More character building today

This cold weather has to end soon right? After running yesterday in minus 20 degrees, today I found out that it was going to be even colder. When I checked the weather network before my 5 AM run this morning the temperature was minus 26 with the wind chill. One very important thing that worked in my favour was the fact that there were no wind gusts in the forecast. I've run in this type of weather before and it really isn't the cold that bothers me as much as it is the wind.

Before my run I thought about some of the coldest runs that I've had since I started running 3 years ago. I think the coldest run was minus 23 and that was a 1/2 Marathon race I did in Peterborough in 2006. I like to think back to days like that as it gives me confidence before heading out.

As I did yesterday, I decided to let the weather dictate how far I was going to go. As I stepped outside I could feel the cold immediately and once again I knew this was going to be a tough run. It seemed like my feet were frozen for much of the run but other than that, it was actually a good run. I didn't stop too much because I didn't want to give my body a chance to cool down and I found that I was running much faster than I normally would (probably because I was trying to keep myself warm).

I managed to run over 8 miles (13 K's) in just over 1 hour and I was amazed at how great I felt afterwards. I know that had there been more of a wind, it probably would have been a much different outcome. As cold as it was, my mind never once told me to quit. I'm very proud of the fact that I am developing a very good inner strength and it has everything to do with keeping a positive attitude and having experience as a runner. I'm getting much better at switching "gears" with regards to my speed during my runs. I'm running with more confidence and I'm using my breathing to let me know whether to speed up or slow down.

I now have bookmarked these back to back cold runs so when my race at Seaton gets tough, I can look back to these runs for inspiration. I'll probably run tomorrow or Saturday and lift weights on the day that I don't run and then follow that up with a 2.5 hour run on Sunday. After running for over 5 hours last weekend, it will seem a little odd to run for 2.5 hours. With just 8 weeks until my race though, now is the time to pay close attention to my training.