Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day to run. It was in the 50s, slight breeze, but nothing too bad. Saturday was also chock full of things going on, so I didn't get to run.
Instead, I ran on Sunday....when it was 24 degrees. Yep, 24 degrees. I really, really thought about skipping my run. I really, really thought about staying warm in my house. Then I remembered that I am running a half marathon in a month. Then I remembered that I am running another one the week later. Then I remembered that my running has been sporadic at best since the Marathon. So, I sucked it up and got dressed.
The wind chill on this 24 degree day brought the real feel temperature to a balmy 17. (Hey it was up from the -2 of the early morning!!) I threw on my compression sleeves, my running tights, a skirt, 3 shirts (two had thumb holes, which I used), a pair of gloves, and my hat. Looking back, I needed another layer on my legs, but overall, I was perfectly dressed to take on 24 degrees with 25 mile an hour winds.
Now, you may be wondering why on earth I walked out of my door. One of the races that I am running is the Shamrock Half Marathon. (Yeah, I know....I said that it wasn't my favorite and I wasn't planning to run it again. One of my friends decided to make it her 1st half and I am going to pace her to keep her company.) It is ALWAYS windy at Shamrock. It is entirely possible that it could and exact copy of this weekend for Shamrock. If you don't train in it, you can't race in it.
I set out for my 8 miles into a pretty stiff headwind. I reminded myself that it would be a tailwind at the end. I started out with :90/:30 intervals. After about a mile or so, the wind was winning the battle and I was getting tired. So I switched over to 1/1 intervals to get through the miles. The wind was biting and the cold was taking my breath away, but the run was feeling pretty good.
Even at 1/1 intervals, I was running at a pretty decent pace. I haven't seen paces like that since I started marathon training. I mean, it was distantly related to my goal race pace. I still have some work today, but I was back in the ball park. That was very exciting!!
As I turned back into the neighborhood for my last mile, I started running back into the headwind and my body started to get cold. My legs tightened up and I really didn't want to run any more. It was ugly, but I finished that last mile.
While I love me some cold weather running, I like living in the South because winter is not normally this bitterly cold. Thanks for the arctic, Elsa, but you can turn it off and let it get a little warmer!
