Snow Day

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	1:40:35	9:34 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	1:40:19	9:33 pace
Distance (mi )	10.50
Moving Speed (mph)	6.3 avg.	10.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+241 / -241
Avg. Heart Rate	144 bpm	Zone 3.8
Temperature (°F)	28.1°F avg.	28.4°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	ESE 9.2 avg.	ESE 11.5 max.

Start Time: 05:56:57 AM

Knowing that it was going to be cold (predictions had it at 21°F for this morning) and that my left leg (knee/Achilles) had been bugging me, I had already decided that 12M was not going to happen today. Add to it that when I opened the door, snow was falling rapidly. Workout calculus came into play: if it is snowing, then it is only about 32°F and about the best temperature I could expect. I went out in the slop, and decided to head South once I passed under LSD, wisely thinking that there were more ways to abort the run early if I ran South than if I was down by McCormick place feeling poor. In fact, at a 9:30 pace, I felt really quite good and I kept the second through eighth in the low 9s. Passing the underpass at about 6.5 miles, I decided that I felt strong enough to carry on over to 47th Street and back to add a couple miles.

All was well---in fact great---until I turned around at the Northern base of the 47th Street hill and realized that part of the good feeling was a tailwind. The return miles were brutal and account for the drip in pace during the final two miles. With that headwind-strain, both legs decided that they were no longer happy with me. It is amazing how a strong headwind can completely demoralize me (of course it works the other way too---the superman feelings that occur with a fantastic headwind are amazing). Anyway, although I did not hit 12 today, I got a solid 10.5 in (exactly, actually, which is cool since I did not pre-map this route). Not bad for base miles in the snow with ligaments and tendons in less-than-optimal status.