Long run shake up.

I had 11 miles on the schedule this weekend and after skipping last weekend, I was determined to get it in. Determined.

On Saturday, I had a morning meeting so I was able to get a good sense of the weather for my run. That is, I felt the stinging wind chill as I walked from the meeting to my car. Using my rudimentary meteorological skills, I observed that although the temperature was hovering above 20 degrees, the wind chill was more like -83. It was a wonder there was anyone outside at all, as blustery and cold as it was. Maybe they were lured by the going out of business sale at Circuit City. Who knows?

All I know is that there was no way I was running outside in that wind. That cruel wind. So, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy 4 miles and that was that.

The forecast for Sunday was sunny and cold; colder than Saturday so I resigned myself to a sloggy treadmill run in the afternoon. Let me admit that I was not looking forward to 11 miles in my basement. Let me also admit that once I'm faced with a plan gone awry, I can be a bit of a Big Defeatist. Not getting outside for the run on Saturday had me convinced that I would, perhaps, never run outside again, or at least not until April, which was surely going to set me up for some sort of horrific injury once my delicate feet hit the asphalt after months on the 'mill. It went on from there. I'll spare you my spiral of self pity.

My husband, however, can shake a gal right out of that spiral. He took Conal to run errands in the morning and when they got back they did something very odd: They played outside. For a long time. Oddballs. At one point, Owen came inside and told me the weather was perfect for a run. "Ha!" I thought, "it's 19 degrees! As if I would run outside in that weather. Pshaw! Crazy husband."

He urged me to join them outside. I (reluctantly) did. He was right.

The sun was shining. There was very little wind. I had to do it.

And I did. I bundled up and hit the roads. It was colder than promised. And windier. But it was sunny! It took a long time for me to warm up, though. In fact, I don't think I warmed up until about 3 hours after I finished the run. Really. I was cold. I even had to run for a while with my left hand on my cheek because the cruel, cruel wind was too much for the two inches of exposed skin to take.

Other than the cold issue, it was a great run. I ran 11.07 miles in 1:45:21, or 9:32/mile, just where I wanted to be. My goal marathon pace is 9/mile and I'm targeting 30 seconds slower per mile for my long runs. It felt good to hit the right pace and, honestly, it felt really good to be outside. You know, all that vitamin D that I was absorbing had to be a good thing. Well, it probably wasn't all that much, since the sliver of exposed skin was covered in sunscreen. But, still! It was more vitamin D than I get in the basement.

Today is a rest day and I will be enjoying a much-deserved night out for Mexican yumminess with a friend. Can't wait!

Happy Monday!