Floor workout and Four Miles

Snapped a picture of the area I'm trying to run in these days. It was pretty much all long, rolling hills. It is better than my neighborhood however because of the wide shoulder and sidewalk.
I had 4 miles to do today on the schedule and got in 3.75. Close enough.
I've been doing my floor workouts - legs/abs/yoga - for a couple weeks now and I really think it's helping! I guess I'm surprised by this. The Runners World articles I collected with exercises for runners shows how each routine is targeted towards an area running requires for power or balance, etc. I found myself running at a faster pace, often. I'd look down at my watch and I'd be running in the 10:30 or 11 or 11:30 pace!? I did also have to stop and walk more here and there. My cardiovascular system might be lagging behind where my legs are ready to be! This has really motivated me to continue these floor routines! I would love to pick up my pace a little without having to do a bunch of sprinting. I also really believe this might strengthen the knee and hip area and help me to not get my ITB type injuries. Coupled with yoga and stretching my hips/thighs, of course.

Neighborhood Loop 3 mile

Three mile loop around the neighborhood today. Still unsafe. Still dodging cars and smelling gas fumes.
Mostly I've been working out at the YMCA because we keep getting snow dumped on us here. Storm after storm after storm.
Unfortunately, my free YMCA membership expires mid-month so hopefully the weather improves enough that I can run outside. I think I'm just going to have to commit to driving to other locations to run.
One new thing I've started doing are a series of core and leg exercises at home. I'm really trying exercises to build up the muscles around my knees and hips. I've read that doing it helps to stabilize those areas when I run and may even ward off ITB and knee injuries. I got the routines from old Runner's World magazines. I've been thinking about cutting them out and sort of pasting them onto new paper so I don't have to flip through the magazine and find them each time. It'd be a way to collect floor exercises I can do at home and add to my routine. After abs and legs I follow up with a series of yoga poses for flexibility and stretching. This little routine is just something I can do on days I can't run (especially due to the weather) to make me feel like I'm doing something towards my running goals. And who knows, maybe I'll be injury free this year!