Saturday and Sunday, Week 4.....Cold, WInd, Horse

On both Saturday and Sunday, I went for an easy 10 miles. I thought about going 15, but I sort of ran out of time because I had to work both days from 3 to 11:30. Also, I didn't really want to go 15. Especially on Saturday, when the wind was getting me in the face and making my head really cold because my stocking cap is not that warm, although it is puffy. It is deceiving. One would think that the hat would be warm, but it was not. My ears were cold too. The pants worked good, though. They are good pants to have. Good pants to run in.

Regardless of how cold it was (windchill of 24), it was an okay run. It was a fast-ish run for me. Yes, I used to blaze by in 5:20 when running 5ks, but now my pace is 8:00 or a little slower. But, on this cold day, with a cold head, I averaged about 7:42. I was glad that it was a little quicker, the run was, glad that it was quicker and that I did not feel overly exerted. It is a good feeling, it really is.

On Sunday, I was glad that it was 30, with hardly any wind. But then the wind changed directions on me, so that every way I went, the wind was getting me in the face. I don't know how this is possible, especially since I don't think it is even possible for the wind to blow from the north for 50 minutes, then blow from the south for 16, then blow from the north again, then blow from the west. It was always getting in my face. But at least the head wasn't cold, not cold like Saturday, when my head was so cold that it felt like I had a headache.

The pace was good, relaxed. My left hip flexor, I think, it is sort of hurting today. I bet it is from the flutter kicks and leg levers on Thursday. I guess I tried to do too many. It is stupid, my hip flexor hurting from PT. I will have to be careful this week, because running is more important than PT, and if I get injured it should be from running, not PT. Not that I am planning to get injured. I have been luck thus far. I don't think I will be injured, anyway, not with the slow pace and low mileage. I think it is a plan that will bring me luck. It will bring me the luck of the Irish.

Another thing about the pace was that it made me feel like a horse. I felt like a horse pulling something heavy, or maybe a dog pulling a sled across the tundra, maybe one of the dogs who pulled all that medicine and stuff up to Nome, Alaska, when they had that disease outbreak. That is what I felt like. It was a good clip, a nice pace, a nice trot, like a horse. Or like a dog pulling a sled. That is what the pace felt like. It was funny, though, because when I tried to speed up, the legs didn't want to. They felt sluggish when I tried to run fast. But also, equally strange, when I tried to run slower, the legs did not want to run slower. They protested and tried to churn churn churn like they were making butter. This phenomenon is why my pace was even, like a good trot, like that of a horse pulling a heavy cart, or a dog pulling a sled. I am a sled dog. I am a heavy cart horse.