2:15:00 :: 20.4 miles

Long run. Nailed it. Did the first 12 miles outside, but the weather was overwhelming, so I had to bring it in to finish. Held 142-144 HR for the first 18 miles, then 148-150 HR through the finish. Very good run, legs felt strong, pace felt easy, and motivation was excellent.

Felt really strong at the 2:15 mark, but I've been lacking consistency, so I cut the run ten minutes earlier than last week. This should result in a shorter recovery from the Friday/Saturday double, and allow me to build up over consecutive weeks, instead of the good week/bad week rollercoaster I've been on since mid-December.

Since I described the weather as 'overwhelming', I suppose I'd better explain. Air temp was -20F with a 7mph wind, which calculates to a -36F windchill. Whoop-dee-doo. Running into that slight 7mph wind for three minutes froze my right eye shut. I've never had that happen in 21 years of running in North Dakota. I turned back out of the wind and headed for the home loop, for a measure of safety as well as a means of avoiding the breeze. By ten miles, my facemask was solid, I couldn't see through the breath-formed frost and snow that covered my eyes, and my arms and legs were getting cold despite the fact that I was generating a lot of heat. When I finally called it and went inside, I took off my gear and had another first--frost on the inside of my clothes. I've occasionally had snow form between layers and collect inside sleeves and pant legs before. That's fairly common in January. However, I've never seen a uniform layer of frost covering the inside of my jacket and pants after a run.

Someone asked me last year at this time, "how cold does it have to be for you to not run outside?". At the time, I guessed -20F, not having run outside in those temps.

I guessed right.

1:16:00 :: 11 miles

Easy run. Extremely cold (-17F) with some wind. Layered up and had a fairly comfortable run anyway. Felt really good, with good motivation to get out and get running this morning. A shot of Wild Turkey to each of the three(!) other runners I saw out this morning.

"Fucking cold, eh?!"

Cheers to that.