Start time: 2/1/09, 1:15pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 12 miles / 3×4 miles
Average pace: 9:39min/mile
Total Miles For February: 12 miles
Total Miles For 2009: 57 miles

There is something rather disconcerting about running in 60 degree weather while dodging sheets of ice on the trail. And yet, that’s what happened today. We had a bizarrely warm temperature (it’s supposed to snow tomorrow night!), and there sure were a lot of people taking advantage of it—including myself. The plan was to run 12 miles; start at marker 3.5, run just down to marker 3, then turn around and all the way up to marker 9 before coming home. (Marker 9.5 is on the far side of Gallows Road and it seemed rather silly to have to wait for several minutes to cross such a major road when I could just pick up half a mile in the opposite direction and ignore the road entirely.)

As it is, when I first left the house, I ended up turning around a minute later because I clearly did not need to be running in pants. I swapped out to shorts, and ignored my jacket, hat, and gloves that I’d put in a bag “just in case.” There was still a strong breeze going on (and at that point my car said it was 57 degrees out) so I kept on my UnderArmour ColdGear long-sleeve shirt, with a t-shirt over it. Originally I was going to just run 12 miles straight, but 4 miles in I stopped for a minute to gulp down some gel, then headed back out. At mile 8, I also stopped, this for a couple of minutes, so I could take off the long-sleeve shirt and tie it around my waist. (Don’t worry, I kept the t-shirt on.) So really, it ended up being three 4-mile sets, I guess, even though the stops were never terribly long.

More importantly, though, sections of the trail were absolutely covered in ice. Anywhere there was a hill and some shade was fair game, really. (Or at one point along the infamous “hill of doom” where two people couldn’t be bothered to shovel their sidewalks. Thanks, jerks! And on a pretty steep hill, no less.) So it’s hard to say how my run really went; there was a lot of slowing down and speeding up going on as I ran. I certainly didn’t feel as strong after this run as I did last weekend’s, alas. (I’m glad after next weekend’s 14-miler my schedule involves some shorter distance weekends.) Overall, not great, but under the circumstances I’m glad that I never wiped out, and kept moving pretty well. I’d really wanted a stronger time in that last 4-mile stretch, but considering two of those miles had seriously bad iced-over sections that made me slow down, I am not complaining one bit.

And hey, it sure was gorgeous out. 60 degrees by the time I finished, and I sure was glad I stopped to take off that long-sleeve shirt. It felt marvelous out.

38:33 (9:36, 9:23, 9:46, 9:47)
39:02 (9:34, 10:04, 9:53, 9:29)
38:17 (9:06, 9:50, 10:01, 9:18)