Running with Jack

I ran about 22-24K today, a total of 2 hours 35 minutes. Somehow the combination of a too fast start and still slippery trails messed up my pace, I was very inconsistent. Usually, I can tell pretty close how far I run based on my time, today I’m so sure. I stopped twice, once to water a tree, and once to walk for 2-3 minutes while I ate a sport’s bar and tanked up on sport drink. But by the 2 hour point I was pooped, I had to really struggle to finish (good training for the marathon?).

As I write I feel the inconsistent pace - the back of my calves ache, and I have never been so worn out after a run. Two weeks ago I ran just a tad shorter distance but felt like I could keep going at least another few miles.

Why was it so different?

Two weeks ago I took two days of rest before my long run, this time only one. On Thursday I ran several minutes faster than normal, possibly a factor. Temperature and weather were very similar. The trail was very different – two weeks ago was a nice packed snow – this time a loose, slippery, powder base, with lots of uneven spots on the trails.

I had a lot of stress from work this week, lot’s of new projects coming in, longer hours. I was preoccupied this week on deciding whether to do two marathons this year – maybe all this had an effect 