Spring Winds

Today I was not expecting much from my run. I had thought of a good number of reasons not to go, but in the end decided that I should at least try. If it did not go well I would call it early and head back.
Once I got outside to walk across to the recreation centre I started to feel like I might at least get a five miler in. The wind was a little stiff from the west, but it was bright and sunny and already +7 C. On the way over I started my Garmin and tucked it behind the bench in front of the complex. I always do this as it saves time having to wait for it to find the satellites. Once inside, it was time to decide what would be appropriate to wear. It was +7 C but the wind did have a bit of a bite to it. I don’t have a lot of meat on me, and I get cold easy so I decided I would need tights and at least a long sleeve and wind breaker. Quick little stretch and I was out the door and ready to go.
I didn’t feel like climbing the big hill right off so I chose heading east out towards the Yellow head Highway through the valley section of Hinton. This still requires a hill climb at the start but it is shorter,….steeper, but shorter. I would also have the wind at my back which I didn’t think would be much of a factor. The first mile was on a combination of icy trails and a little bit of pavement which made for some fancy footwork. The combination of the hill and the icy trail resulted in a 7:46 mile. Slow but I didn’t fall and land on my butt so that is a positive. Once off the trails I was onto the sidewalks which were perfectly clear and dry. Now I could settle in and find my groove. Mile two, 7:08, which is more like it. The route now heads up another hill, crosses a set of tracks, and then you are onto the Yellow head Highway. There wasn’t much traffic, so I was able to get off of the soft shoulder of the road and stay on the dry pavement; mile three, 7:12. When I reached the highway the road is double lane with a wide shoulder so the running is pretty safe. I am always impressed by how often drivers will switch over to the far lane when they see me running. Very courteous and much appreciated. This part of the run is typical foothills terrain, nice rolling hills. Nothing too severe or steep, just a nice section of up and down which makes the running more interesting. Mile 4, 7:03 pace, starting to feel a little over dressed though. I continued on east and turned at 4.85 miles when I realized that I had gone a lot further than I was planning to and I also had to get back before the change rooms closed at 1:00 for cleaning. Upon making the turn two things happened, I realized how strong the wind was blowing and that it was going to be a bit of a saving grace because I was starting to over heat! The way back was a struggle against the wind, lap 5, 6:57, lap 6, 7:05, lap 7, 7:08, lap 8, 7:15, lap 9, 7:03, and lap 10, 7:20. Total of 10 miles in 1:12. Not too bad I guess.
This evening I rode the Autumn Country Ride Spinerval and added a little extra to it. Total ride was 21 miles in 1:05. Nice steady cadence of about 88 RPM and an average speed of just over 19.5 MPH.
Have a great day!