River run

So I got to run by the river in Skopje this morning, where I am staying is just a few minutes from there. It was cool this morning, I think 4 C, but the run was nice and the sun was shining.It felt quite good to run again for the first time in about 4 days, I think it also helps to get the bus journey out of your system. I think I will be running a 2 mile race in 2 days time, so that will give me some idea of where I am at. Stay tuned.

Travelling

So I have been travelling all over Central Europe for the last 3 weeks, 1 week to go. Not been easy keeping up with my running and have missed a few days. I have been doing a lot of hiking, which I think has really helped my breathing and I think my weight is under control. I have about 5 weeks until the 10 day race and I am quite happy that I will be in good shape. Just have to see.

A cold goodbye

So I went out early to get my last run in New York this winter done. It is cold out there 18 F ( -8C) and with the wind it feels like 3F (-16C), but this is how New York sending me of to Europe, where I am told it is warmer. So over the next few weeks I hope I will get some nice runs in and hopefully get a chance to tell you about them, so stay tuned out there.

Solo

My usual Sunday morning running partner Utpal had a minor medical procedure yesterday, so didn't feel well enough to come for a long run this morning. So I was on my own. You can see from the photo that there was quite a lot of snow out in Flushing Meadow Park, but it was sunny and so nice. I had to be a bit careful at times because of the snow and ice, but it was a lot of fun.
I ran 12+ miles stopping from time to time to take some photo's. This one actually shows part of the course that is used for the 6 & 10 day races that takes part here in April.. I am quite happy with the way my training has gone the last 6 weeks, especially the last 3 weeks when I have increased my mileage.
I am leaving for Western and Central Europe in a few days and hope to maintain my running while traveling a lot. It's not always easy, but if I can squeeze in some kind of run everyday it really helps.

50 Days

When I go on these running streaks I have certain benchmarks I like to reach. the first one was of course the 28 day mark, which to me is the first month. yesterday was my 50th straight day of running and this is my second mark. For me I like to think that 50 days means that this is a seroius running streak I have going here.
After 2 weeks of increasing my mileage I felt tired when I went out for my run on Monday, so this week I am just running 3 miles a day on the weekdays. I will probably leave the 2 a days in place on the weekends.

Responding Well

I have increased my mileage for the last 2 weeks, averaging 5 miles a day last week and 6 miles a day this week. When I start to get in the groove, where I run and how far I run becomes instinctive. I have noticed for the last couple of days that my breathing has been very good. Which was a little surprising because I had been exhibiting cold symptoms earlier in the week.
This morning was the usual 2 mile race and I noticed that my legs felt quite tired after the first mile, but that they felt fine for the last 1/2 mile and my breathing was good . This allowed me to push a little at the end.

When I went out for my second run this afternoon the idea was to run an easy 3 miles, but as I came to my turning point I just kept going and eventually ran 5 miles instead.. It feels as though my body is getting used to the increase in training miles and is responding well.

Snow Run

On Tuesday I came home from work and there was about 1/2 " of snow on the ground and it was still snowing lightly. It was the first time this year that I had got to run in the snow, the last time was in December. The snow itself was nice and crispy. I got inspired and ran 5 miles.
On Wednesday it was raining, not too bad. Though it had rained heavily earlier in the day. I went out with the intention of doing 5 miles again but changed it into a 5 k. I did however run into Utpal who encouraged me to do more and we were joined by Sudip, so all 3 of us ran 5 miles.
Today the afternoon was quite mild, so once again I was inspired to run 5 miles, this time on my own. though my legs felt a little tired at the start I felt good at the end.