Ugly Toes

Saturday (3/3): After the snow thrower got delivered, the Engineer and I headed down to the basement to watch the Illinois/Iowa game on the big TV while working out. I lifted weights and then ran 5 miles on the treadmill. I had wanted to start lifting again over the winter, but hadn't because lifting usually lowers my body fat which is bad for fertility. I've just decided to say screw it as far as that's concerned, since it's not like having the higher body fat has helped any.

Sunday (3/4): I ran on the treadmill again, since the roads were still messy. I ran for 11 miles while watching random movies on Comedy Central without sound or closed captioning. I had my headphones on, and just wanted something to look at. I'd set a goal of running 10, and then felt decent enough to add an extra mile. Something really annoying, though: I got a blister on my right foot small toe, and every time I run on the treadmill with my new shoes it comes back. That toe is really jacked up - I have no toenail there, and the nail bed is black/red/ugly.

Monday (3/5): I weight-lifted again, for 30 minutes.

Tuesday (3/6): I didn't feel that great, but I ran for 8 miles on the treadmill. I decided when I started I wanted to make it to at least 5 with the goal of hitting 8, but by 3 miles I was thinking that I was probably going to stop soon. But I was able to stick it out.

Wednesday (3/7): I weight-lifted again, followed by 35 minutes on the elliptical.

Thursday (3/8): I ran 8 miles on the treadmill while watching the Illinois/Penn St game. Not a very good game ... and just an okay run.

Friday (3/9): I thought about lifting and/or elliptical, but didn't feel like it. Instead, I spent awhile being annoyed that the second round of the Big Ten Tournament wasn't on regular TV, and getting mad that ESPN.com lied about the existence of a single-day pass for DirecTV. DirecTV would've given me the necessary channel for $75 - no thanks! Then I noticed I could watch online for $2 and the Engineer hooked up the laptop to the TV and all was good.

Saturday (3/10): Ran 5 miles on the treadmill and then weight-lifted. I was listening to my MP3 player again, but the Engineer had "Poseidon" on the big TV. Kind of a crappy movie, but it reminded me of why I don't think I'll ever go on a cruise. Boats in the ocean kind of creep me out, especially the idea that if something happens to the boat you're basically dead.

Sunday (3/11): It was warm, so I went outside. I ended up taking off my long sleeve shirt (short sleeves underneath), and at times I wish I'd worn shorts. This was an okay long run, aside from the uncleared portion of mile 2 and the icy underpasses. The underpasses in the last mile were kind of dangerous, almost. The slight down inclines were icy, and then it was dark and icy under the road ... but I broke through the ice in a few places and got my feet wet. I'd already broken through the ice and stepped in a giant puddle around 14 miles, though.

I did some exploring by running farther up the big hill I'd found a couple of weeks ago. Miles 4-6 were all uphill, but most of it was gradual so it wasn't bad. I probably could've run even farther on that road, but I was carrying my handheld water bottle and didn't want to get too far away from a place I'd be able to refill it. I ended up running into a Kwik-Trip because I didn't want to run back on the crappy bike paths to reach my car.

1 | 9:30
2 | 10:12 | 19:43 - uncleared path ~0.25 miles
3 | 9:28 | 29:11
4 | 9:33 | 38:45
5 | 9:46 | 48:31
6 | 9:38 | 58:10
7 | 9:07 | 1:07:17
8 | 8:45 | 1:16:03
9 | 8:37 | 1:24:40
10 | 8:42 | 1:33:22
11 | 8:46 | 1:42:08
12 | 9:01 | 1:51:09
13 | 8:56 | 2:00:06
14 | 8:57 | 2:09:03
15 | 8:52 | 2:17:56
16 | 9:06 | 2:27:03 - slick spots
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16.05 miles | 2:27:34 | 9:12/mi.