11 km closer to the end of this year…

I did the same loop as usual, but still had a really hard time with the trail portion. The snow is difficult to plow through even if it is just a few inches deep. I was slightly ahead of the game by the time I hit my first check point, but lost the time over the trail portion. Nevertheless I finished it in 1:24:20 which is a 7:40 pace compared to the 7:30 pace I am aiming for.

I was considering maybe eliminating the trail portion (which is a 2.5 km long trail) for the winter but I reconsidered and now think the extra hard workout I am getting from it is probably a good thing. So I guess I will continue running that trail portion no matter what and if my time suffers because of it, so be it.

Since it is much harder now to run than when there is no snow, I have decided not to increase my distance as originally planned. I am going to keep my weekly distance at 11 km, 7 km, and 7 km until I feel ready to change that. I have no plans to race the Hypothermic Half Marathon this February or March. No races at all planned. I am still looking to do the ING Marathon in Edmonton this August though. We’ll see.