Um, it snowed in Seattle this morning. Did anyone notice that it’s March 22? Snap, snap; I’ll have some Spring please!

Fortunately for me, Bellingham had a lovely (if cold) little window this morning. I took Fuji and we went out for a wonderful, relaxed run that felt like prayer to me.

One thing I’m noticing about training on this new kind of schedule is that I’ve missed the  wandering runs that give me brain-space to think and work things out in my life. I don’t need as much of that kind of time nowadays because I’m not grappling with anything particularly heavy or deep, but I’ve gotten used to “running as spiritual” practice and I do miss it. That’s why today was nice. On the other hand, this directed training (as opposed to what I used to do, which was to just rack up miles each week) is an interesting challenge. It holds my interest because I’m seeing true improvements and feeling challenged.

Here’s what the week looked like:

Sunday: I warmed up and cooled down with a mile each way to the track and while I was there, I ran 4 one-mile repeats at my 10 K pace. Since I wasn’t able to get my pace run in while on retreat last week I was itching to get it done. I felt heavy while I was running for some reason, but I did it.

Monday: Speed work. During our morning track workout (when it hailed on us relentlessly), Coach Carol had us doing one minute at our “faster than a one mile pace” alternating with one minute of resting. We did this for 25 minutes. This is my favorite speed work because it’s manageable. You can do anything for ONE minute, right?

Tuesday: No running.

Wednesday: Pace work (again). I’m back on schedule this week so I followed the group with Carol’s pace workout. We ran 7 minutes at our 10K pace followed by 3 minutes of walking or slow running and repeated this THREE times. Before each one of Carol’s workouts we warm up. After each one, we cool down, do drills (butt kicks, grapevines, high kicks and lunges), core work, and stretching.

Thursday: No running.

Friday: Slow 5 miles on the trails near my house–letting my mind wander and my dog chase birds.

Saturday: Distance run. Tomorrow Bill has to do 20ish miles for his last long training run before the Boston Marathon. I plan 10 to 12 miles total myself, starting with keeping up with Bill and our friends Lindsay on their first few warm up miles. I don’t expect to be able to keep their pace for more than 5 miles max (and still be able to talk), but it’ll be great to have their company.

Here’s my one complaint this week (it’s the same one my friends hear from me daily; can you guess?). I’m cold!!! I want some warmth in the air and bright sunshine. Can anyone do anything about this for me?

At the very least, if you ran in the sunshine this week, can y0u remind me what it feels like?