This morning, i woke up and checked the weather…40 degrees! totally excited for some “warmth”, i put on my shorts and light jacket, put on the HR monitor, queued up the music and made my way out out for my long run. I stepped outside, sighed, and turned right back around and back upstairs. it was a very deceptive 40 degrees. I checked weather again (this time more carefully) and it said “40, feels like 28″. awesome. I changed back into the normal cold weather gear and made my way back out.
Today’s run focused more on endurance and less on speed. far less. For the first 50 minutes I was to hold a 10:00 pace. It’s ironic, i think it’s actually harder to hold back and attain a slow pace for a long period of time. It’s so natural to want to push a little and feel like I’m working. I found myself constantly picking up speed and having to consciously remind myself to slow down. After a long “warm-up”, I did two 20:00 intervals holding a faster pace with a 5:00 recovery in between.
The first 4ish miles were fine, a little brisk, but nothing too bad. The next 4 were brutal. I ran around Hains Point (small peninsula along the water) and the wind came out to play. It felt like I was on a treadmill– running hard but going nowhere fast. I take back what I said about not being able to hold a slower pace– add some headwind to the mix, and the pace drops significantly.
I chose to forgo the gloves (still under the impression it was a lot warmer than it actually was) which proved to be a big mistake. I tried to tear open a GU between my intervals to refuel the rest of my run… “try” being the operative word. My fingers were so frozen from the wind, i had no dexterity whatsoever. It took a few tries, but i finally got some energy back into my system and i was ready to take on the rest of the miles.
My second interval went better than my first- mostly b/c I headed back into the city and the wind was less intense. I finished off with a 10-12 minute cooldown. Yet another reason why I prefer running faster: when i slow down, i feel the soreness. The last few minutes it became apparent how tired I actually was. I think being sick the past 2 days totally drained me.
Best part of a long run? The coffee that’s waiting for me when I’m done. Pair that with a big warm breakfast, and i’d call it a great saturday morning.
