The weather has been all over the map lately. It went from snow to freezing rain. Then it warmed up and went to rain. Then the winds came and now it is supposed to dip into record low territory tomorrow. It is making running difficult, but I continue to get out there and get it done. It will make me stronger in the end.
I wanted to run the loop around Easton. However, I was unsure if all the snow would be gone on those paved paths. The roads are fine, but that is because everything was plowed. A good portion of the snow is gone from the grass, but not all of it. I figured the paved trails could have patchy snow cover. I opted to do my long run around my neighborhoods.
I took an afternoon nap and didn't get out there until close to 4 PM. That meant that the beginning of the run would be in daylight and I'd end in darkness. I kind of like that mix. It changes everything.
The temperature wasn't bad, but the wind had arrived and boy did it arrive. Some directions it was at my back and nice. Other ways, it was in my face and freezing. Since wind was the main problem, I wore my jacket over my long sleeve shirt. That breaks the wind up better than my fleece vest does. My gloves were on most of the run, but my headband came on and off. It was kind of annoying.
I started off with a loop around my neighborhood. That was cold at times and took a little getting used to. I haven't put too many miles on my legs lately. Even so, they felt kind of crappy in the beginning. It was odd, but the early pace was rather quick. I opened with an 8:17 mile. That is my usual pace in the middle of runs, so I knew it would be a faster run.
My effort was still easy, although maybe I pushed a little more than I realized against the wind and the hills. I don't know though because I was definitely still at a conversational pace and not breathing heavy. I felt good. The run had gone into the other neighborhood by now. I started it with the short loop.
I couldn't help but notice that my miles were getting faster and faster. They went from 7:41 to 7:37 to 7:23 by mile 4. That was when I really got into a groove. I had run another shorter loop that I don't usually do. I needed all of the miles that I could get.
I went out and did this longer loop that I like. It was difficult because I ran into a headwind for a good portion of it. I battled on though and didn't lose my pace. It now was consistently around 7:20 per mile.
I am used to this route, but it does contain a long of rolling hills. I don't typically run anymore than 10 to 12 miles here. I cruised along and enjoyed when the wind was at my back. The good thing about this route is there are a lot of turns, so you are constantly changing directions and don't have to battle the wind for long periods of time.
I crossed the road and made the steepest climb of the run. At this point, I was around mile 6 or 7. It seemed like a long way to go. I went back and repeated the long loop from earlier. It is about 1.5 miles. It's a good addition to the route. I was still only at mile 9 when it started.
I was less than halfway done with the run, but things were getting tough. The hills and fighting the wind began to take its toll. My legs were sore and my back even began to get slightly sore. It was certainly more difficult that my usual flat long run routes.
The pace didn't dip though. Overall, it got closer and closer to 7:30. That was encouraging and helped me keep pushing at it. Getting over 10 miles was a plus. I couldn't believe how little time had passed for how far along I was.
I headed back toward the school. By now, it was starting to get dark and I was wearing dark clothes. I was glad that I would be home soon and could grab some water and most importantly, my headlamp. I ran the short loop for a second time. Those two loops were the only ones that I repeated throughout the run (aside from my own neighborhood ones).
I saw a couple people running and a few walkers, but most people were indoors. That was understandable with this weather. I'm not going to pass it up though.
I checked my watch right around the half marathon point and it was a 1:38 something. That's quite impressive for an easy effort, especially when my PR is a 1:33. I could destroy that right now.
I ran around part of my neighborhood again. I only did a shorter loop there this time. I got back to my house at a little over 14.5 miles. I was beat and badly needed a drink. My rest was very brief. I had run this segment at a 7:30 pace.
I knew keeping the pace up would be tough and I was happy to get in that many solid miles, so I backed off on my second go round. I could finish with a real easy 5+ miles. I went to the other neighborhood on the far side of the school.
This has one of the most difficult hills of the whole run. It is so long and gradual. Compacting the problem was that the wind was picking up and blowing right in my face. I'm not sure how I survived it. I took it one step at a time. My legs were fairly beat up and I didn't think I'd be able to run 20 miles. I figured I might stop at 18 miles or so. If that happened, so be it.
I continued on and was grateful to have a downhill. I usually like this part of the run, however the road through the industrial park was unusually busy. I guess a lot of people were taking their kids to karate classes or something. I had to be very mindful of traffic, even with a headlamp on.
I went out through the industrial park and turned around. I decided that rather than run back on the busy road, I'd take a loop through a new street with houses on it. That was a good option. I still had some climbing on the busy road though.
I was approaching mile 18 and this climb into the wind was so difficult. I was freezing and felt like I was being blown backward. Miles 17 and 18 had jumped up to over an 8 minute pace each. Still, I wasn't falling off the wagon too badly. I sure didn't feel great, but not terrible either.
After mile 18, I had a beautiful downhill. I knew that it was coming, so that kept me going on the uphill. I picked up my effort slightly on the downhill. I wanted to keep the overall pace under 7:40. It had slipped to 7:38. I ran mile 19 at 7:32. Clearly I still had something left.
I got back to my neighborhood with about a mile to go. I didn't want to run the big loop, so I opted for the slightly shorter loop and then followed that up with another even shorter loop to finish up. I was pushing more now, but not really breathing that hard yet. I could've given it more. I ran that final mile at 7:19.
With the hills and wind, it was a tough run. I was blown away by my speed. I've basically been running around 30 seconds per mile faster with the same effort than I was just a few weeks ago. Maybe that is the impact of all my big 70 mile weeks that I put in during December. I really can't wait to see what happens when the weather turns. I should be even faster. I feel like I'm going to crush my marathon goals.
Tomorrow is supposed to be super cold. I plan on being out there in the afternoon anyway. I'd like to run 15 miles again. That might depend on how cold it really is and how well I recover from today's run. I want to at least put in another 10 miles. That would have me off to a solid start for the week. It will be another big mileage week.
20 miles - 2:32:15 (7:37 pace)
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