Snowy, windy and cold runs have been the norm this winter. The only thing that has been missing has been a little freezing rain. We can check that off now today as well. I got home late from the Eagles game last night and slept in. That meant an early afternoon run.
The plan was to run at least 5 miles. Originally, I was hoping for 10 miles, but that was before the freezing rain arrived. I was actually driving out to the Ironton Rail Trail, but my windshield quickly froze up and I couldn't see, so I went back home to run.
I decided that I would run the neighborhoods around me. With the freezing rain, I wore a jacket instead of the fleece. I also had on a hat to keep the rain out of my eyes. The temperature wasn't too bad. It was just the eventual cold and wet combo that was a killer.
I began with the loop around my neighborhood. I was worried that it would be slick, but it wasn't too bad. Some spots I guess didn't have salt and they were slippery, but those were few and far between.
I crossed the road into the other neighborhood. I did a short loop around there. The first mile wasn't bad as I was still dry. That wouldn't last though. I got wet as the run went on.
I didn't want to go too far out, so I did another short loop that I don't often run. By the time both of those first 2 loops were complete, I was over halfway done with the run (2.5 mile). I decided to go out and run part of the Blue Eagle 5k course. I ran that until I got near the race's 2 mile point and then I turned around. By now, I'd be slightly around 4.5 miles when I got back to the school.
The tough thing was that my legs got cold when they were wet. The same thing happened last week and I stayed out too long, so I didn't want to chance it. With no wind it was find, but some directions, my legs became quite cold. I probably should have on a second layer on my legs for conditions like this.
I arrived back at the school with around half a mile to go. I thought about running to 6 miles, but figured 5 would be good enough. What was another mile going to accomplish. I figured I'd run again later in the evening anyway.
The pace was good. The first mile was around 8:30, but every other mile was under 8 minutes. Mile 4 was even a 7:29. I wasn't pushing much either.
I finished up with a short loop around my neighborhood. I was glad to battle some tough conditions and be done. It is quite amazing that I signed up for the Lake Effect Half Marathon and now we are having one of the worst winters that I can recall. This will make me tougher and prepared for that race. That is for sure.
Everything was frozen after the run. I couldn't even unzipped my jacket because it was covered in ice. My hat had a layer of ice on it too. I found it quite comical.
I wanted to do a 3 mile snowshoe run at night. I was only going to run around the schoolyard. However, I walked outside and it was raining again (after stopping earlier). I didn't want to deal with that again. I was hoping for a fun and relaxing run for a change. I passed on the snowshoe run. I'll leave that for another day.
I haven't run double digit mileage in a few days. I have to get back to that tomorrow. The weather should be nicer, so I'm hoping for a 20+ mile run. I may go to the Ironton Rail Trail since I at least know that that is plowed. I hope it isn't icy.
5 miles - 39:01 (7:38 pace)
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