Thanksgiving Week...

Monday: Got up early as per the norm for a ride on The Soloist. I was a couple of minutes behind from doing dishes so I had to cut the ride short at forty-one minutes to ensure that I had enough time to make it to work. I had an unfortunate and hectic end to my day so I was home about forty-five minutes later than usual. I had a great walk with Eko but I was facing a massive shortage of daylight. I stayed safe and just ran West Hill three pretty slow. I did not want to start the week with a low number given that there is sure to be interruptions later in the week for the holiday fun. I got back on The Soloist for another thirty-minutes to make up the time from the short run. I did not have any clean cycling shorts so I rode in half tights which was not pleasant. That centimeter or two difference really made a difference and I was uncomfortable the whole ride. How did I ride all last winter in BAA tights? (1 hr. 32 min.)

Tuesday: Up early for forty-five minutes on The Soloist. Felt good. In the afternoon I needed to button up some yard work before the expected snow so I passed on an afternoon run. (45 min.)

Wednesday: Another weird holiday week day that only saw one workout. Loaded onto The Soloist mid-morning and rode pretty hard for an hour and a half. Felt good but my quads were a little fatigued by the end of the ride. In the afternoon I headed down to Shelburne Falls to kick off the holiday. (1 hr. 30 min.)

Thursday: I had a difficult launch to my run but once I was out the door I felt fantastic and the weather was amazing. The plan when I left was for a gentle five miler squeezed in before dinner but it turned into an apatite inducing hilly thirteen miler. (1 hr. 35 min.)

Friday: Yet another hectic day complete with lunch at the legendary Beiderman's Deli. In the afternoon I headed out back in Ashland for my first run on the new snowshoes. I got soaked in the wet melting snow but I slogged around every trail at Mary's parents house. I was really working hard but as is the case with the snowshoes I was going nowhere fast. Got in over an hour of work which was nice. (1 hr. 5 min.)

Saturday: Trap day! Lazy... Well not really I did a lot of other activity but I did not train. Not bad only having one day off during Thanksgiving week. (0)

Sunday: I headed out for my run just after eight o'clock and seemingly ran up every significant hill in the town of Ashland. It was warm and I was sweating but I was freezing by the end of the run. One of the rawest days that I have ever felt. I was wringing out my hat but shivering? I was going to run on the snowshoes again but I ran out of daylight. Hunting season in Ashland is scary. (1 hr. 38 min.)

Total: Eight hours and five minutes.

Summary: Given that it was a holiday week I am pretty pleased with the way things went. I got in a bunch of ninety minute efforts which is a huge plus at this time of the year. On my Sunday run I did not feel good until I was an hour into the run. Is that a sure sign of base training?

Mark