..the winter grind

Since my last blog, I have been putting in a lot of mileage and working on general body strength in the gym.
I always remind myself how lucky I am that I don't have to deal with the British weather here in Atlanta. However, the week before Xmas we had a cold front come through. At 8am at the trail it was 23 degrees Fahrenheit, that's -5 Celsius! Sean was away for the night with work, and my other running partner was taking some time off, so it was just me and the ipod!
Luckily it only lasted a few days and it was back to shorts and t-shirt weather by the end of the week.

We spent a week in Florida over Christmas with Sean's family.  I hit my highest mileage week of 2011 the week before Xmas, which meant i was on a down week during the holidays, which was nice.
I am starting to get into some harder workouts now, so the warm weather meant I could get in some good quality work.
I did a 7 mile progressive tempo, 9x800 and 6 sets of 300,200,100 whilst I was there.
All my sessions went well. It really makes a difference when you aren't fighting the cold and layered in clothing!
The mornings were perfect for a nice cool dip in the pool or even better, a natural salt ice bath in the ocean!

I have a couple more weeks of high mileage before indoor season. Since college, I have really progressed as each season has past with my mileage. I think if you want longevity in your career you have to be patient and look at things long term.
But now I am a that point in my career where I am hitting the peak. With London 2012 less than 200 days away I am training harder, longer and more intensely than ever before.
The past two weeks I have ran over 90 miles. I used to think 50 miles was a huge achievement in college. now even 70 miles feels like nothing!

We have just moved to a new house. We literally live less than 400m away from the river trail. We run there everyday, sometimes twice, so we are really excited to be so close now.
The river trail is the hub for all runners, cyclists and walkers, in an around Atlanta. The road into the trailhead is 2.5 miles long and each quarter is marked. The speed limit is 25mph and it is used as much for running and cycling as it is for cars.
On Sunday after my long run i was so happy just to stroll back to the house and get a big breakfast on!

Duke, enjoying the view from our back porch.


I received my first shipment from my new sponsor New Balance this week. I am proud to be a member of Team New Balance heading into 2012!