Short Run Today

I had the best day of sleep in the entire month! I didn't wake up once and actually fell asleep right away.  But I slept a little later than I had hoped.
I did want to run around the lake if the weather was good, but just didn't have enough time or a 5 mile run.  Yesterday's beautiful sunshine was also long gone.  Although, it was totally calm and 36 degrees.  So I just drive down to the river access road and ran 3 miles there again.  It was pretty cold in spite of the lack of wind.  It's amazing how much a little sunshine can make you feel warmer. 

What a bleak landscape!

  I can't wait to see trees and plants and mountains again.  Only two more nights at work then I'm on my way home. But for sure I have no complaints.  I love my job and am so thankful that I can spend these months here in the Arctic.  Last night's Northern Lights were amazing.

Nice Outdoor Run

We actually had a beautiful sunny day today.  There was hardly any wind too.  I drove down the road and ran outdoors on the little river access road for 4 miles.  It felt so good to be out in the sunshine even though it was still pretty chilly at just 30 degrees.  I noticed that I was definitely in a happier mood after that run.

I took some pictures to celebrate being able to see the sun for a change.

 

 

Only a couple more days here then I'm off to Lisbon for the marathon.

Sunshine!

Wow I actually saw the sun when I woke up. I hurried outside to run. But I was quickly disappointed and decided to turn back. It was so muddy out there that the roads could loosely be classified as swampland! So I went back inside and ran a short 3 miles on the trusty treadmill. I'm taking it a little easy because I've been having some odd knee pain. It didn't bother me while running so it is probably nothing. I was glad to get in a run even if it was a bit shorter than I would have liked.

3 Miles

I'm sticking with very short treadmill runs for a few days.  I've been getting some annoying little pains in my foot and leg muscles.  It's probably from not spending enough time out there running.  But it's just not possible outside right now.  Much too dangerous with low visibility, heavy fog, high winds and of course, bears. I can't wait to get back outdoors again.  But looking at our current weather system, that will probably be next month in Portugal.  At least I see the weather is much warmer there even if today's conditions are showing rain.  Warm rain, that sounds really nice!

3 Mile Run

My Nike+ iPhone app has been really acting up lately!  Yesterday I ran only 1 mile but then wasn't feeling well so stopped.  Instead of showing the 1 mile that I ran, it only said .6 mile. I wondered about that, but was able to edit the run.  Today I ran 3 miles and it appeared to be correct.  But when I stopped it showed that I had just run 0 miles!  That was offensive!!!!!  Again I was able to edit it and put the real time from the treadmill readout.  But today I still felt like I was dragging.  I am using new running shoes so that could be it.  But mostly I think I'm just tired.  This week I have lost a lot of sleep because they keep doing very loud work outside of my window here at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, so I get little sleep.  Today was quiet so I did get a full 8 hours for a change.  I've been a little lazy this last week.  I'm going to try to get back into the swing of training for the rest of the month. 

I tried to run outdoors but when I drove a few miles down the road looking for a good running spot, the car started making a horrible racket.  So I quickly turned back and ran the treadmill instead.  The noise quickly stopped so I guess the car is ok.  I really don't want the car to break down 10 miles from Deadhorse and out of cell phone range.  I could end up with a longer run that I had originally planned!

Still On The Treadmill

I ran another 5 miles today on the treadmill. The weather here has been the same for the last 3 days, and it's not nice out there at all.  Muddy, foggy, windy, cold, drizzly.  The treadmill doesn't seem so bad when compared to the mess out there.  I entertained myself watch Big Bang Theory on the TV while I ran.  I felt kind of sluggish today though. Maybe it's the weather!

8 Miles On The Treadmill

That was kind of a long treadmill run!  Much too nasty outdoors to consider running out there today.  My Nike+ app told me that my workout for today should be 8 miles.  One must ALWAYS obey one’s Nike+ app, right?  It seemed really hot in the exercise room today and I was soaking wet the entire workout.  But I managed to complete it.  I tried something new, and it was really kind of neat.  I used my iPad and read a book the whole time I was running.  I was also listening to music, but I mostly heard the beat of the music more than the words.  I made the text very large on the iPad and was easily able to read while I ran.  It was an interesting form of multi-tasking.  I had to laugh a little though because the book I was reading is by Thich Nhat Hanh and is predominantly about living in the moment and appreciating each task that you are doing, only for that particular task.  When you are washing dishes for example, you concentrate on only that action instead of quickly getting that chore done and planning what you will do next.  I wonder if I was living more for the run or the reading of the book or the listening to the music.  I did avoid looking at the TV that was also on in front of me!

 

I had heard of people reading while running so I wanted to give it a try.  I really enjoyed it!  When I am running outdoors though, even though I always have music, I really enjoy looking around at nature.  But the treadmill is just not the same!  I did get a good workout though.

Half Marathon Training Run

My Nike+ running app said that today I should run a half marathon for my long run.  I was delighted to wake up to a beautiful sunny day with almost no wind and temperatures in the high 40's.  I actually was able to run the 13.1 miles outdoors instead of boring myself half to death on the treadmill.  I ran around Colleen Lake twice then back up to the West Gate and back for the 13.1 total. The gravel on that road is kind of tricky because it is very large gravel.  Often the rocks are the size of my fist so I have to be careful not to stumble and defeat my purpose by breaking an ankle or something.  But running on an uneven surface like that is really good practice for trail running.  I have ordered some new trail running shoes and they should arrive by Wednesday.  That road will be a good place to try them out.  I was planning to use my current shoes for the Lisbon Marathon, then continue wearing them for the 400 mile walk to Santiago de Compostela.  But at that point the poor things would have close to 700 miles on them.  Then, if they had not fallen completely off my feet, they probably would not be in shape for the New York City Marathon.  So I'm hoping to break in the new ones and use them for both marathons and the Camino.  I used the same model shoe for the Camino de Santiago last year and they were great.  So I think they will be a good choice.

Nike+ Coach says I need to rest for the next two days.  That could be tough if the next two days are as nice as today was!

Colleen Lake

Sunny Day!

It is a gorgeous sunny day here on the North Slope. I ran my short 2 mile run along the Dalton Highway by the Sagavanirtok River. It was a little windy and only 37 degrees but it felt great to be away from that treadmill!

5 Miles Indoors

It's still not reasonable for outdoor running, so once again I had to do my run on the treadmill. I'm still feeling a bit sluggish. Running on the treadmill feels a little different from outdoor running. I think I am just readjusting to it.

I hope I get some good dry weather here this month because I love running around the lake. Right now the roads are more like swamps than roads.

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6 Treadmill Miles

I'm trying out the Nike+ coach program for marathon training. Today it said to run 6 miles. I managed to do it but today was one of those days where I barely felt like dragging myself down the stairs to the exercise room! It was not my best run, but a poor run is better than no run! Still glad I did it.

I really want to run outdoors but the mud, snow and 30 knot wind helped me decide it was not the best option! I think winter is here.

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Short Short Run

I just went for a short 3 miles today on the treadmill. I ran much faster though.  I'm working on trying alternating between short and longer runs and getting my speed up.  The weather was horrible outside so I went for the treadmill.  But now it is clearing up and getting really interesting out there.  Beautiful big puffy clouds.  I wonder if I should go for a little drive before dinner.

The forecast for the next two days is for snow.  I guess winter is on its way.

Back on the Treadmill

I'm back in Deadhorse working for September. First day here and first it poured rain then it turned to snow. Bears in the area too! So much for running around the lake today! But I got in a nice 5 mile treadmill run.



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