I don't actually even know what a Polar Vortex is, but it sounds cool. That is what we are having right now. It is bringing some of the coldest temperatures on record. Today was the worst day of all. When I started my run, it was somewhere around 5 degrees with a windchill around -15 degrees. Without a doubt this was the worst conditions that I've ever run it.
Of course I wasn't about to take the day off. I had to at least try running in it and in fact, I wanted double digit miles. I saw a couple friends did shorter runs during it earlier in the day. That was encouraging.
I was about to head out and Flo said she was going to do some WDR training, so maybe we could meet up. I would run first for a bit and then meet her and maybe we'd run together and I would watch her do some of her crazy stuff.
I was actually kind of overdressed. I don't really have a good second pair of pants to wear as an additional layer, so I went with sweatpants over my tights. For the top layer, I wore both my fleece and jacket over the regular top. I also wore a face mask to keep my face warm.
I was comfortable as I headed out. The plan was for 4 miles on my own before meeting Flo. I went north toward Mill Race Park, from Penn Pump Park. The trail was clear in the beginning. Near Mill Race Park, it has some ice coverage. That didn't slow me much though.
It was basically 2 miles until I got to the road crossing at Tatamy. That was perfect. The open section near Mill Race Park was absolutely brutal. The wind was unbearable. Elsewhere, it wasn't as bad.
What got kind of annoying was wearing the face mask. It is hard to breath with that on and it gets moisture from your mouth, so it gets wet. I took the mask down at times. I bought it a few years ago, but I hate wearing it.
Another issue I was facing is that my legs didn't recover all that well from the tough long run yesterday. Usually I can bounce back pretty good, even from a 20 miler. They were definitely sore. The front of my left leg actually hurt and I had to do most of the run on my toes.
I got back to the car at mile 4. It was right around an 8:15 pace for this first part of the run. I went in my car to warm up. I then send Flo a text and it took some time for her to respond. Finally, I decided I would run more until she was ready.
This time I headed out in the other direction toward Hackett's Park. It was very windy going this way. It was almost too difficult. I battled though, knowing that I was only going out a mile and then I'd be coming back.
I turned around right before the Crayola Factory and then I headed back. This time the pace was much slower than initially. One thing that was tricky is that my face mask was soaked, so I couldn't wear it on this trip. I had to zip my fleece up higher and wear a regular winter hat.
I got back to Penn Pump Park. I had run 2 more miles. I saw Flo wasn't at the park, so I kept going. I figured I could sneak in another mile. That was a struggle going against the wind, but I got it done. I had 7 solid miles in the book at that point.
I sent Flo another text and she was at Mill Race Park, so I had to drive there to meet up with her. She looked funny all bundled up and with her training gear on too. It was freezing at Mill Race Park. She tried to run with her heavy pack, but that was short lived. Since I needed mileage, I went ahead and ran on my own. It was slow.
Because of the standing around and walking, my hands were freezing (even with gloves on). I actually had to put them down my pants. They were over my tights, but under my sweatpants. That did the trick and warmed them up. I must have looked ridiculous running that way though. At least no one was on the trail.
I turned around and ran back to Flo. She was now near an intersection. I was a little over a mile into this portion of the run when I stopped my watch. I walked with her back into the woods. She went looking for some logs to chop and did that. I mostly stood there freezing and laughing. I did use a saw for about a grand total of a minute though.
The sun was starting to set and standing around it was getting very cold. I didn't want to bail on her, but I was getting close to needing to. I came prepared to run, but I didn't have enough clothes on to stand around. Finally, she was done with the chopping.
I took off and ran. I wanted to get my last 2 miles in. I ran to the road crossing again and then back to Mill Race Park. I ended up passing Flo and then waited for her to walk back when I was finished. It was good to be done with the tough weather run.
I'm glad I broke up the run into several segments and I got to be entertained by Flo too. That was a nice bonus. It made the cold a little more forgettable. Quite frankly, it wasn't that bad while running. It was far worse when not moving. I'd run in these conditions again if we get them.
I think the weather is supposed to improve some, but still suck tomorrow. I'd like to run hard, but we shall see. The weather will have an impact, as will my muscle soreness. Hopefully I recover from today better than I did from yesterday's run.
7 miles - 58:55 (8:25 pace)
3 miles - 30:35 (10:12 pace)
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