Weather Helps

It's amazing what a couple days in the 40's and 50's can do for your running.  I hit the treadmill Monday for 4 miles and took off Tuesday to prepare for our yearly Mardi Gras celebration - which rocked.  The weather went from the teens & 20's to the 40's and 50's on Wednesday so I went for a 6.6 mile outside run.  Other than a couple people that swerved towards me & the dark it was a pretty good run.  I was a little optimistic heading out with no gloves since it dropped in the 30's when the sun went down.  My hands were cold, but it was still enjoyable and I finished in under an hour which is pretty quick for me.
Yesterday I had intended to do some sort of cross training, but it was just perfect running weather when I got off work.  I headed out on a 4 mile run that ended up being 4.5 miles in a little less than 40 minutes by the time I was done.  The only issue I had on this run was some kids driving by felt the need to open the passenger door and yell - it freaked me out - they were only going 25-30mph, wasn't sure if he opened it to try to hit me with it or to jump out and get his jog on.  He ended up not doing either - just incoherent yelling, let me tell you I was impressed!  Hindsight - maybe the windows on their clunker didn't roll down so they had to open the door??  Regardless it's stunts like that that make me a little defensive...
Feeling good about running overall right now though.

I do have a weird RunKeeper (iPhone app to track mileage/pace/time) story.  It's been doing pretty well for me - mileage has been consistent with what I map on 'MapMyRun' and the pace has been accurate - up till now.  So, I have the log for last Saturday - it shows I ran 6.61 miles (which was right, I confirmed that) in 49:20, or a 7:28min/mile - yeah, I was moving right along, but pretty sure that's a little off.  I've kept up 8min/mile pace for that distance before, but not 7:28.
When I did the exact same run Wednesday it was 6.61 miles in 57:06, or 8:40min/mile - seems more accurate, but still not sure if I believe it.  I felt like I was going about as fast on my 4.5 mile last night and my pace shows 9:15min/mile.  Probably just what you get for using a free iPhone app. instead of the trusty Garmin.  ;-)

Update on the biking - I didn't bike Monday or Tuesday this week - it really was bitter cold.  Wednesday I dressed for cold and it was OK.  Thursday I thought it was going to be nice and left the house under-dressed and froze in the 20 degree temps.  Today was awesome - sweatshirt & gloves - no coat necessary.  Of course the rain/snow is supposed to get here early afternoon, so the question will be weather to brave the wet, or drive back after lunch.  There continue to be the issues with early morning drivers - mostly parents dropping off their kiddos at school - they just can't seem to see cyclists.  My understanding for why kids don't  walk or bike to school has grown - right around schools is the most dangerous place to be in the mornings.

Travel next week - let's hope the running continues!
Run on, bike on...