A few days ago I decided to give myself another challenge.

I am going to run 10km before going back to work on April 1.

In the past week, I have suddenly found this amazing groove where I can run non-stop for close to 40 minutes.  I don’t know where it came from but I am loving it.  My cardiovascular endurance has improved so much in the past two years, even with the pregnancy.  To think I could barely run a minute or two before getting completely winded.  Now, the only thing that hurts when I run for 30+ minutes are my legs, not my lungs.

So, when I ran that 5km non-stop last week it gave me the desire to run more, to run longer.  I consulted with some of my friends and acquaintances who run and they directed me to a few websites where I could pick up some tips on training for 10 km.

Most of my friends run races and have always asked me to sign up.  I just don’t have that desire to run a race.  I don’t need that kind of specific endpoint for my running.  I have the drive and determination to run because I like the way it makes me feel and I like the changes it makes to my body.  I just don’t need to accumulate race medals.  What I do need is an outlet to exorcise my demons and my stresses. And that is what running does for me.

So, my official unofficial non-race related 10km training program begins.

Wednesdays I designated as hill training, but today Mother Nature had other plans and dumped about 20 cm (~6 inches) of snow.  It’s been snowing for almost 12 hours non-stop.  I spent the morning deciding if I was going to run.  I decided I had to, because if I can run in snow, I can run in anything.

It wasn’t a long run, only 2 km, but I “ran” straight for 20 minutes.  I say, “ran”, because it wasn’t really running, what I was doing.  It was more like a knee-high workout.  By the end my calves and ankles were screaming in pain and my quadriceps were quivering.

And for most of the run, I couldn’t see my shoes.

I seriously hope this counted for hill training.