7 on the 7th--No facemasks needed

It was with great excitement that I planned to run the 7 on the 7th run today. The temperature at 7:45 am was already 47 degrees! Go figure on that one since it was 16 yesterday about the same time. No matter, I'll take it. I did notice the winds were about 17-20 mph however, so I still dressed in double layers except for my hands.

I decided to run from the gym figuring there would still be more streets clear of ice and snow than around my house. There was just enough melting action on Friday to pretty much figure side streets and sidewalks would still have patches of ice on them.

I headed out going north and almost thought I was overdressed, but once I turned west and into the wind, whoa! Now I was glad I still had on the Barney coat with the hood. I hadn't put it on yet, but within a couple of miles it was pretty obvious I was going to need it. The temperature did not factor in the wind chill, which was probably in the 30s. Running north or east, the winds weren't bad; south and west was another matter. It was so bad that after 3 miles I was almost tempted to head back to the gym and face the treadmill for the remaining 4 miles, but my mind would not let me do it.

So I came up with a plan to run west first, then south, then head back east, figuring the worst would be behind me in the earlier miles. Actually once I got away from downtown with the tall buildings and the river running through it, the winds were not as bad, but of course now I was faced with running on the "other side of the tracks" in the not-so-great part of town. Most people in those neighborhoods I found weren't usually up and about until closer to noon, so there wasn't much activity or traffic, allowing me to run mostly in the street. But it was a crappy run, no other way to describe it. Running into the wind was causing my heart rate to go up and stay up. Even walk breaks didn't bring it down enough to keep it down for any length of time, so I finally decided to run until it went to the max and then walk to get it back down, so it was pretty much a run some, walk some event today. After a while I ignored the monitor and just ran 2 or 3 blocks and then walked one. Doing this allowed me to relax and not worry about how much time I was out there, just enjoying the day and giving me a chance to do a lot of thinking.

When it was finally time to turn back, suddenly the winds shifted and once again I found myself running into the wind! How does that happen?? Actually, I noticed the closer I got to downtown again that the winds seemed variable, meaning sometimes I would be running into the wind, and other times it would be pushing me along. It totally reminded me of a March day, with sporadic sunshine breaking through the heavy clouds, warm temps, and gusty winds, all at the same time it seemed. Just enough of a hint of spring to come to make the run enjoyable from that standpoint.

I stopped keeping track of time after a while, but did notice my watch was at 1:24 by the time I finished, right at 12 minute miles, so I didn't do as bad as I thought I was going to do. I hope everyone who participated today had good runs and good weather! Only 41 more days until spring!