Jumping January

January 2021 in review!  

Total mileage for the month:  377.2

• Dec. 28-Jan. 3:  75.4
• Jan. 4-10:  81.3
• Jan. 11-17: 84.3
• Jan. 18-24:  83.8
• Jan. 25-31:  92.1

Races:

• My masters racing debut is scheduled for February 6!

This is year 3 of #jumpingjanuary

Most of our January runs look like this

Workouts:

• Jan. 1:  5 mile fartlek of 4', 3', 2', 1' ons, with offs half the duration of the ons (3 warm up, 2 cool down).  This was a good effort-based run, but the push paces were variable (5:56-6:34) due to elevation differences (6:49 average for the ons and offs together).  I ran this with Rebecca and Casey, and it was a great way to start 2021.
• Jan. 4:  5 mile tempo in 6:41 average via 6:33, 6:38, 6:32, 7:03 (included a minor fall on patch of ice), 6:42 (2.1 warm up, 3.2 cool down).  I felt like I ran this entire tempo looking down!  The roads/sidewalks were 95% fine, but I slipped and went partially down during mile 4.  I didn't even fall completely, but it was enough to shoot adrenaline through me and it took me a second to re-group.  I was hoping to keep this whole thing in the 6:30s, and I think I could have without that little mishap.  My group has a pretty good 2 mile workout loop in town that we've been running, but it is all sidewalk and I much prefer running roads for workouts.  Several people with slightly different paces ran this workout, and I ran mostly with Casey.
• Jan.  7:  8 x 0.25 hill repeats (2ish warm up, 2ish cool down).  Climbing about 90 ft in a quarter mile is no joke, and as always, these got my heart pumping and legs burning!  It was 34 degrees with light rain mixed with snow for this workout too, and I thought no one else was going to show up so I could slack off on the hills, but Trevor came.  
• Jan. 12:  4 mile alternating 0.5 at 6:30/0.5 at 6:50 + 6 x 30" hill sprints (3 warm up, walked down the hill for recovery between the tempo and hills, jogged down the hill between hill sprints, and cooled down to 9.3 miles).  I really liked this workout and shifting gears!  My actual paces per each half mile were 6:32, 6:46, 6:32, 6:44, 6:25, 7:04 (hill), 6:24, 6:43.  There is a really big difference between 6:30 and 6:50 pace!  The hill reps were meh but at least short.  I ran this one solo; I think everyone else was mourning the Little Rock cancellation.
• Jan. 17:  10 x 0.15 pick ups at the beginning of miles 4-13 of a 14 mile run.  The pick ups were planned in the 16 miler on January 16, but due to the snow that day I did them during the second long run, and as usual I really liked them and they got me out of slogging mode.  Paces ranged from 5:34-6:41 and were mostly 6:00ish, but we ran a hilly course so paces varied according to the elevation.  I was with Colin and Casey on this one.
• Jan. 20:  Fartlek of 6', 5', 4' 3', 2', 1' on with 1', 2', 3', 4', 5' off, push paces of 5:58-6:21, fluctuating based on elevation changes (6:43 average for the total 5.4 miles covered in the ons/offs together). I ran this with Casey and Rebecca and felt solid!
• Jan.  23:  Long run workout in an 18 miler:  2 warm up, 2 tempo (6:31, 6:12), 10 easy, 2 tempo (6:17, 6:10), 2 cool down.  I was really pleased with this workout; it was the best tempo work I've done this season so far, with a lot of miles on my legs.  It felt really strong and the paces came without going to the well.  Casey and Colin ran this workout as well.
• Jan.  28 (a day late due to snow):  Mixed system workout of 4 x 1:00 on/1:00 off, 5 mile tempo, 4 x 1:00 on/1:00 off (2:00 jogs before and after the tempo, 11.7 miles total with warm up and cool down).  After the Jan. 23 workout my goal was to keep the tempo miles in the 6:20s and I did that with 6:21, 6:23, 6:29, 6:26, 6:20.  The 8 x 1:00 pushes at 10k effort were 5:55-6:03 except for two that were all uphill (6:23 and 6:21 for those).  I really enjoyed this tempo sandwich!  I was mostly solo on the tempo, but for the 1:00 on/1:00 off portions I was with Colin and Casey.  
• Strides:  Jan. 3, 6 11, 14, 19, 24, 26, 27.
• Doubles:  Jan. 1, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28. Once or twice I added my planned double mileage to my morning mileage instead of splitting it, due to the weather. On days it warms up into the 40s+ I love going out for doubles!
• Cross-Training: zero!  I ran every day this month instead.
• Strength Training:  weekly totals of 2:55, 3:00, 2:43, 3:06, 3:05 - this is a ton for me, but it's keeping my hip happy!

Jan.1 fartlek workout

January 4 tempo

MLK Day runch (I worked that day; no one else did)

Long Runs:

• Jan. 9:  15.2 miles (7:46) for a nice long run!  This was one of those days where running felt effortless and 15 miles felt like nothing.  We started with a group of 8, and 4 of us ran 15 miles.  It was 28 degrees with no wind at 6:00 a.m., which is really nice for January.
• Jan. 10:  13 miles (8:20) that felt great!  I am loving the back-to-back long runs, and with taking the second day really easy it serves the purpose of a recovery run too. 
• Jan. 16:  16.5 miles (8:23) on snow!  I feel like we should get credit for 20-some miles for running on powder, although this run felt really good.  Usually I dislike running on snow but I enjoyed this run with the other brave souls who didn't cancel.  Before I went out, my husband told me, "Maybe you should just run long on Sunday" and I said "The thing is I'm running long on Sunday too," hah.  He is still getting used to this.
• Jan. 17:  14 miles (7:46) with pick-ups, described in workouts above.  We ran a hilly route at Wilson's Creek and it felt surprisingly great.  I am feeling really strong but not fast at this point. 
• Jan. 23:  18 miles (7:32) with tempo work (6:31, 6:12, 6:17, 6:10), described above.  We ran the Cabin Fever Reliever 20k course plus some for this run, which consists of rolling hills the whole route (nothing steep, but also not much flat).
• Jan. 24:  12 miles (8:06) that felt super short, on Wilson's Creek hills.
• Jan. 30:  18 miles (7:45) that felt great!  It rained a bit during the beginning and then a little too much for a couple of miles in the middle of this run, but by starting an hour earlier than originally planned we avoided the worst of the day long cold rain.  I changed into a dry shirt midway, which was a benefit of most of the group running 12-13.  We had a great group of 9 to begin, and Colin was with me all 18.  About 2 minutes after we finished it started pouring.
• Jan. 31:  13.1 miles (8:18), for another great weekend.  This back-to-back long run thing is fabulous.  :-)

January 9 long run

I was the only one enthusiastic
about jumping after the Jan. 17 run

We did plyos after this too

Running Highlights:

• The Little Rock Marathon postponed from March until November.  I was training for the half, so I shifted my training once when they announced the change on January 11.  With the change I also went back to a 7-day cycle vs. 9-days, with the typical week including a Wednesday workout, a Saturday long long run, and a Sunday shorter long run.  I loved the 9 day schedule for half training, but with back-to-back long runs a 7-day schedule currently makes more sense for me.
• I started feeling really, really good the second half of this month.  I never run as fast in the cold as I do in spring and fall, so even though my end of the month paces aren't fantastic for me, they are really good for winter me.  My mileage is the highest it's been since the end of 2019.

Bandit helping me get ready for run #1 of the year

Nugget helping me get ready for run #2 of the year

Care package from Strava - I love Strava!

Snow run!

Life Highlights

• Maybe not a highlight but news - as a 1B healthcare provider in Missouri, I got my first COVID vaccine on Jan. 21.  I vacillated on whether or not to get it, and my deciding factor was my propensity for bronchitis.  I will not get it every year if it becomes like the flu vaccine though (I do not get the flu vaccine).

How I get ready every morning

Books:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Noel Letters by Richard Paul Evans
• A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
• The Last First Day by Carrie Brown
• Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill
• A Room Called Earth by Madeline Ryan
• The Better Sister by Alafair Burke
• Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
• The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
• Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek
• The Harpy by Megan Hunter
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• The Dying Game by Asa Avdic
• When All is Said by Anne Griffin

Theme for the month:

New Year, same me!  I couldn't think of anything else.