December's in and the hardy (foolish) few are out

As I lay in bed this morning, I was wondering whether I'd do my run. The plan was that R. would go for a hair appointment and I would go out for a run in the meantime. We knew last night it was freezing so when she asked how long I'd go, I said, "a little, but we'll see."

Then I got up and looked at the forecast.

Holy crap.



-11C (12F) with a windchill of -18(-0.4F). Wind of 20km/h.

It's not just December, it's full on mid January weather. I'm not ready for this crap. So it called for a change plan: maybe I'd run 3 miles out, and see where I was, then at the minimum I'd get in a 6 miler. As I was mulling over my fate, R. said she spotted a runner outside by the water. I said "it's a mirage!" but there the runner was, in full winter gear.

So I dug into my winter gear bag. Out came the windprotector full head cover with the critical ear coverings. Out came the glove liners AND the Sugoi windstopper mitts (highly recommended.) Then came the layers: a long sleeve breathable base layer, a heavy long sleeve, a windbreaker vest then a FOURTH layer, my brand new Asics Storm Shelter jacket, which is much heavier than my usual Sugoi outer shell.

Out I went and it was cold! I was waiting for the Garmin to pick up when I saw two other similarly clad runners and I was emboldened. I ran out, warming up slightly as I picked up speed. Within the first mile, I saw about 4 runners. It was great to see others out there. You raise your hand a little higher in acknowledging that you are the hardy few.

By the time I reached 2 miles, I knew I was in for a full 10. And it was great. Tough, cold, hard to breath, constraining with all the layers, and it was difficult to manage the cooling and heating. The outer shell is very effective and luckily it was vents that you can slide down to cool down (imagine that).

As I hit the 4K mark I realized I was at the 21 minute mark, so slower than a 5 minute kilometre pace. I decided to step it up, that at least I could manage a 5 minute pace if not faster. The splits below tell the rest of the story.

Mile 1: 8:29 (5:16K pace)
Mile 2: 8:26 (5:14K pace)
Mile 3: 8:18 (5:10K pace)
Mile 4: 8:15 (5:08K pace)
Mile 5: 8:02 (5:00K pace)
Mile 6: 8:04 (5:01K pace)
Mile 7: 7:57 (4:56K pace)
Mile 8: 7:46 (4:50K pace)
Mile 9 7:54 (4:55K pace)
Mile 10 7:28 (4:38K pace)

Total: 10 miles in 1:20:50 for average pace of 5:01K

That was a fun, memorable run. The first of the winter, in my books, even though the season's not even here yet.