Last Sunday kicked off the week strong; I ran the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. It was only part of my training, so it wasn't fast, but it went well. 

The weather was just about perfect: Sunny skies, little wind, temps in the low 40's. However, I typically mess up these training runs... this particular run was too fast to be an effective LR, but not fast enough to be a strong HM pace. I like to run them for the variety in my training, and also (especially in Central Park) for the elevation change. The run included two turns on Harlem Hill and that's always challenging for me. 

Lap 5 & Lap 9 are where Harlem Hill hit. Both times are respectable for the climb, particularly Lap 9... I'm pleased with that.

The running remained strong all week...it's been good.
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Wednesday was a nice 10 mile tempo run with 6 miles run at MP... and then yesterday I ran 17.3 miles in 2 runs of 9.11 and 8.19. Unfortunately, I started feeling some off-and-on issues with my post-tib. Just this one spot right next to my ankle... I'd slow down, it would disappear...only to come back a mile or two later. I finished the last 2 miles at a solid MP - with no pain. But, I didn't get out to run today. After some thought, I decided to give the foot a little rest just in case. So like a good girl, I popped some Ibuprofen and have been icing the spot. Fingers crossed I can get in a few miles tomorrow morning. 

 Well, it's a good thing I still have another 3 months before marathon day. Getting in the miles has proven tough! The weather hasn't been cooperative (it snowed about a foot of snow last Thursday and temps were in the single digits for about a week!) and I've been relying on treadmills. Blech.

I know treadmill running isn't optimal, but I AM trying to get it done nonetheless. Last week I ran an 11 mile LR on the TM, yesterday I ran a 13 mile LR. I've been streaming Netflix so that keeps my mind off the time. 

Next weekend is my first HM training run of the cycle. That'll be in Central Park, the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon. Fingers crossed the weather is reasonable (read: I really don't want to run in single digits or rain!). 

As I said, my mileage is on the low side. It's been in the 30+mpw range, but it needs to climb into the high 40's-low 50's. Also, my back is giving me problems again. I had some flare-ups of the Bertolotti Syndrome and general low-back tension and ran for a massage after yesterday's LR. It's improved some today with the help of Advil and rolling out my TFL's using a lacrosse ball. 

Back at it tomorrow for about 7-8 miles in the park. 

Overall, 2017 was a productive running year. I covered a total of 1,260.5 miles. It's about 152 more miles than 2016. Considering I had some slowdowns (back problems over the summer months then marathon recovery in Nov-Dec), this is a pretty good number. I'd like to keep the running consistent as much as I can over the course of 2018. Fingers crossed. 

Two weeks ago started my next marathon cycle: the Paris Marathon is on Sunday, 8 April. Coming off a decent recovery from November's marathon, the mileage in week #1 was low with 28 miles (although I ran a strong tempo run in there!). Then unfortunately, I got hit with a stomach bug over Christmas. Even though my immediate symptoms only lasted 48 hours, the fatigue and crud remained the rest of the week. Finally on Saturday I was able to get out for a strong 5 miles in the park. 

Now the weather is just brutally cold! It was in the single digits yesterday and while I figured out a fix to keep my little toes warm (duct tape on the shoes!), the wind made running really challenging yesterday so I only made it 4 miles. That means today is on the treadmill, baby. It stinks, but the weather is still in the single digits and I just can't keep battling the frigid temps when I got to get a LOT of running in. 

The rest of my plan still follows Daniels' formula. Like last cycle, I plan to hit a few weeks of 50+ mpw, otherwise it'll be in the low 40's. In the interest of keeping myself healthy and injury-free, this week will probably only hit low 30's. It's early yet, so I'm hoping this is fine.