Yesterday was Week 9 of our Troy Turkey Trot Training.  (The race is this Thursday!!)

I have attended all 9 Monday workouts & have enjoyed them.  But before yesterday, I had attended NONE of the Saturday runs.  I almost went last week but bailed due to the cold temps and early hour.

The same conditions existed yesterday and I so wanted to wait to run later but I dragged myself there for our LAST run together before the race.

The Saturday workouts are held at Knickerbocker Ice Arena.  The ice arena has bathrooms and you can stay warm indoors until the workout starts. The runs are done on a nearby bike path (Uncle Sam Bikeway).

obviously a summer photo

After getting last minute instructions for our race on Thursday, we headed out to run.

The plan for the day was a 40 minute run – 20 minutes out easy, then turn around, run 10 minutes at race pace and then the remaining 10 minutes easy.

It was very cold — in the teens with the wind chill and windy (and no sun!) but I was dressed appropriately in layers and with a hat, gloves & tights.

The bike path is flat with just a few hilly portions – nothing compared to RPI.

I ran most of the time with my friend Gina and when she was ahead, with Helen.  It’s nice to run with others. Chatting makes the minutes go by faster.

And of course, I push myself a lot more than when I am by myself.

I’m not sure my easy pace was any slower than my race pace.  I run slower when I am tired and faster when I have the energy to do so.

the run is done & everyone is heading home

When we were done, we had run about 4 miles.  I was tired and cold and considered leaving with everyone else but decided to continue running and get my long run done.

I took a Gu and headed in the opposite direction for a mile. It was still cloudy and running into the wind made it seem even colder.

I thought this direction was more scenic but shorter so I had to turn around and head back.

Then I ran 1 mile in the original direction & returned (my hands were too cold to take any more pics.)

So four more miles which makes 8 miles for the day.

When I was done, the sun came out, of course.

I was glad to have gone to at least one Saturday group run. I discovered a new bike path but while I was running, I didn’t see another single person.  Maybe it was too cold but it was a little creepy being out there alone.

The rest of the day was spent with my usual weekend activities – cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, etc – pretty exciting?

Happy Running! Did you run this weekend?  If so, how did it go?