Friday, November 26, 2010

A Solo 8K - VERY Pleased with Myself! :)

Day #4, Week #3 Road Work training
8K @ 1:00:03
Avg. Pace 7:29 min./km
- 2 degrees C

Did you notice the addition of temperature above? And the weather forecast widgets in the right column in both celsius and fahrenheit? The weather is going to play a much more significant role in the next 3-4 months!

Last night it rained and rained, and we could hear the rain on the roof when we went to bed. With colder temperatures expected, the warnings were out that it was going to be an icy morning. As it turns out, it wasn't as bad as predicted so I decided that I would try to run my scheduled 8K, but opted to leave my running partners at home in case of black ice.

It was very windy when I headed out. Thank goodness for running underwear, my jacket, thin mitts, a hat, and a headband. It was just a bit challenging for the first 2K because I was running into the wind - I actually felt like I had just finished a mini workout by the time I running my 3K. When I looked at my splits, this one was the slowest split, reflecting my recovery time from running against the wind. All of this running was done on sidewalks along some main roads and a bridge ... by the time I reached the footpath, which is mostly protected by trees, the wind was no longer an issue. I was able to take my hat and mitts off to cool down a little, but I needed the headband on the whole time to protect my ears from the wind. I am still learning what works and what doesn't work while running in colder weather, and so far, I am erring slightly on the warm side, but I'm okay with that. :)

At no point did I encounter black ice so I do feel a tad bit guilty about not taking one or two of the boys with me after all. :( My leaving them at home is a reflection of my paranoia about running and slipping on ice - my worst fear about running in the winter. However, on the flip side, I enjoyed running without a water belt and dog leashes around my waist. :)

And to add to my guilt, I also felt a twinge of regret for forgetting my camera as it would have been a good time to take some pictures of my running path for this blog just to jazz it up a bit more. I have 11.5K scheduled as a long run tomorrow so hopefully I won't forget to do this. :)

I have to say that I was very pleased with myself for getting my run in today because it was very cold and I honestly just wanted to stay inside! I am happy to report that woo hoo! I did it! and now that the weather forecast is warmer for tomorrow, I am looking forward to my long run and claiming Week#3 - 3 out of 3 so far - as accomplished!


2 comments:

  1. Fantabulos It is always good to have positive mileage. You will work out the winter running gear as it gets colder. Right now it is a crap shoot with the temps going up and down.

    Stay strong, injury free.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I appreciate your words, William. Thank you. :)

    ReplyDelete