Weekend Update

It's not an original title. In fact, it probably won't be the last time I use it or steal it from Saturday Night Live. The running challenge started on 12/1 and I've stayed with it. My pace is a little slower than I was expecting but that's not too surprising and I'm sure it will start to come down fairly quickly. I don't have goals for where I want it to be since outside of being consistent at this time of year, there's not a lot more I can do. Right now I have about 19 miles in for the month. Most of that has been outside but I do have a couple treadmill runs in there too, like the one today. It snowed last night and the sidewalks were all covered so I hit up the gym and followed up the run with some core work, lunges and a couple other things.

This week will be a little more challenging to get all of my runs in since I'm heading to Dallas for work. I'm pretty sure there's a fitness facility with a treadmill at the hotel, but I haven't checked to be certain. And since I'm already at my suitcase's limit, any additional running gear isn't coming with.

Since I'm flying to Dallas early (7:25 a.m. flight) I had to get up this morning and get the dogs to the daycare/kennel where they're spending the week. All it takes is for me to grab their beds and they immediately get excited and start running around the house like wild idiots. Actually, Whiskey catches on first and I think Tacoma just copies his excitement but the end product is the same. Two super excited dogs. So we loaded up and headed out. I had them dropped off and got back home to an empty and quiet house. On one hand it's nice that I can pick up, pack, etc. without tripping over them every five seconds, but I'm definitely not used to it. Suuuuuuuppper quiet.

In cyclocross news, my season is now officially finished. I had registered for the State Championships on Saturday, but when I woke up I was feeling pretty run down, had a headache and some congestion in my chest. I tried talking myself into going but ultimately decided against it since I didn't want to stress out my body by racing in the cold and ending up being sick while I'm away for work. I'm a little bummed about missing it, especially since I heard it was a pretty cool course and a good time, but I think it was the right move. Beyond that I was starting to feel a little crispy week in and week out. My cycling fitness is at the point where going hard like that for 45 minutes at a time is just an exercise in futility. I'm not bouncing back from it quickly and it's all just a good sign to return to some general base work for the off season. It was a fun season though, and I know that in a month or so I'll already be looking forward to the next one.