March 4, 2007
It's a lot nicer today than yesterday, but yesterday is when I ran. I did 12.5 miles and it was snowing a little and blowing hard when I started out. Temp about 20, wind speed ranging from 15 to 30 mph. I ran on the outdoor track for the first 5 miles to stay out of the wind and get warmed up. After that I ventured out onto the riverside path in Parkville. Running east was fine, but turning back west was a chore because of the wind. I find that my energy drains quickly when I'm fighting a cold head-wind, probably because more effort goes into staying warm than into what's needed for running.
But it's only 12 miles, right? You can fight the elements a little harder when the mileage is lower, and I managed to keep the pace up the whole way, finishing with an average of 9:35. In theory, I should be running those miles in about 11 minutes and mixing in a few goal-pace miles of 10 minutes (that's my pace goal for St. Louis). But the only time I can seem to maintain an 11 minute pace is at the end of a marathon, when that's all I can muster. So, on training runs my pace is usually goal-pace or better. I find a pace like 9:35 pretty comfortable when I'm running 10 to 14, so I don't know if it hurts me or not. It won't be that fast next Saturday, when I've got 20 to do.