and long runs are not happening because I want a PB at Boston or anything like that. My hope is that they'll delay that transition from "this is intense but I'm okay" to "this is really really hard, and I'm exhausted, and that finish line feels like a million miles away". At Scotiabank, that point for me came at around 36 km, and it was a flat course. Maybe I can't push it out any further than that, but I hope this extra work will have some benefit.

Of course, it will also help to be healthy in general! Back at the beginning of December when I had Sinus Infection #1 I actually took a sick day from work (second one in four years) because between it and the antibiotic side effects my energy was completely gone. That happened to be the day the postcard from Boston with my revised qualifying time arrived. Under normal circumstances, I would have thought, "Cool - it's really true" etc. etc. Instead, I just looked at it and the incoherent thought process from the depths of my foggy brain was something like, "I ran a marathon? In that kind of time? Guess so. Can't imagine how. And I think I'm going to run that distance again? No way, no can do."

But tonight I'm thinking "Yes. It won't be easy and it will take the next three months of training, but yes. Assuming no injuries, I'll do it." I still don't always quite believe, deep down, that my body can run 42.2 km in one session, but it's done that twice so I guess it is truly possible to do it again...