3000 milestone

It was a cold and windy day...
And hardly a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Thankfully I have a good wind and rainproof jacket, unlike Lydiard Mike who suffered through a cold wet run yesterday in Arizona without the proper gear. With the right gear and preparations you can be more or less comfortable despite the cold. Today's starting temperature at 9am was -11C (9F) with a windchill of -19C (-2F) so it was a day for the best gear including windpants, 2 layers under the jacket, and a smattering of vaseline on the exposed skin. The decision of when to run can be difficult in anticipating whether the temp will increase or the wind decrease and picking the best time to go. The final decision was made when Coach suggested the the wind was forecast to pick up later in the day and I'd better go now.

The plan today was for about 2 hrs or 15 miles but with no special speed or add-ons. Began the run with a trip down Rabbit Lane to the ocean but the tide was high and there was no running on the ocean floor today. Instead it was back up the the hill and down Rose Lane to the graveyard where I discovered that my watch had not yet started, darn! Most of the 1st part of the run was out of the wind but each time I'd head north there was a noticeable change requiring clothing adjustments. The pace was quite slow today but the legs were feeling decent for the most part, all I can figure is the extra layers and weight. After winding my way hither and thither with a stop at the post office where my new balaclava (pic after run) was waiting for me. Cool, I can use this today and be just like Blogfather Marc.

Home to drop off the mail and pull on the balaclava and then retraced my steps to determine how much distance I'd missed earlier. It turned out to be 2.3 miles and the new face protection also worked well except for some fogging up of my glasses but now I can just laugh at the cold. Ha ha ha, take that! Finished up with a couple more miles for 15.5 in 2hr 12 min and now 66 mi. for the week. The milestone hit today was 3000 for the year with 2 more days to go. I know it's just a number and nobody ever wins races by having a good training log but it feels good to hit it and achieve a new training year PR. The key now is to continue the consistent training for another 15 weeks as the road to Boston continues.

It's supposed to warm up this weekend. Let's hope!