The Alaskan Run...In Chicago

Good Morning world. Who ever is in charge of the thermostat in Chicago needs to turn the dial up a lot. These cold temps sure make you wonder if you should run inside or out. Doing a long run outside is more appealing than spending 2 plus hours on the treadmill. Plus, it's a more natural way to run. All of my runs right now are run with a purpose and that purpose is to excel in the Boston Marathon. Yesterday, with the temperature at 15 degrees below zero with wind chill I decided to do a 16 mile LSD along LSD. That would be "long slow distance," not the drug. The other LSD is Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. Most of my running is done on the lakefront path as I head south towards Chicago. The closer I get, familiar landmarks come into view. I can see the Watertower Place, the Drake Hotel, etc.
The run today was cold and sort of lonely. There were not many runners out there today. In order to pass the time I just pretended that I was running an endurance race in Alaska. At times my hand would get very cold so I would take the fingers out of their respective glove recepticles and make a fist. This provided much needed thawing. Nothing else on my body got very cold at all. The new running gear technology really does a great job providing protection from the elements.
Parts of this run take me on the course for the Chicago Marathon. It's fun to re-live those marathon moments. The crowds cheering and yelling supporting words. There were times that I wished I was not running yesterday but I kept telling myself, "stop being a wimp." This is the Alaskan 16 Mile Run.

Split
1 0:09:20
2 0:09:02
3 0:08:40
4 0:08:59
5 0:08:50
6 0:08:52
7 0:08:59
8 0:09:05
9 0:09:10
10 0:08:57
11 0:09:04
12 0:09:10
13 0:09:10
14 0:08:54
15 0:08:54
16 0:09:04
17 0:00:11
Summary 2:24:29 Avg Pace 9:01




Edited by Silentrunner 1/2/2010 1:51 PM

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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."