January 6, 2015
Three miles at Upper Campus. This week
is the coldest week this winter. It's so bitterly cold that I'm only
doing twenty miles instead of the usual twenty-five. I have a blister
on one toe and there are a couple of inches of snow on the ground, so
I took this one slowly. I did two loops around the fields and
Hospital Hill and then one loop around the upper fields. I did the
last tenth of a mile or so at a sprint. Total pace: 8:16/mile.
January 8, 2015
Four miles at Upper Campus. Somehow, it
was even colder than last time. Around the fields and Hospital Hill,
then around the eartern loop, and back. Then once around the soccer
fields. My splits hovered around 8:00s except for the last mile,
which was 7:15. The total pace was in the 7:50s.
January 9, 2015
Still bitterly cold. Another four miles
at Upper Campus. Pretty much the same course as yesterday, but after
three miles, I took the dog with me for the last mile. The first
three miles were slow. The last one wasn't. Once we get going, he was
a good running partner, just like the last time I ran with him. For a
while, he was bouncing and galloping haphazardly, apparently excited
to be running. He settled down after a quarter of a mile, but once we
reached the far side of the fields and turned around towards the car,
he darted ahead, almost pulling my arm off. It was all I could do to
keep up. The last mile was spectacularly fast for a training run.
My time was 31:15 and my pace was
7:49/mile. My first three miles were 7:53, 8:07, 8:12, and 6:59. That
dog is energetic.
The dog in a state of repose. For those who don't know, his name is Karl.
January 10, 2015
2x2 miles on Upper Campus. This is the
coldest day so far this winter. The first time I ran, around 11 in
the morning, it was around 1 Fahrenheit counting the windchill,
making it probably the coldest weather I've ever run in. I was
heavily bundled up. The run took me around two loops around the
fields and no Hospital Hill loops. One the first lap, I was blasted
by a bone-chillingly cold wind on the way out. That part of the loop
was also in the shade. Then I headed out into the sun as I followed
the loop back to its starting point. The wind all but vanished and it
felt about twenty or thirty degrees warmer. I was seriously
considering taking removing a layer. It was almost warm. Then it got
bitterly cold on the first half of the second loop, only to warm up
again on the second half of the loop. My first mile was in the 7:40s
and my second was in the 7:30s, but I don't remember the exact time
or pace.
The second run was in the late
afternoon. I went directly over to the fields in the east at a slow
pace. Shortly after entering the loop, I looked at the fairly wide
view of the area. Across the field, I spotted three dogs heading
towards me along the trail. They were about four hundred feet away as
the crow flies and about four times that via the trail. I didn't want
to be held up by them this time, so I presently slipped onto a side
trail that follows the main trail. About fifty feet of hedges
separate the two trails and I evaded them with no problem. I did
eventually run into them on the access trail that follows the
powerlines, and was held up there for a minute or so. Once I got
going again, my Garmin died, so I don't know my pace. I finished at
the parking lot near the soccer fields. My first mile was 8:18. The
second was probably faster, but I don't know if I cracked 8:00s.
January 11, 2015
5.1-ish miles at the Robbins Trail.
Temperature in the 30s. Compared to yesterday, it was almost warm,
but it was damp and dreary. For some reason, I took a shortcut
through the bicycle skill park to the trail and then headed out on it
in the direction I usually go. At the bridge, I saw that Mahoning
Creek was iced over. Being me, I stopped to throw a few small rocks
at the ice to try to break it. It didn't break and the rocks just
skittered and bounced over the ice. That ice must be indestructable.
I followed the trail around the the Mahoning Flats Natural Trail and
followed that along its full length to the main trail, then along the
spur that parallels Mauses Creek, then back to the natural trail, to
the powerline access trail, and back to the parking lot. I ended the
run with a sprint in Hess Field. My Garmin died just over 4 miles in,
but my pace was just under 8:00s at that point.
No map this time since it's late.
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