Crushed Ice

On Tuesday, I swam laps at the high school. I only swam 2 sets, because we have been busy at work. Last night, I was supposed to get a massage, but my massage therapist was sick with a cold. Her husband has been out of work, so she has been picking up extra clients, plus she has a 1 year old baby, so I’m not surprised she got sick. My wonderful wife arrange monthly massages during my marathon training season for Boston. My legs have been in good shape, but I was interested on having my forearm massaged, because my elbow has been sore since chopping thick ice around Christmastime (and I don’t mean for mixed drinks).
Today I get out and do a 6 mile tempo run. The goal pace is 7:44, and I have a 1 mile warmup and cooldown. There is a slushy covering on the streets, and its about 15 degrees and windy. I have to bundle up, and it just on the verge of the distance where I think I should have fluids. Because I like to have my cellphone on me when I run, I carry my water belt. I feel pretty weighted down, and I’m wearing a face mask for the wind. I have to improvise to get a path on streets that are not icy, so more of my miles are straight into the wind than I would like. I would have liked to run an 8 mile hilly loop, but now I am kind of glad I kept to flat streets, because I am struggling. I end up with about a 7:42 average, but in the past, I have blown the doors off this pace. I feel my running is strong, but the I can’t wait for milder weather so I can have a good footing, and not be running with so much heavy gear on.