Author: Mark Allman

A cold early morning for a run. Temperature was around 9 degrees, with a bitter wind in a few places. Dress right and it’s not a big deal. The worst is the black ice in the berms of roads due to some daytime melting snow and subsequent overnight freezing. Hard to spot sometimes in the dark.

Today’s run was an easy-on-the-hamstring 4.33 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 10:37. Total climb was around 205 feet.

A nice early morning for a longer run. Temperature around 19 degrees and an occasional bitter wind. With this being the day after Christmas, traffic wasn’t too bad.

The hamstring didn’t complain too much, and a few other things didn’t either, really. It’s always just “take it easy” and get the distance in without anything happening. Over time it’ll improve.

Today’s run was a 14.01 mile rolling hills route. Pace was somewhere around 11:00. Still traffic on main roads that hangs things up. Total climb was 710 feet.

One more frigid early morning for a run. Temperature around 4 below zero and clear skies. Button up the layers, and it’s not a problem. My face started to get a bit frozen. The worst part of the run was bobbing around the edge of the road as the ice (and snow frozen into ice chunks) jutted out into the road. Running over that stuff is a slip and crash just waiting to happen.

Today’s run was a 4.33 mile rolling hills route. Pace was around 10:47. Total climb was 205 feet.

We had about 6 to 8 inches of snow on Friday, and I noticed a few yanks on the hamstring when I was shoveling out. So, take a day to see how things felt. Nothing seems any worse. I also noticed some shin soreness after the 13 mile run a few days ago.

The weather was the challenge today. Temperature was around 3 degrees below zero and a slight breeze. That’s not something to take lightly. Getting several miles from home and then something happens can be dangerous. Also, it’s the first day that’s really cold, so a gear check is in order. The extra layers seemed to work out just fine. Felt good to be out.

Today’s run was a short 2.32 mile rather flat route. Pace was an easy 10:41. Total climb was about 95 feet.

A mild (for winter) early morning for a run. The rain and winds we had overnight moved out about an hour before I hit the road. At the start, the skies were still a bit cloudy, but over time they cleared. I’ll take it: the bright Moon helped to light up the roads a bit.

Today’s run was a 13.12 mile rolling hills route, at an easy don’t-push-on-the-hamstring pace of around 10:54. Total climb was 650 feet.

Rain is the order of the day today. Rain and wind. And really dark roads. It’s an issue when the wind blows over people’s recycling that they put by the curb and various bits of stuff are all over the place. I saw that in several places.

Today’s run was an easy 4.33 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 10:36. Total climb was 205 feet.

Perfect early morning for a run. Temperature around 30 degrees and just a slight breeze. On the last run a few days ago I pushed on the right hamstring a bit going up hills. Later in the run I noticed it was complaining a bit, so I knocked off for a few days. Caution, caution, caution. Back to it today. No real issues. Nice, easy pace, and no pushing up hills.

Today’s run was a 9.05 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 10:48. Total climb was around 465 feet.

Interesting early morning run today. We had a storm go through with several inches of rain and winds gusting over 40 mph. This morning I could see some of the impact. Lots of debris in the berms of roads and some roads were still partially flooded. The temperature when I was out was around 33 degrees but I didn’t notice any slick spots. I’ll take it.

The hamstring is still complaining later in runs. Not bad, just “there.” Hills are getting better.

Today’s run was an easy 9.05 mile rolling hills route. Pace was somewhere around 10:50. Had to hold up at several intersections and zig around a few things. Total climb was about 465 feet.

A damp, somewhat foggy early morning for a run. Temperature was around 33 degrees. The wind in places was a bit strong. i don’t mind at all running into a stiff breeze: more work = more training.

Today’s run was an easy 4.33 mile rolling hills route. Pace was around 10:44. Total climb was about 205 feet.

Perfect early winter morning. Temperature around 28, mostly clear skies, and not much of a breeze. Someone pulled out of a driveway under a street light a little ahead of me and the engine exhaust slowly floated straight up.

Today was the first day that I felt that I could push without much hamstring discomfort. Climbing is a different story altogether, but on flats and downhill it was great to stretch it out a bit. It was a “reach and don’t think about it” run.

Today was a 7.15 mile rolling hills route. Pace was about 9:58. Total climb around 350 feet.