This will be a painfully long update

Wow, I have been horrible at keeping up with the blog for the last week or so!  Sadly, this has alerted me to the fact that no one is going to call me out if I skip workouts.  Come on people... that's what you're here for! The good news is that despite the fact that no one called me out on not posting, I was doing all of my planned workouts anyhow.  If this was a test, my blog readers just failed and I passed with flying colors : )

Anyhow, without my log in front of me, I'm going to be hard pressed to remember every workout I've done since mid-day on the 17th. Between work madness and training ramping up, it's amazing I've even found the time to write in my physical log book! My recollection goes something like this (accuracy not guaranteed):

Thursday the 17th - Crazy swim after work... lots of speed work, felt awesome.
Friday the 18th - Glorious off day!
Saturday the 19th - Long ride on the trainer (2 hr.)
Sunday the 20th - Absolutely insane trail run in ~ 8 inches of fresh snow (more about that in a bit)
Monday the 21st - Swim before work (long day, cut short because my left shoulder was off), 1 hr. run in the afternoon (best run I've had in a long time... VERY proud of myself).
Tuesday the 22nd - 1 hr. on the treadmill after work
Wednesday the 23rd - 1 hr. on the trainer before work, skipped my afternoon swim to allow my left shoulder to recover
Thursday the 24th - long run on the treadmill (9 miles... holy cow, go me!)
Friday the 25th - Off day! (Skipped my 2nd swim of the week... a calculated decision, more on that in a sec)
Saturday the 26th - 4.5 mile run
Sunday the 27th - 2 hr. long ride on the trainer

As promised, more detail about my run on the 20th.  Somehow I let Jeremy convince me that a trail run was a fabulous idea despite the fact that it had snowed overnight and was still actively snowing.  I don't think either of us was fully prepared for the fact that there was about 8 inches of fresh powder on the trail (I say trail, but you couldn't actually see it due to the snow).  We took the dog and I'm fairly certain she had a better time than both of us.  Our long run turned into a hike in, and a treacherous run back out in our own footsteps trying not to turn an ankle or blow up a knee joint.  Lest you think I'm exaggerating... I had Jeremy take photos as proof.  It was a fun experience, and definitely a workout, but I don't think I'll be repeating it any time soon.

I'm smiling, but Ruby is smiling more!

Our "trail"

Final thought, I alluded to the fact that my left shoulder has been giving me a bit of trouble on the swim.  I actually don't think it's an "injury" per se.  I think my right side is still stronger than my left from all those years of pitching.  Thus, the right is handling the increase in swim volume better than the left.  I decided to skip a couple swims last week (and add in an extra run) to give it a chance to relax. Hopefully it will pay off in happy swimming this week! 

Whew, what an update! 

~Ash