I've officially crossed the halfway point of this training cycle, which is super exciting. I can definitely tell my cardiovascular endurance has increased. Longish runs feel not that hard, and even my harder and faster runs don't leave me as winded as the early weeks of training. 

What's less exciting is the absolute miserable conditions I've had to train in over the last two weeks. 

At the start of week 5, DC got hit with a massive snow/ice storm. We got like three inches of ice on top of six inches of snow, and the mess was so messy that DC coined the term "snowcrete" to describe what was left behind. A mix of snow and ice that's so heavy and impossible to move it may as well be concrete. 

On top of that, we've got unseasonably cold temperatures and windchills that make training outside a real treat. And outside is my only option since I don't have access to a treadmill. So yes, it's been a real adventure these last two weeks trying to find sidewalks that are sort of cleared and piling layers on layers so I don't get frostbite on my exposed skin. 

I skipped a handful of workouts because the conditions were just makings things tough, but here's what I managed.

Week 5:

No running until Wednesday, when I found quarter mile-ish section of sidewalk in my neighborhood that was cleared. I ran loops of that for 45 minutes. It was about as exciting as you'd imagine. 

By my Friday long run, a little bit more sidewalk had been cleared! I could combine the quarter mile loop with a half mile out and back! Did endless lollipops for 70 minutes. 

Only got in two runs, but was honestly glad I managed to get in any at all. 

Week 6:

I had to push the start of week six because my husband was out of town, and there's no way I could run with my kiddo in the stroller on Sunday. There's no clear sidewalks and it's just way too cold.

So I did a progression run on Monday. Started in heart rate zone two and worked up to zone 4 by the end. Felt really good during this workout, despite the cold and needing to run my same silly lollipop course over and over on repeat. 

Had big plans for the rest of the week since the temperatures were finally going to get above freezing, but I got a cold and some rough fatigue that knocked me out for most of the week. 

I rebounded for my long run, and imagine my joy when even more sidewalk was cleared! Now the out and back portion was a little over a mile! Still super monotonous when you've got 80 minutes of running on the agenda, but at least it was some slightly new scenery. 

And that's how two cold and rough weeks of training ended. Far from ideal, but I was happy to at least have managed one harder run and one long run each week. 

The forecast over the next couple of weeks is going to have us up in the 40s, and I'm really hoping that means we'll get some more significant melting. I'm in desperate need of some variety on my running routes. I need these sidewalks to clear!