Weather - 28-30 degrees, cloudy, sleeting, windy. Today's run was more difficult than usual, but also more satisfying because of the multiple challenges which I had to confront. The one positive thing - the weather was warmer, so I did not have to concern myself with frostbite. The roads and everything else were slick and icy. Even though the air seemed to be below freezing, the sky refused to snow, and instead dropped devious ice pellets during the entire run. The wind was not so bad in town, but once I got to the South Farms road it was unhindered, and blew directly into my face at 25-30 mph. The ice/rain also seemed more intense out on the road, and this is when my clothing became saturated with wetness. I wore a lot of layers today because of the wind, and each layer eventually became soaked. Every mile or so I stepped into a deep ice puddle. My hat was covered in ice, but when it started to rain harder, it became a wet, heavy headband which sometimes dropped over my eyes. The ice/rain stung my eyes. I never hit a good running stride because of the icy pathways and roads. I slipped and fell atop the arboretum hill, landing on my already bruised knee. When I got off the South Farms road my mind and will disintegrated, and I decided I could not finish the route, as I was too miserable. I entered MBK and decided to turn off onto Anderson for a short cut home, but when I reached the female statue, my body felt strong and good, and tried to convince my will that it could finish the full route if my spirit could stand the elements. This was startling because usually my body is the weak one, never reaching the expectations of the will, so my will got to eat some humble pie today when it realized it was the weak link. I spurned the short cut and completed the full route (minus 800m which I cut short on the South Farms road, when I could not stand to go any further into the wind). It took me almost 3 hours to go 12.50 miles.
My body felt fresh after the run, and desired more, but my mind was fatigued from its constant attention to the dangerous elements. Today my will became tougher, and it will need to become even stronger if I am to have a chance to finish the 50 mile race in April. #403 Digital Picture made last week : 
Main Street, Urbana
| 