5 Miles

Just another slow 5 miles on the treadmill.  I've been concentrating on trying to get my arm working again instead of running. But today I woke up early enough to do a little of both.

I also registered for the Prague Marathon. I'm hoping by the time I get there I'm actually up to running a marathon.  I'm also running the Wenatchee, Washington Marathon on April 15th, so I will have a good idea after seeing how that one goes.  They have an early start in Wenatchee and I plan to take it.

It's still quite cold and snow covered outside so I'm sticking with the treadmill probably until I get back home.

The Treadmill Again

I managed to get in another 5 miles on the treadmill today.  I haven't been sleeping very well due to my arm pain. But I managed to drag my lazy self down to the exercise room and hit the treadmill.

I just took a silly photo of Hello Kitty instead of snapping the view out my window to share my run. I think she was more energetic than I was today!

Slow & Steady

Another fairly slow 5 miles on the treadmill.  I'm seriously having trouble being motivated.  Still lots of arm and hand pain. Plus treadmill blues.  I't 20 below zero outside and of course along with the wind, certainly not conducive to running outdoors.

I registered my recommitment with Team In Training for the Prague Marathon event. It's not that far off so I decided to look into arranging my flights.  Prague is not on the list of destinations with Alaska Airlines partners.  But I was able to book a free flight on British Airways as far as London.  From there I continue on with British to Prague.  I get there at 11pm but a day early for the Team In Training hotel reservation. So I booked a hotel for that night right at the airport.

But the return flight was the real challenge. I want to run the Mont Saint Michel Marathon on May 28th.  That's very close to when I have to fly to work on May 31st. It's also not close to a major airport. I don't have time to catch trains to Paris and fly out of there.  But London is much closer. I ended up booking a short flight with Ryan Air out of the Dinard Airport the afternoon of the 29th. It doesn't go to Heathrow but to Stansted which is an hour and a half by Tube from Heathrow. I found an evening flight from Heathrow via Frankfurt but it has a 17 hour layover. I booked another cheap hotel at the Frankfurt Airport because I don't fly out of there until 4 pm on the 30th.  But I get to Anchorage at 3:45 on the 30th.  I actually get to Anchorage before I leave Frankfurt, which seems impossible but I think it's correct. I do have to cross a lot of time zones!

Now I have to decide what I want to do for the three weeks that I'll be bumming around in Europe! I'm sure I'll find something exciting. At least more exciting than running the treadmill here while it's 20 below zero outside.

5 More Miles

I sure feel like my training is going absolutely nowhere. But at least I dragged myself down to the treadmill for another 5 miles.  My hand is hurting so much that it is really a distraction. I do feel that if I was actually running outdoors in nature it wouldn't be bothering me so much.  But the treadmill is pretty monotonous and boring even with my music and the TV for distraction, that I can't help but notice that my hand is in a continual muscle cramp.

I always feel better when I get in a run, even if it isn't the most productive exercise.  It does beat flopping on the bed watching TV!

Gigantic snow piles across the street!

5 Miles on the Treadmill Again

I've been fighting the pain in my arm but finally kicked myself out of the room and downstairs to the treadmill. I'm dying to go for a real run but it's not that possible around here. So I have to take what I can get.

So I plug in my headphones and listen to my music, while watching the news on the TV. I actually felt a little better today. By mile 4 though, my hand started cramping.  I need to keep training because I'm flying to Washington for the Wenatchee Marathon on April 15th.  They have an early start and I plan to take advantage of it in case I find that my arm really slows me down.  But I couldn't resist grabbing that run because I still don't have Washington on my quest for running all 50 states. I plan to rent a car and drive to Los Angeles and purchase the Eurovan I've been wanting for quite a few years. I love the drive down through Washington, Oregon and California. I love to make my usual stop in Mt Shasta on the way.

5 Miles

Back on the treadmill today for another 5 miles.  I didn't push it, and was just happy to keep moving for 5 miles. My hand was in a continual uncomfortable cramp the entire time. I ran while grasping my left hand tightly with my right hand to try to relieve the cramping. I'm hoping all this arm and hand pain have subsided by the time I run the next marathon that I have planned in Washington state for April 15th. It feels like some of the feeling is returning to my fingers, and it's coming back in a painful way. I hope it is actually a good sign.

It's really mentally challenging trying to train on the treadmill when I'd much rather be outside enjoying the sunshine. But maybe not today's -30 with wind chill -50 sunshine!

Prudhoe Bay

I'm back up in Deadhorse to work for March. It's the usual icy cold windy weather with no possibility of doing anything outdoors. So I'm back to training on the treadmill. I've been sick with a bad cold and cough for the past week, so today is the first day I felt up to getting back into my training. I was pretty slow and was still doing a little coughing. My sore and recovering arm and hand didn't seem to give me any trouble.

So just a fairly slow introductory 5 mile run on the treadmill here, while catching up on the evening news.