How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 13 degrees, sunny. Warmer than yesterday, but I still dressed in 6 layers for a 7.2 mile easy run. It is a peculiar sensation to be sweating profusely in extreme coldness, but it is definitely better than being too cold. Another night of little sleep, which caused my overall coordination to be sluggish, and the running pace suffered because of it.

#65

Weather - 25 degrees, sunny, windy. It seemed colder than 25 degrees because of the wind, so I wore 6 layers of clothing again. I am getting accustomed to running with an extra 5 pounds, I hope it helps my fitness. After 3 miles I ran  8 x 30-60 second strides on the golf course. When I finished the run I walked 15 minutes to Brookens Gym and did 5 sets of strength exercises and stretching.

#66 

Weather - 20 degrees, somewhat sunny. Fresh snow on the ground, only about a half inch, so it did not make running any more difficult than normal. Ran to Busey woods and did a few loops and ended up with 7.5 miles. My legs are still holding up to the strain of the slowly increasing mileage.

#67 

Weather - 20 degrees, sunny. Since I have been diligently working at slowly increasing my mileage, I decided it was time to ease back a bit for the next few days, because this Saturday is the Riddle Run, a quasi 12-28 mile race/training run in Mahomet. I signed up to run 3 x 4 mile loops around the prairie trails, and it would be nice to feel fresh and strong. Today I ran for as long as it felt easy, which was 6.5 miles. I was thinking I would be stopping at 5 miles, so I was pleasantly surprised to have gone an extra 1.5. After the run I walked to Brookens Gym and did 6 sets of strength exercises and stretching. 

#68 

Weather - 3 degrees, windy, sunny. I decided to run indoors today because of the cold, so I ran 5 miles around the basketball court at Brookens. Afterwards 5 sets of strength exercises, and stretching. It feels good to have run less miles the past couple of days, as my body is starting to feel less fatigued.

#69 

Weather - 23 degrees, cloudy. The afternoon warmed up, so it was a pleasant enough 4 mile easy run. Tomorrow the Riddle Run, I plan on running 3 loops for 12 miles. 

#70 

Weather - 26 degrees, windy, gray skies. Ran 3 loops around the Lake of the Woods prairie trails for the Riddle Run. The winds were brisk, so it seemed cold, and there was a 1/4 inch of snow on the trails. The final loop I paired up with a woman named Nancy, and we ran a 8:15 pace for the 4 miles, and we had a good conversation, she told me about her various marathons, and it was nice to listen about her race in Honolulu as we trudged through the snow. I planned to run the 3 loops in a comfortable time of 1:45, and I came in at 1:43. When I finished the race I ate my prize - a homemade cream filled cupcake - the best one I have tasted! It was a solid long run, nothing hard, just a moderate steady pace at an average of 8:35/mile. I don't feel tired, or sore, so I think my next long run will be 14 miles, either next week, or the week after.

I am planning to run the Lovin' the Hills 15 mile trail race in Louisville, KY on February 16th. That distance should fit nicely for my current fitness level. As the race name implies, there are a lot of hills to cover, so I am not sure how I will tolerate it, since my training is mainly on the flats.

#71