I froze my scarf, or the headwind was brutal

Swam on Monday after water running with Katie for 15 minutes. The swim was long course, and I just barely made a 20 min K, even though I had a lane to myself. It was very odd. There was a huge hot spot right in the shallow part of the training pool, then the rest was cool. Running into the hot spot was like trying to swim in treacle.

Some core and stretching in the evening.

Tonight it's kind of cool by Calgary standards, -23 C or so (-9 F) with a stiff wind. They say the windchill is -32 C or so. I dressed even more warmly than the run on the weekend and headed out, testing Runkeeper app.

The bit out to the path wasn't bad. Up and over the little rise to head down to Anderson was pretty bad. My scarf iced up so quick I couldn't breathe through it, and had to pull it down under my mouth. Going south all the way to the turnaround where the path ends at 130 Ave was nice. I felt warm and comfortable. My legs were warming up and my run felt better. The footing was good. It wasn't even close to dark yet.

Then the return going north. Into a stiff wind. I tried pulling up the scarf over my mouth again and it froze over again in a few dozen steps. By the time I got back up to my turn off to go home, I didn't have any doubt that was the sensible decision.

I'm actually pretty pleased at my pacing, nice and even, and not as slow as I had feared, given I was kind of hunched over, feeling really stiff in my shoulders. The Runkeeper numbers are pretty close.

Stretched after, under cat supervision. I think they were disappointed I wasn't sweaty.

This is one of the very few times I wish I owned a treadmill, or had access to one. I felt like running, and if it had been calm I'd have stayed at it. But not with the wind. I'm cheap enough that I can't justify spending $ on something I'll only use a couple times a year at most. In fact, I don't have any idea what a treadmill costs. Hmmm. Eeek!

I couldn't hear the announcements that either Runkeeper or RunMeter, but the distances and pace seem pretty close. Both are a bit off because I started the apps, tucked the phone into an inside pocket, then zipped up and headed out. Once back in the house I had to unzip to get the apps stopped again. RunKeeper is a bit patronizing about telling me I've set new records. Bah! When it's the first time in the app, of course it's new record. I get a giggle out of it telling me how many calories I've burned when I haven't put in my weight. In fact, I put in the bare amount of detail possible, and had to get pushy about insisting it not share the data with everybody under the sun.