Friday, April 3, 2009

They call it the "Windy City" for a reason

Oh my goodness it was so WINDY today. If you were sitting inside, it looked really pleasant outside. The sun was shining bright, you had knowledge that it was in the high 40's, but no idea how windy it was. Mainly because there are no leaves on the trees, so the branches stand still no matter what. The presence of the wind became very apparent to me when I ran into it for a solid six miles before turning around and enjoying the glory that is having the wind help you along. I officially feel terrible for anyone who runs a windy marathon because that would be awful. It takes so much more energy to push through wind that doesn't seem to cease. I hope that doesn't happen come May.

In other very exciting news, the neighborhood where I do many of my (long-ish) runs has finally put the port-o-potties out for the spring/summer/fall season, and I am unbelievably excited about this. Not because I necessarily use them all that often, but because it is comforting to know that *if* I need one four miles from home, I'm safe. I have resorted to knocking on some poor soul's door and pleading my case, but I try to avoid that whenever possible. (People are quite generous in letting you use their bathroom, in case you were wondering.) I believe this also means that the water fountains will be turned on as well, as that will be exciting especially if it ever decides to warm up around here.

It's the small things in life, let me tell you.

So port-o-potty/water fountain (yay!) + wind (not so yay) = a pretty good run. As follows:

Friday, April 3
12.08 miles in 1:34:08, avg pace of 7:47

For demonstration of the impact of wind:
Average pace for first six miles: 7:57
Average pace for last six miles: 7:38

If only we could get the wind at our backs all the time!! But where's the fun in that?

In order to make up for the calorie loss of my long run (like I actually need a reason to eat...), I headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner with a friend. I adore buffalo chicken sandwiches/wraps, so it's a solid place to go. (I suppose my terrible eating habits are starting to come out now...I eat my fruits and veggies too, I promise.) I recommend getting the wedge fries to go with the wrap...so good!

Good luck with all your long runs/races/fun things this weekend! Spring marathons are rolling in, so I hope you're all training strong!

8 comments:

  1. Yeah, I agree. Wind sucks big time. It can be so deceiving too as you never know how bad it is when you're running with the wind and then you turn around and it's like you can't move...

    Great job getting through it though. Wow, you are one speedy lady. Can't wait to see how you do in your marathon. Best of luck in the rest of the training.

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  2. Ugh, wind is the worst.

    That's cool your neighborhood has water fountains and port-o-potties. I'm always afraid of knocking on someone's door--what if it's a creepy person who kidnaps girls and locks them in his basement? (Okay, yeah, I'm a bit paranoid.)

    I also love BW3. No shame in that.

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  3. Wind can be awful! I agree with you that knowing there are port o potties available is comforting. You never no when you are going to need them.

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  4. YAY porto-potties! Lol. I can totally understand the significancce of that. Sweet!

    Wind is the worst I think, great job pushing through it (literally).

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  5. Hi Susan!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your blog is so cute, and you are one amazing runner!

    Looking forward to reading more... :-)

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  6. What great averages! I guess the wind can hurt AND help! 12 miles is awesome--one day I want to run like you!

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  7. I was so bummed when they turned off the water fountains last fall! I've never run far enough to need a porta-potty, but Dave has and I know he's super jazzed about them, too. Do you usually run along the lakefront?

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  8. YUCK wind is not fun. still great job on your run!!!

    i follow my gels with plain water. my fuel belt has 2 bottles and i keep one with just water and one with gatorade/water.

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