Coming up Short

If there is anything that 18 miles on a treadmill will accomplish, it is to get you to reconsider your rules about running outdoors in winter weather. I knew it was going to be cold on Saturday morning. I knew it was going to be below 20 AND windy. I was pretty sure the wind chill would be in the single digits, and was really hoping it would stay above 0F. I guess even when you reconsider your rules, you still have your limits.

I'm not sure what I would have done if the wind chill was below 0, but the temperature with wind chill was 6 deg F when I checked. An hour later it was the same and it was decision time. It really was an easy decision. I couldn't even begin to imagine climbing on the treadmill with a planned run of 20 miles after last week's run of 18. So I bundled up. One long sleeve shirt, one second layer mock turtle pullover, shell, wind gloves over glove liners, wind pants over insulated tights, knit head / face covering (very light weight) with heavier ear protection over the top. Socks and shoes. I filled my hydration pack, loaded up with 4 Clif Shot Gel packs and was on my way.

Starting out, the temperature really wasn't bad. The course was an out and back with a net elevation drop of about 130 feet on the way out. There was enough uphill though to have the pace on the out leg be 4 seconds per mile slower than a flat course. But no worries, I had decided not to even monitor my pace today - it was too cold and there was snow on the ground. I was planning to run a comfortable pace and see how I did when it was over.

The first six miles were great, nice easy pace, a little blowing snow, but the shoulder was mostly clear on the road. Then I turned east for 2 miles, a few more hills, some patches of semi-packed snow on the sidewalks, but all in all it went well. Then I crossed a major road and left suburban neighborhoods for open plains, and 2 miles of gentle down hill. The only problem with the gentle down hill was that I knew I would be running back up it shortly. The road was completely covered with semi-packed snow which made for iffy footing. No sidewalks out here.

The bigger issue was that I had left behind the relative protection of two story houses on 6000 sq foot lots. I was really on the open plains, with only an occasional mobile home. This meant I no longer had any protection from the wind. Fortunately, the wind was out of the north, so for the 2 miles out and 2 miles back that I was in the open, I was getting hit from the side, rather than head on. But I started to get cold where my face was exposed, and my hands started to get cold - they had been sweating a bit and now the wind was trying to turn the moisture to ice. The water in my hydration pack also started to freeze in the line from the reservoir to the bite valve.

I was really glad to get back to the shelter of the neighborhoods, but it was becoming clear to me that I would not be able to run home. The first six miles of the run had a four mile stretch running due south, out in the open. That meant the wind had been at my back. To get home, I would have to run 4 miles due north into a head wind. And I was sweaty. I couldn't keep my face guard up over my nose, it kept falling down because it had stretched out from being pulled down to drink. And my hands were quite cold, they would never stay warm with the wind blowing in to me.

Fortunately, I was carrying my cell phone, so at 13.75 miles I called home. Rather than turning north, I was heading south to keep the wind at my back. Diane would come get me at a location to be determined later. So I headed south. At about 16.7 miles, I ran out of road I was familiar with, then after trying to find a good route heading south, I gave up and decided I could run 3 miles heading back up the route I had just come down. But that was in to the wind. I started to back track and made it about 1/4 mile before it became clear I was going to turn into an ice sickle.

I turned in to a nearby Culver's and called home. Diane assured me I had done the wise thing. And I was pretty sure I had, too. But I couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling that I didn't complete the workout. The workout was 20 miles at an easy pace. I ended up at 17.4. 2.6 miles, or 13% short. The girls came with Diane to get me. They had frozen custard while I ate a double butterburger and fries. That burger was gone before I knew it. I didn't get warm until we got home and I had a hot shower. It turned out to be a reasonable workout, but I'm still looking for my first 20 mile long run that ends well.