I slept in a little, I got up, I ate breakfast, I let it digest, I ran outside, I was miserable... Toughest and least enjoyable run in a long time.

Yesterday's forecast for today was for winds in the morning, letting up by the afternoon. Running in the afternoon largely means using up the whole day (since I know myself too well to think that I'll do housecleaning, etc., before going out) but it didn't sound too bad. Then today dawned, and the forecast was for wind all day long. DH and I talked about going to the University Athletic Centre, or the Y, but in the end decided to run outside as per our original plan. The actual temperature was around -9 and -10 C, wind chill about -20 to -22 C. But we had the clothes, the sun was shining, there was no snow on the ground - how bad could it be?

Bad. It could be bad. Not the ambient temperature, actually. Even with the wind, my body was warm. I was wearing long underwear, and my thicker tights, a long-sleeved shirt under a short-sleeved shirt under my warmer jacket, a balaclava and hat, and my nice new RR gloves that convert to mittens by pulling a flap over the fingers. For just -9 C I was probably a little overdressed - could have left off one shirt and not used the mitten flap - but with the wind I was not. So one positive is that I am learning more about what clothes work at various temperatures.

But the wind. Oh, the wind. It would occasionally die down, but it was blowing most of the time. With lots of gusts. When I got home I checked the weather network, and apparently the wind itself was somewhere around 50 km/hour, with gusts close to 70 km/hour. I believe it. Being such a weather weenie, I don't have a great association between quoted wind speed and how it feels. I just hate the wind in general. Always have. As I have said, thought and wrote many times, the winter wind is the one thing about my adopted city that I pretty much hate without reservation.

So today was tough going. The wind was mostly from the west and the north, so going east or south was often not too bad. Sometimes there was even the benefit of a tail wind. Or course, sometimes it would suddenly gust from the east or the south, a truly unpleasant surprise. Going west or north was largely unalloyed misery. At times the air was calm and it was no big deal. But running into the wind - especially the gusts - or sideways to the wind, was hard. Hard physically and hard mentally. I hate the sound of a heavy wind roaring around my ears, hate trying to keep my face warm against it, hate physically trying to push against it. There were times I had to stop and walk just to get a break, or even stop completely and turn my back. At least those were good chances to blow my ever-dripping nose.

The training plan called for 24 km; I managed 22.75 km in about 2:02. Under normal circumstances I would have made up that extra 1.25 or so km by running around the neighbourhood a bit, but today I reached our driveway and called the 22.75 "good enough". At that point the wind was actually going through one of its calmer phases, but I just didn't have the mental fortitude to deliberately put myself through another 7 minutes or so of unpleasantness when warmth was just a few steps away.

Having said all of that, there are a couple of details that could have made today's run just a little more pleasant. 1) a different balaclava. So far I have tried two, and neither of them really works for me, despite the way they appear to fit in the store. I am a small person and have a relatively small head, and the nose part continually slips down/off. So my face gets cold, especially in the wind. 2) a different hat. Same basic issue. My hat is currently adjusted to be the smallest it will go, and under normal circumstances it stays on okay. Today it got blown off (thereby obliging me to go sprinting after it) so many times I lost count. At least 7 or 8. The last time was into traffic during my last few km before home - oh joy. At least I got it back when the light turned red, not truly any the worse for wear.

When I first left home, the hat and balaclava were tucked nicely into each other and made a really good shield, leaving just my eyes exposed. But after losing the hat the first time, I could never get it back together the same way. Plus, at various times my fingers were getting rather cold. (A couple of years ago I had some mild frostbite shovelling snow, and ever since they get colder sooner than before). Making my hands into fists for a while warmed the fingers back up, but several times I was trying to adjust all this stuff with numb fingers that didn't have such great fine motion control.

Sigh. So I think it's time to acquire yet another balaclava, this time the kid's size. As for the hat - well, I don't really have an answer. Normally I wouldn't have worn my hat, because when it's cold I prefer my ear band. But with the sun, I wanted something to shield my eyes. Sunglasses wouldn't work because I have yet to find a solution to the fogging that happens in cold weather. I guess balaclava + hat + earband could be the answer, but that might be too warm.

Several people on the RR and RM forums have made remarks along the lines of they "love" running in the winter. Clearly they're having a different experience, because so far I am not exactly feeling the love. Between the technical face/head issues, the rather blurred vision due to no glasses, the nose that runs like a faucet, the sport beans that get cold, the masses of frozen ice after a heavy snow - what exactly is there to love?!?!?

But, in the end, I'm glad to have got in the miles and checked one more long run off the calendar. Next weekend is supposed to be 30 km. The long-range forecast currently calls for just below freezing and a little snow. After today, that feels like a cakewalk. But talk to me next weekend ;)

It's been a good week, at least in terms of training. It's year end at work and I'm pretty much exhausted from all that stuff, but it's Friday night so I'm putting it out of mind until Monday.

But unlike last week, when I took an unplanned rest day Tuesday, and switched my run to the elliptical on Friday, we got to the gym every day and I did almost everything according to schedule. Tuesday's speedwork covered more distance than usual, which means that although I came up 2 km short this morning, it pretty much balances out. One of our cats needs medicine every morning, and some days it goes down faster than others. Today was not a fast day, so my workout started late. Having to show up at the office after working out means I don't always have the flexibility to just go a little longer.

But anyway, this morning was a nice 10.24 km in 50 minutes. It started kind of slow but partway through I was able to increase the speed. Not a bad way to finish the week.

The snow we were supposed to get this weekend is no longer in the forecast, but it is going to be colder - high of -5 C tomorrow and -10 C on Sunday. Naturally I'm kind of dithering about my run. Saturday's temps would definitely be more comfortable. But I prefer doing my long runs on Sunday, and also prefer not to do one the day after a relatively fast run like this morning. Of course, it was only 10 km.

DH and I sort have plans for Saturday, but they could be switched to Sunday, but at this moment I'm pretty sure the run is going to be Sunday as usual. Of course, we can always change our minds when we get up tomorrow. That's one of the beauties of running - unless you've got plans with someone else, you have as much flexibility as your other commitments will allow. Just put on the gear and get to it.

Looking ahead, the schedule for the week is: 24 km this weekend, hills Tuesday, 12 km Wednesday, 11 km Friday. Cross training Monday and Thursday with the usual rest day on Saturday. Inevitably there are hills in my outdoor runs, and I often play a bit with the incline on the treadmill, but it's been a few weeks since my last actual hill workout. Should be fun ;)

And in the good news department, F1 confirmed that he's definitely in for Around the Bay this year. He will no doubt improve on his already great time from last year. Whereas I will probably be slower, wanting to leave more in the tank for Boston three weeks later. I really, really hope that F1 does a marathon this year and qualifies for Boston 2009 and goes. I would put off Vancouver until 2010 and do Boston again, just for the fun of sharing it with F1 and his wife. They are such great people, long-time friends of DH, and it was F1 who put me on this road in the first place by inspiring me to do a half marathon. Fingers crossed!

Today was a great speedwork day. We actually got to the gym a little earlier than usual so I was able to spend a full hour on the treadmill. Started with an eight minute warmup (all times approximate), followed by mostly three minute intervals with two minute recoveries, and finishing with an eight minute cool down. The fastest ones were at a 6:30 minute/mile pace. It has always been very tough for me to have the self-discipline to do intervals, partly because I'm a lazy runner, and partly because I've never been much into racing so never focussed on trying to get faster. But since this latest round of training started, I've managed several sessions, alternating with hills every other week.

So although I will probably never love doing intervals, I love being able to do those intervals on the treadmill. It is a tremendous help, because it lets me know the actual speed, and I can't cheat by slowing down early. And when the treadmill speeds up, I have to speed up, so it largely overcomes the difficulty of just getting started.

Of course, if I were truly dedicated I'd have a more complete training schedule that spelled out how many intervals to do each week, at what attempted pace, etc. Instead, I tailor each session according to how much time I have, how fast my fastest ones were the previous session, and how I'm feeling that day. It may not be the most scientific approach but it's one that I can live with.

Tomorrow's schedule calls for 10 km. It's not supposed to be too cold, and I was thinking it would be an opportunity to get outside, but the sidewalks on the way home tonight were pretty icy so I'll play it safe and make it another treadmill run. Sigh... Remember my great plan to run outdoors all winter? Well, I have managed it on the weekends (with one exception over Christmas when we were visiting family and it was pouring rain) but the weekdays have been a bust. Ultimately, the combination of dark morning, running alone, and ice is one that I just don't want to deal with. No doubt in some eyes that makes me a wimp but I run because I enjoy it, not to prove anything to anyone. And not feeling safe or sure-footed really doesn't particularly make for enjoyment.

But weekdays inside, weekends outside is a reasonable adaptation for the darkest, coldest months. Of course, with a couple of exceptions we've been lucky this year, because the weekends have been relatively mild, but there is still a good chunk of winter to come and I'm sure there will be more opportunities for me to figure out my best cold weather clothing combinations.

One thing I know for sure is that I love my Yak Trax. On snow, or on snow over ice, they are great. The first time I wore them was a sunny day when the sidewalks/roads were mostly bare but the bicycle paths were ice under snow. I was amazed at the traction and how stable I felt. A little slower than normal, with a little more effort, but still a good run. There were a few patches of bare, smooth ice that called for slowing right down, but everywhere else was no problem. The next weekend was the one in mid-December where we got close to 30 cm of snow, and I went out on the Saturday before the main storm hit. It had been snowing, was still snowing at least part of the time, but the footing was great. Even where the conditions were miserable, which was down on the paths that had become very bumpy ice under new snow. It was pretty slow going, and I ended up doing only 19 km, but the Yak Trax really helped keep my footing under control.

Be careful what you wish for, and all that, but I would like to try out my Yak Trax on some new, lightly packed (or packable) snow. Not sure how to manage that, since when we have new snow we also have shovelling, not running, but maybe one day the timing will work out. For a short run, if nothing else.

One thing I was kind of worried about was having to switch from running on mostly asphalt to running on mostly concrete during the winter, because when the paths are iced over and the roads are busy, you're faced with the sidewalk. But so far the increased concrete doesn't seem to have caused a problem, and I've incorporated a couple of new things into my stretching to help it stay that way. Note: I am better about stretching but there is still room for improvement.

The upside of running on concrete was discovering a route down to Lakeshore that doesn't include too many traffic lights and incorporates a couple of decent climbs on the way back. And I am busy plotting new routes to include that stretch for when the paths are fully open and the long run distances are at 30+ km. It's going to be great for training, particularly once the weather is a little warmer.

So overall I'm feeling pretty good about where my training is at. At the end of the month my schedule has a 30 km long run so I am praying for decent conditions to do it. My longest distance since Scotiabank has been 24 km a couple of times, and 21 or 22 km another couple of times, and I wasn't exhausted after. But I'm anxious to do the 30 km, since that will give me some comfort that I can do a marathon in April.

What a difference from last year, when I was working up to doing 30 km for the first time at ATB, and was really wondering if I could do it (despite the 28 km training run - it didn't have any hills, LOL). Now 30 km is a long training run, not a scary distance on its own. Intellectually, I knew it should be that way. Emotionally, being at that point is still a strange feeling. But a feeling that I am grateful for.

And a feeling that I don't want to take for granted. One injury could mean months of being sidelined, and some injuries can happen so quickly. I like to think that having had it happen once, I'd be more likely to recognise the warning signs, but that's not a given. OTOH, the regular ART sessions probably help keep things in control. Speaking of keeping things in control - lately my left hamstring seems to be tightening up, although so far it doesn't seem serious and stretching seems to take care of it. Right now it's fine and I didn't have even a mild twinge during today's work out so that's reassuring.

And I should hasten to add that I am most definitely not taking either ATB or Boston for granted. Not with the hills in both of them, and those distances are far from trivial or routine. Especially not the marathon. The speedwork and hills and long runs are not happening because I want a PB at Boston or anything like that. My hope is that they'll delay that transition from "this is intense but I'm okay" to "this is really really hard, and I'm exhausted, and that finish line feels like a million miles away". At Scotiabank, that point for me came at around 36 km, and it was a flat course. Maybe I can't push it out any further than that, but I hope this extra work will have some benefit.

Of course, it will also help to be healthy in general! Back at the beginning of December when I had Sinus Infection #1 I actually took a sick day from work (second one in four years) because between it and the antibiotic side effects my energy was completely gone. That happened to be the day the postcard from Boston with my revised qualifying time arrived. Under normal circumstances, I would have thought, "Cool - it's really true" etc. etc. Instead, I just looked at it and the incoherent thought process from the depths of my foggy brain was something like, "I ran a marathon? In that kind of time? Guess so. Can't imagine how. And I think I'm going to run that distance again? No way, no can do."

But tonight I'm thinking "Yes. It won't be easy and it will take the next three months of training, but yes. Assuming no injuries, I'll do it." I still don't always quite believe, deep down, that my body can run 42.2 km in one session, but it's done that twice so I guess it is truly possible to do it again...

It's been so long since I've updated this, and no time to write in detail now. The short story: most of December was just a blur. It took forever to get rid of Sinus Infection #1, and then within less than two weeks I was battling Sinus Infection #2. I actually missed very few runs or cross-training days, amazingly enough. But my overall energy level just wasn't there and everything felt like an effort, even the easiest jobs. We won't even talk about what it was like to shovel snow for hours after the big storm.

January is going pretty well so far. We were travelling for Christmas and that's usually bad for my training, but this time I got my long run in, and a couple of shorter ones, and the 24 km run last weekend felt very solid. Boston is 14 weeks from today so I am motivated!

Even if I still don't believe it's really happening.