Maybe I only have a short term memory. Maybe I was just better prepared during that Polar Vortex day in January. Whatever the case, today certainly seemed like the worst day of this awful, awful winter. I didn't think that that would be possible.
I tried to put the run off because I could tell it was windy outside. It was weird though because it seemed more gusty than sustained. Night time seemed less windy, but colder. Eventually, I was going to run out of daylight, so I began the run late in the afternoon. The plan was to run an easy 12 miles.
I knew the wind gusts were around 30 MPH. However, it didn't look like the sustained wind was too bad. I wore the fleece vest and usual winter attire. At least the actual temperature was in the 20s. The sun was out at times. What I was grateful for was that I brought a full winter hat and an extra set of gloves. I would end up needing them.
I began with a loop around my neighborhood, which wasn't too bad. There was a headwind for a short distance. I don't run in the neighborhood on the other side of the school too often, so I decided to head there first.
This is where the run got nasty. I was running uphill and straight into a headwind. Suddenly, the clouds came out and snow flurries even began. It was a brutal stretch. There are two dead end roads here and I ran out and back on each of them to add distance. I ran a fast 7:40 opening mile. Then the wind slowed me down to over 8 minutes on the second mile.
My body felt okay, but my shin did have some minor soreness. I thought with a day off yesterday, the legs would feel stronger and faster. They weren't actually a problem though.
It was great to head downhill and have the wind at my back. On the uphill, I had put on the full winter hat, instead of the headband. Now, I was warm and didn't need it, but I kept in on anyway. There is a small street of new townhouses where you can add some distance. I decided to head over there.
As I was leaving that neighborhood, a woman with a dog gave me a thumbs up and said something like, "better you than me." I told her this was just about the worst day I had run in all winter. I actually would rather be running than walking a dog though. That has to be very cold.
I now headed into the small industrial park for an out and back. This road gets kind of crowded. I see a lot of moms drive through there. I think there is a karate studio in one of the buildings. I looped around that building to add more mileage. My pace was dropping and dropping. It got all the way down to 7:50 overall at one point and I felt like I was going easy.
This industrial park out and back was great because there was no wind in either direction. I decided to run it again for more distance. By the time I finished it up, I was over halfway done. I ran back into the townhouse neighborhood again to add distance. I then did an out and back on one of the two dead end neighborhood roads.
There was a lot more wind in my face in this 2nd half, than the 1st half of the run. It slowed me down as I ran 3 straight miles over 8 minutes each, after running a bunch of sub 8 minute miles. I didn't think I was running too hard, but maybe I was pushing more than I thought early on against the wind. As I approached mile 9, I was getting tired.
I was going to head back to the school, but still had over 3 miles remaining. Therefore, I headed to the other neighborhood across the highway. That took a little time to cross during rush out. I was happy now because I had the wind at my back.
My hands were starting to get cold and sweaty, so I attempted to wear both sets of gloves. That didn't work out so well. I ended up colder and eventually switched to just the lighter, drier pair.
I was thrilled to hit mile 10. I definitely wasn't feeling too great. My pace had dropped to around 7:56/7:57. I wasn't running for time though. I decided on the short loop in this neighborhood that I often do. I knew I'd be facing a lot of wind. The only good thing about where I was running is that I changed directions often. That meant that I didn't have to face the wind for long periods of time.
I had put vaseline on my face, but I didn't put any on my nose. It did seem like it was getting cold, so I tried to warm it whenever I could. It ended up not being a problem.
I came up to a young girl who was also running. She stopped right before I got to her and starting messing around with her music. She was wearing sweatpants and not going very fast, so I assume she was just running for the heck of it or for another sport (not track).
I got back to the elementary school with about half a mile to go. I ran a short loop around my neighborhood to finish up. I worked a little more than I wanted to, but this was a great mental challenge today. The weather was one of a kind. The final two miles were both sub 8 minute pace, so I didn't slip too much. It was a terrible run while I was doing it (due to the weather), but now that it is over, it is awesome.
Tomorrow, I'm taking another day off as I'm in my taper period. I'm hoping to make it out to the BCR run on Saturday. They are going out to Ironton, which I like. On Sunday, I might run there again. I need to run 15-17 miles at goal pace (6:51 per mile). I might meet up with Dorf to run there.
12 miles - 1:35:16 (7:56 pace)
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