More Intervals, Retired Shoes, and Winter "Camping"

I went on my last run in these orange Nikes yesterday:

You gorgeous ladies have treated me well in the last half of 2017!

I usually like to put around 350 miles on my running shoes, but these have over 460. I finished the year nicely with that fartlek workout I like to do at the track at my gym. It's a 6-laps-to-a-mile track, and I ran hard efforts, of 2, 4, 6, 4, and 2 laps, with 1 lap of easy running between each effort. Here were my 2-lap splits (each split being 1/6 of a mile, meaning 2:00 is 6:00/mile pace):

1:51
1:08 jogging
1:53, 1:52 = 3:48
1:14 jogging
1:59, 1:55, 1:54 = 5:49
1:17 jogging
1:59, 1:55 = 3:54
1:21 jogging
1:53

These splits were NICELY faster than 2 weeks ago!! (Even my jogging times were faster yesterday.) I started this workout harder, and then didn't quite give it my all near the end. If I do this workout again in a few weeks, I know I have room to improve.

Oh, and if you've been following me on Instagram, you've seen these 2 posts. I took the boys on a winter camping trip a few nights ago. Here's what I said in my first post the day after our trip:

What to do when it’s 18 below with 40 below windchill? (Not exaggerating.) Drive 3.5 hours to explore the 3 most south-western state parks in MN and spend a night in a tiny, toasty camper cabin in one of them! Top and bottom photos from our cabin at Lake Shetek, and the other 2 are from a hike at Blue Mounds (see the boys in the left photo?). Despite nearly 10 hours in a car over the last 36 hours, the boys had a great time! We nearly stayed a 2nd night... @mnstateparksandtrails @exploreminnesota #LakeShetek #BlueMounds #SplitRockCreek #CamperCabin

And then I posted this follow up yesterday:

Favorite pics from my trip with the boys: 2 days ago, we sledded
part way across Lake Shetek from their popular swimming beach.

Back with lots of fun pics from our quick (chilly) trip coming shortly. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!