I have come up with the main advantage of treadmill running…

It makes your next run outside so much easier and so much more enjoyable.  A 14k long run yesterday at a 5:50 pace (a little faster than what I should be doing for a long run but it felt good) seemed to fly by, despite the cold temperatures and snowy road.  Honestly, the 7k treadmill run on Friday felt like twice the work for half the distance.

As enjoyable as the run was, I have decided against registering for the Hypothermic Half that will be taking place next weekend.  My long runs the last few weeks have looked like this: 12k, 14k, 16k and 14k.  Could I run 21 next weekend?  Probably, but it is just too early in my training schedule for Prague and I am not sure I want to risk injury.  I had considered running 17 or 18 km yesterday, but looking at the bigger picture it made more sense to cut back a little for a rest and then start building again.  With 6 long runs still left to do before Prague, I have lots of time to build up and I have plans to do two more 16k runs, two 18k runs and a 20k.  Patience will hopefully ensure I avoid injury.

I do still have a race decision to make though.  Winterman is coming, the question is will it be a 10k or a 5k race for me?  As for all you Hypothermic runners next weekend, have fun and enjoy that big brunch – you will doubtless deserve it!

So much better outside, even if it was well below freezing.