Today's Run - Donkey Spit

Report:
Cold. As. Fucking. Shit.

Those four words describe my run today. I'd like to add a few more colorful adjectives but I think that pretty much sums it up. As I loaded up the family into the car this morning, I took note of the low temperatures but didn't think too much of it. I figured it would warm up a bit after the sun came up but it turns out it got a bit colder since the wind picked up dramatically. Who knew that something so gentle as a puff of air can feel as solid as a brick wall.

Weather:
Temps were 35F to 40F but wind chill took things to between 20F and 30F. Winds were easily 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Sky was clear with a handful of clouds and a lot of sun.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was eggs, two English muffins, yogurt, and coffee. Pre-run fuel was half a Twix bar. I had the second half at about mile 2. During the run I had a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. Recovery was a bottle and a half of Ensure followed by a lunch of Ramen noodles with left over steak.

Gear:
The only special piece of equipment I took today was my North Face jacket. I rarely wear a windbreaker but I'm thankful I did today. I would have frozen without it and likely would have called it quits after a mile. I never unzipped my jacket more than an inch or two. Yeah. Cold.

Aches and Pains:
My right hip hurt a bit for the first mile or two. My right knee hurt a bit for the last mile or two (I sat down last night and gave it a funny twist - nothing major but I can feel it). My cheeks and nose hurt on and off for the whole run due to the cold.

Codename - Donkey Spit
As I was headed outbound on the route, I suddenly heard a loud, awkward noise behind me. I could tell it was an animal but I had no idea what kind of animal would make a noise like that. I whipped my head around to make sure it wasn't a rabid bear or wiener dog and saw nothing. A few strides later and I heard it again, this time a bit clearer thanks to a break in the wind. The sound repeated a few times giving me a chance to realize it was a donkey. And apparently he was upset.

On the inbound leg of the route, I was chugging along doing my best to avoid the wind. It would range from a strong cross wind to a strong head wind but I had my music on and did my best to block it out. Then I spit. Now, keep in mind, I'm a regular spitter when I run. It's bad enough that sometimes I wonder if it's my OCD creeping into my running habits. Anyway, I've learned to never spit into the wind. So with today's wind, I took special care to note the wind direction before spitting. As I was coming back home, I spit with the wind in a generally downward direction. The wind had other plans though and my spit instead went above my head in a nice little parabolic arc. Scary to see gravity lose to wind.

Splits:
Outbound - 33:05
Inbound - 33:16
Finish - 1:06:22