Baby It's Cold Outside

1/22/11

17 miles

2:37:59

9:17 avg pace

The good old training plan called for 17 miles at 9:30 pace.  I try and do my long runs a little faster and run based on how I feel.  It wasn’t as fast as last week’s long run but it was almost 20 degrees colder.  Yup, the “feels like” temp was about 3 degrees when I started running this morning.  Brrrr.  It took me almost 10 minutes to get dressed.  I had on 2 pairs of socks, running tights with running pants over top, a tank, the wonderful Lululemon Run: Alpine Pullover, and a mid-weight windbreaker over that.  On my head I wore a Dri-FIT baseball hat with a fleece headband.  I felt like Randy (little brother) from A Christmas Story.  But I was so comfortable the entire time – not too hot and not too cold.  All in all, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I even had a running buddy for the first 10.5 miles!  My neighbor, Maximus, joined me.  His name isn’t really Maximus.  I asked him to come up with an alias for the blog and that’s what he said.  Maximus is a triathlete (he does Half Ironmans) who can run circles around me.  He started tagging along on my long runs last summer to get his mileage up.  He’s a great running buddy because (1) he does most of the talking and tells entertaining stories and (2) he let’s me set the pace and just comes along for the ride.   Thanks “Maximus” for braving the elements today!

Splits:

M1 – 9:32
M2 – 9:40
M3 – 9:10
M4 – 9:19
M5 – 9:15 –> Shot Blok #1 (frozen solid, very interesting to eat)!
M6 – 9:23
M7 – 9:14
M8 – 9:27
M9 – 9:12
M10 – 9:12 –> Shot Blok #2
M11 – 9:18
M12 – 9:23
M13 – 9:13
M14 – 9:09 –> Shot Blok #3
M15 – 9:11
M16 – 9:16
M17 – 8:56

After the run, I did a little of this to thaw out.  Hawk was more than happy to join me by the heater.  Please ignore my red, chapped face.  The wind was a little brutal today.

We are in the midst of painting…that orange stripe in the background is not permanent.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite moments from Glee.  This is one of my favorite Christmas songs…and it’s very fitting for today!