This week was my first week back on an official training plan for 2016!

Monday: Spent the day working from home (one of the perks of being a grad student), and took my dogs out for a nice sunny afternoon 3 miler around our neighborhood.  While I had a nice time running with my pups (Jade actually held on for almost two miles this time!), this just reinforced how bored I get on roads now.  I used to LOVE running on roads.  But now that I’ve gotten used to trails, I really have no desire for pavement.  Crazy how quickly things change.  I know I’ll need to suck it up and deal with roads at times – particularly during the week – so oh well.

Tuesday: I started out with good intentions and brought my running stuff to work.  The plan was to head out for an afternoon work break, and knock out a solid 6 miles around town.  Instead, I got absorbed into a grant application that took way longer than I anticipated, and before I knew it, it was getting dark out and time to go home and have dinner at my friend’s house.  Better luck next time?

Wednesday:  A beautiful day in Colorado!  I brought my running stuff to work and managed to squeak in a solid 4 miles on one of the bike paths – with a negative split – before it got dark.  I didn’t feel great for the first two miles, but the back half wasn’t too bad!  It was so great to be out running in shorts and a t-shirt in January.  Colorado is the best.

Thursday: Another fabulously beautiful day in Colorado – even better than the last.  I couldn’t stand being inside at work all day, so I went home early and got the dogs out for a solid 3 miles around the neighborhood – mostly roads, but with a bit of gravel trail.  I got delightfully muddy and was thrilled to be in a tank top and shorts.  Hooray, Colorado winter!  Even Jade was loving the day.  She ran a full three miles!  Way to go Jade!  I wanted to get 6 in today, but Jade was pooped out at three, and we were still a half mile from home, and it was getting dark.  So that was the end of the run for us.  It was a good day though.  No complaints here.

Friday: I had originally planned to get my longest run of the week done today because it was supposed to be absolutely gorgeous out and I was going to be skiing on Saturday and it was going to get cold and snowy on Sunday.  Unfortunately, my adviser had other plans.  I awoke to an email reply to something I sent him Thursday saying “Cool.  Let’s meet and talk about this today.”  But no actual time specified.  So instead of getting my 10 miler in today, I went in to work in the morning, and proceeded to work at my desk, staring hopefully out the window, until he showed up in the afternoon.  So, unfortunately, I didn’t get a run in today.

Saturday: Saturday dawned bright and early for a beautiful, warm, and occasionally snowy ski day at Winter Park.  My boyfriend and I (and another friend of his) spent the day enjoying the Mary Jane side of the mountain and getting my mogul skills back.  It wasn’t a run, but still a good workout!  My legs were burning on more than one occasion.  He was a great teacher, and I definitely saw improvement throughout the day, so that was exciting.

Sunday: Around lunch, I headed out on the Mesa trail here in Boulder and knocked out a slow but steady 7 miles.  I had hoped to do 10, but my planned route was a bit shorter than I thought, and by the time I hit 7 miles, the temperature was rapidly dropping and I was getting chilled.  I decided 7 was better than nothing, and it was time to head home and get warm again.  It was an okay run – I clearly have a lot of work to do still.  I’ve never been a great climber, and that’s going to be a big focus for my training this season.  My lack of climbing ability was very clear today.  Mesa trail isn’t really steep, but there are plenty of long, gradual hills, and even those shallower ones kicked my butt.  But I WILL get better!

What worked well this week: Making myself get out whenever I could – even if it was just for a few miles – really helped keep my momentum going this week.  That’s something I always struggle with.

What didn’t work well this week: Many days I intended to get up early and run in the morning before going to work.  That never happened.  I would love to run in the mornings because it makes my whole day more productive.  I’ll keep trying at that one.

What I struggled with: My biggest struggle this week was figuring out how to fit my short weekday runs in with work.  I’m sure this is going to be an ongoing struggle

What I will do to improve next week: I think the best thing for me to focus on right now is consistency, so I will continue to focus my efforts on getting out for my short weekday runs – whenever I can fit them in.  The best thing I can do right now is continue to develop that habit.

Total weekly mileage: 17 miles – not what I hoped, but better than nothing.