3.31.13 Easter Run

It was a tough day today emotionally.  My daughter went back to school today and we took her to the airport this morning.  When she's there, we all get in a rhythm and I don't think about it too much.  However, when she comes home it's good to see her and it's sad when she leaves.  We had a storm this morning that just missed us on the way to the airport.  With all the rain yesterday and some today, the trail was closed.  I was going to miss Rich and Joe.  They needed to be done earlier today.  Once we got home from the airport, I couldn't really get myself motivated to run until I knew Meghan was back in Minneapolis safely.  I finally got it together and headed out around 2pm.  No trails today so back to the hard concrete.  I wasn't trying to set any records today and my left knee has had some stiffness and swelling.  I started with a 8 mile route I use around Coppell and planned to adjust from there.  I was running at around 9 minute mile pace.  When I got to the park, I headed in to add some distance.  I think I ended up running around 8.8 miles in one hour and twenty minutes.  My knee still feels a little stiff after the run.  Didn't see many people out running.  Probably because it was Easter.  The park was full of people with tents up cooking out and enjoying the weather.  It finally feels like spring today.  Today was a big departure from last weekend where it was in the 40s with rain and hail.  There is usually one last kick to the nuts in April from a cold perspective but I think the corner is turned.  It's our dogs birthday today, so Happy Birthday Cinco De Mayo!

 



http://connect.garmin.com/activity/291423012

3.30.13 Bike

Slept in a little this morning.  We had storms last night or at least thats what I'm told.  I didn't hear anything but the pool was full this morning.  I checked the weather and the storms rolled through and it looked like a good time to head out at 8:45am.  I needed 3 hours and was hoping for a nice spot between storms today.  I had to decide between heading out to the whitehouse or taking the loop around DFW.  I haven't ridden the DFW route in awhile so I opted for that.  There was still water all over the streets and lots of leaves everywhere.  Looks like it got pretty windy last night.  Storm must have chased the possums out on the streets.  I saw 4 dead ones on the road this morning.  It was still breezy this morning from the SE, another reason I went the DFW route.  I would get the wind at my back on the way home.  I don't necessarily like the actual road around the airport.  Lots of trucks and they don't really respect people on bikes.  I took a different route through Las Colinas.  There are lots of hills in there and is good for the legs.  In order to get 3 hours I had to add on a little at the end.  I haven't ridden much in the last month so I was kind of tired by the time I finished.  It was good to get it all in today and avoid the rain.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290809055

Track Run 3.26.13

First day back after Grasslands.  Sunday I was pretty trashed.  My legs were pretty tired.  I slept alot on Saturday night and Sunday night.  I was going to swim on Monday morning but I just couldn't get going on Monday morning.  I decided the rest was more important.  This morning the wind chills were in the 20s so I decided to run this evening at the track.  Jeff gave me a little bit of speed work to do tonight.  I definitely was still in recovery mode.  My times were good but it was more of a physical struggle for

3.29.13

I have been really busy at work this week so my training has suffered some this week.  Yesterday, I ran 7 miles in the morning.  I started out feeling pretty bad.  My first few miles were pretty slow but my pace increased as I warmed up.  My garmin doesn't seem to want to download my run so it may be lost.  My run was to be a 1 mile warm up, 2 miles at 10k pace, 1 mile at 5k pace, 2 miles at 10k pace, and a cool down mile.  I hoped to do the 10k miles in less than 9 and the 5k at 8 minutes or under.  My course is the usual one I have been using lately.  It is pretty much up hill for the first 4 miles.  The first two 10k miles from memory were around 8:55 and 8:40.  The 5k mile was a little slow at 8:15 but it was in the heart of the rolling uphill section of my run.  The next two 10k's were low 8 minute.  I can't remember the numbers.  I felt much better at the back half of the run.  Coming back, I run along side Denton Creek and had a Coyote run right by me along the creek.  He stopped and stared at me but I kept going.  Don't know if he was thinking about coming after me or not.  Probably not but it was an uncomfortable feeling and probably helped me run faster for a little bit.  I also saw a possum on the way home but they are not very fearsome.  This morning I swam.  I had to cut it a little short since I got to the pool later than I wanted.  Decided to punt on the easy 1 hour bike ride tonight.  I had to work on my pool when I got home.  Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get in a 3 hour bike ride.  I haven't been able to go on a long ride in quite awhile so I'm looking forward to that.  Hopefully, the rain will hold off.

3.27.13 Swim/Bike

I got up this morning and went to the CARC for my swim workout.  Seems like it's been a month since I got in the water.  I felt really good from a swimming perspective.  My foot cramped towards the end of the workout so my body may be a little jacked up from Grasslands.  Lots of kick board and speed work today.  2300 yards in about 55 minutes.  I am supposed to ride the bike tonight for 70 minutes.  It may be a trainer night.  I might be a little late getting home from work and my daughter (home for spring break) wants to go eat at Fuzzy's tonight.  Looks like the weather is finally beginning to warm up a bit.  I have had it with 30 degree mornings.

Grasslands Half Marathon 3.23.13

This is going to be a good one.  I don't think I have ever been through anything quite like this.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/287936094

Pre-Race:
I woke up at about 4:30 and took a shower.  I tried to find some information on the weather on TV.  There wasn't any local news on yet so I switched to the internet.  The race is in Decatur and there was a heavy storm cell heading that direction.  The weather service issued a warning when I was on the way out the door.  I had everything packed and gave myself several options depending on the weather.  I had a light rain jacket, tights, shorts, arm warmers, shirts for layers, you name it.  I met Joe and the Matrix in Flower Mound and we headed out at 6am.  In the dark, you couldn't see anything but there were some lightning flashes to the west.  When we were on 380, not too far from Decatur, the rain started.  Light at first and the closer to the race site we got, the heavier it came down.  I think we arrived at about 7:30.  I put my rain jacket on and went to pick up my packet.  I was number 418.  It was raining pretty hard and all three of us could not figure out what to wear.  Rich is a minimalist and always goes light.  I was going to wear the rain jacket but Rich checked the radar on his phone and it looked like the worst had passed.  I decided or was convinced to not wear the rain jacked and I opted for a warmer shell for running and my gloves.  We went back to the start area and awaited the beginning of the race.

Race:
As it got closer to 8:30, everyone began to gather around the start line.  We were to follow the blue route.  Yes, the blue route.  Many of the routes merge together in areas and this can become confusing.  We positioned ourselved close to the front of the group.  There were 300 signed up but I don't know how many were actually there.  When they turned us loose, we took off on the blue route.  At about a mile in, we were so tightly grouped I wondered what would happen if the leaders took a wrong turn.  I was about to find out.  There was a fork that was not marked at all.  The leaders took off down the orange trail.  Probably 3 or 4 tenths of a mile in, everyone started yelling about going the wrong way.  Everyone reversed course and started heading back.  For some reason, another person declared that we were on the right course and a bunch of us started heading back in the wrong direction again.  Rich was with me and we were with the group going the wrong way again.  A women running with us stopped and was going to bring the route up on her phone but she couldn't get a signal.  We decided that we were in fact going the wrong way and returned to the fork in the trail.  We sent two scouts down two separate trails.  Rich spotted a blue marker and away we went.  I went from running with the leaders to dead last.  I mean dead last.  We had wasted at least a mile in distance parlayed with a lot of standing around trying to figure out what to do.  I looked at Rich and told him we were screwed.  One of the guys running with me asked if we would ever catch anyone.  I didn't know.  The only thing you could do is run.  It was so early on that it was a little bit funny and maddening at the same time.  I really wanted to go 2 hours or 2 hours 10 minutes, somewhere in that range.  That goal just went out the window in the first 10 minutes.  My first few miles were very fast, probably 7:55 range.  It was at least a mile before I passed my first runner.  They started coming back to me pretty fast for awhile.  I was going to count but couldn't keep that kind of focus.  Rich left me after about a mile or so and powered on.  I couldn't stay with him.  At mile 3 or 4, I started running with an Asian guy wearing those Vibram toe shoes.  He was a nice guy but I couldn't understand a single word coming out of his mouth.  I left him behind but he always seemed to come back to me.  At around mile 6, I think the first aid station came up.  I blew through the aid station.  I had my fuel belt with Accelerade and water.  I also was loaded with gel so I had no intention of stopping anywhere.  Passed quite a few people at that first aid station.  Around mile 7 or 8, there was a flash in the sky and tremendous clap of thunder.  The kind that makes you jump and want to hit the ground.  Oh no, this can't be good.  It wasn't good.  HAIL!  Probably a little bigger than pea sized hail.  Are you kidding me?  Seemed like the hail went on for about 5-10 minutes.  It was also raining.  It wasn't raining too bad during the hail, but as soon as the hail stopped the rain started coming down hard.  I don't have trail shoes.  I run in road shoes.  Problem with this is the bottoms are slick and not optimal for navigating mud.  I was sliding around everywhere.  Any hill, up or down, was an adventure.  Hell, just running period was an adventure.  I think I was at mile 10 when a guy between me and a girl ahead of him had his feet go completely out and hit hard.  We stopped to make sure he was ok and helped him up.  He got going again and stayed pretty close to me for awhile.  When the second aid station came, they both stopped and I kept going.  Didn't see them again.  I started passing people in clumps.  The footing was so bad, many people had to walk many sections of the trail.  I was pissed at myself for letting Rich talk me out of my rain jacket.  I hit a dead spot with no one behind me or in front of me.  A little voice in my head tried to make me give in and say the hell with this but I didn't let it win.  My pace wasn't great at this point.  Due to the bad footing, I was probably cranking out high 9 minute miles.  All of the sudden after the aid station, my Asian buddy made an appearance and passed me.  I used him as a pacer for a few miles and we passed quite a few people.  We were coming up to a hill and there were some buildings in the background that looked like tents.  He thought we were done and yelled something undeterminable and took off like a shot.  Bad move on his part.  We were still 2-3 miles out.  I passed him going over the hill and never saw him again.  There is a dam you cross on the way into the parking area before heading out into the woods again.  I passed a guy with an Ironman tattoo on his calf.  Funny thing is, all 3 of remember where we were when we passed that guy.  It was like a badge of honor blowing by the guy with the Ironman tattoo.  At this point, I thought I was close but no.  We went up this hill.  It was leg crushing and crossed the road back into the woods.  I looked at my watch and I was at 12 something miles in.  I wanted to mentally mark the 13.1 mile mark when I passed it.  After crossing the road, I hit the 13.1 mile mark and my watch was 2 hours 4 minutes and change.  I was very happy with this.  The conditions were horrible and I was still able to knock out a near sub 2 hour half marathon.  Very satisfying.  I had no idea how far it would be to the finish.  I figured about a mile at least.  The trail through the woods was a lot of up and down and I passed 3 or 4 groups of runners.  It was single track with not much room to manuever, so I really had to dig in to get by them when I had a chance.  I finally emerged from the woods and recognized the parking lot.  The rain started again, of course.  I sprinted in to the finish with whatever I had left and passed a few more guys.  My watch said 2 hours 16 minutes and 12 seconds.  My actual time was 2 hours and 19 minutes.  My autopause must have come on during the wrong way adventure and helping the guy that fell down.  I covered 14.34 miles.  A little over 1.2 miles more than official half marathon distance.  I would have broken my 2 hour 10 minute goal, if I could have stayed on the course.  I was thoroughly soaked, cold, and beat to hell.

Post Race:
Rich came in 12 minutes ahead of me and finished 9th in the masters division.  Remarkable, considering where we had to come from.  Joe finished a couple minutes ahead of me.  I haven't seen the result yet on line but was able to see them at the finish line.  From memory, I was 79th overall, 26th in the masters division and they told me something else but I don't remember.  I grabbed a beer and we headed to Joe's car to get into some dry clothes.  We pretty much stripped down right there next to the car.  I didn't really care if anyone had to see me standing there naked changing clothes.  I wanted what I had on, off.  After we had dry clothes on, we bagged up the wet stuff and headed out.  There was a Denny's on the way in off of 35W and we stopped there to eat.  I was really cold to the core until we ate.  I felt much better after some food was in my system.  This was quite an adventure.  Probably one of the worst and best races ever.  It sucked when I was in the middle of that race but looking back it was a hell of alot of fun.  I never gave in and finished with a decent time.  Cool!

3.22.13 Day before Grasslands

I got a very light run in this morning, a little over a mile.  Basically, warming up and thats about it.  My left knee feels a little tight tonight but I am due for my monthly arthritis shot and I got that done an hour or so ago.  Hopefully, I will feel good in the morning.  I had a steak and sweet potato tonight.  I decided to go with the same dinner I had before Ironman Austin.  The Matrix, Joe and me will be leaving from Joe's house at 6:00am in the morning for the race.  Hopefully, I will be able to get some sleep tonight.  The weather is very dicey for this race.  It's going to be in the 40s with a strong chance of rain.  Really confusing as to what to wear.  If it rains, that will confuse things a bit.  I have a light vented rain jacket that will do but I don't want too much stuff with me.  I loaded up my fuel belt with two bottles of water and two bottles of Accelerade.  I don't plan on stopping anywhere.  I have a variety of GU and Honey Stinger gels as well.  I should be completely self sufficient.  Only question now is how fast can I go?  I will try to maintain a fairly consistent pace through the first half and then play it by ear from there.  Should be fun with the trail crew in tact.  Hammer was supposed to go with us but he had surgery on his foot and is out for this one.  We'll miss him tomorrow.

3.21.13 Taper Run

For some reason last night I developed some pain under my left heel.  I decided to hold off on my taper run until the evening hoping it would feel a little better.  It didn't feel much better and neither did I as a whole.  I usually work out in the morning and maybe the evening workout isn't agreeable with my body.  Mentally I was a little checked out and couldn't really find a rhythm until midway through my second mile.  I guess my mind is at the Grasslands race already and my mental energy for my workouts was just lacking today.  My heel didn't bother me much after I got going so I'm not overly concerned about that.  I did pull a back muscle as well last night and that hurt some today but nothing too terrible.  Getting old is a bitch I guess.  My time for low key 3 mile run wasn't bad.  The last two were in the 8:30 range and I wasn't pushing the pace at all.  Two days to go until the race.  Should be fun because the Matrix and Joe are running with me on Saturday.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/287241873

3.20.13

Today is a double day for workouts.  I woke up this morning and headed to the pool.  2300 yards this morning.  I didn't print my swims this week so I pulled one from the previous week.  I used one with alot of speed work.  I'm still a little tired but I felt really good today in the water.  I haven't had a chance to swim in at least 10 days with the exception of the race on Saturday.  This evening I rode the bike for almost 70 minutes.  It was good to get out on the road during the week instead of being stuck on the trainer.  I will be tapering down for the next two days.  The Grasslands Half is on Saturday and I'm looking forward to that race.  I have never done a trail race so this will be something new.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286929905

3.19.13 Run

After the race, I was supposed to swim yesterday.  I ended up working late and didn't get home in time to get to the pool.  I slept in yesterday.  I was exhausted after the road trip and the race.  Today, my plan was a 6 mile run.  I wasn't to push the pace much.  Just a steady consistent run.  I ran about 6.3 miles and finished in around 53 minutes.  From memory, I averaged aroun 8:50 miles and felt really good.  I got stronger as the run went along.  The Grasslands Half Marathon is on Saturday and Jeff wanted me to work in a longer run today and taper off a little throughout the week.  This won't be a very taxing week from a workout perspective.  I am interested to see how the trail race goes on Saturday.  I'm not sure what to expect for a finish time.  It would be great to go under 2 hours but probably 2:10:00-2:15:00 is more realistic.  We'll see.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286556496

3.17.13 Mean Green Triathlon

After a very long day on Saturday, I woke up at 5:15am for the race.  I ate a Honey Stinger protein bar and drank some water.  After getting everything together, I left the house around 6am.  The race was at 8am and transition was going to close at 7:45am so I had plenty of time.  Jeff suggested I ride the bike for 10 minutes and run for a couple of minutes to warm up.  I was able to get my warm up in and check all of my stuff into transition.  I went to the pool and swam a hundred meters as a warm up as well before the race starts.  Jack runs a very structured race so there is no line jumping.  However, lots of people severely fudge their swim time.  I put 7:30 as my 400m swim time.  All of the lanes with the exception of the first and last were down and back in the same lane.  Passing was in the middle.  Interesting, because if anyone falls out of line there will be a collision.  I bonked heads with some guy and locked arms with another guy swimming the other direction.  I had someone try to pass me on the inside which sucked.  He was the only person to pass me in the water.  I probably passed 3-4 people.  I thought my effort was really consistent.  However, it was hard to know pacing considering the confusion in the water.  My swim time by my watch was 7:26 which was 4 seconds faster than I anticipated so I was happy.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/285563088

My transition to the bike was 1:08 by my watch.  No problems in transition and I was happy with the time.

The wind was blowing from the south and the course was out and back.  We were going north with the wind heading out and south against the wind coming back.  It was probably blowing 10-15mph.  I held my aero position really well throughout the ride.  I was flying on the way out but knew it would be tough coming home.  I could tell at the turnaround I was slightly behind where I needed to be so that was a little discouraging.  I stayed with it and tried to finish strong.  I drank one bottle of Accelerade and took two honey stinger gels on the bike.  I stepped out of my shoes once I was close to the Nat.  I had a pretty clean dismount and ran to my rack spot.  I was definitely hoping for sub 40 minutes on the bike.  Unfortunately, I was 40:47 by my watch.  I was a little bummed for my time but I knew my run should be really good.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/285563107

My transition to the run was :47 which was really fast.  I had a girl next to me blocking me from racking my bike but it didn't cost me too much time.  Very happy with this transition.

The run started well.  The wind blowing in my face on the way out to the turnaround and at my back on the return.  It was a two lap course.  I took it a little easy on the first mile and knocked out a 8:05 mile.  I wanted all of them to be sub 8 but that was ok.  I took some water at the first stop and never took another drink the rest of the way.  It was 3.1 miles so who needed it at that point.  I had plenty of nutrition on the bike.  The second mile was a disappointing 8:10.  At that point, I picked up the pace and ran hard for the rest of the run.  My 3rd mile was a 7:28 mile and I was running with a college kid and we were trying to keep each other going.  I probably could have run harder on the second mile but I can't change the past.  My run finished in 24:07 by my watch.  I was pretty happy with the result.  My finish time was 1:14:15.  I figured 1:10:00 would win the age group but I really wanted to place.  I have never done that before.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/285563125

I watched the results come in and thought I finished second but there was a late arrival who bumped me to third.  I placed which was a nice accomplishment for me.  I was hoping to win but I don't know what I could have done to trim off 4 minutes.  That is a significant amount of time.  I was tired after a full week of driving across the country.  Perhaps that hurt me on the bike.  All in all, a good result and I'll take it.

3.17.13 Pre-Mean Green Sprint

I have been out of town since March 8.  My wife and I went to Chicago to see our daughter compete at Osh Kosh, Wisconsin at her college regional championships.  I swam on Friday morning but did not have time for anything on Saturday or Sunday.

We had a great time but upon return on Sunday, I immediately had to get in my truck and head out for a week long road trip with my son to visit colleges.  Our first stop was Ole Miss so we headed out as fast as possible.  When we got to Ole Miss it was late.  My plan called for about 7 miles on Monday morning.  It was cold in Oxford and I took off running towards the campus.  When I got to campus, I had to make two trips around the campus and then ran back to the hotel.  I think the total distance was about 6.5 miles.

On Tuesday, we went to Vanderbilt in Nashville.  After the campus tour, we drove to Charlotte, NC.  In the foothills of the Smokey Mountains, I pulled over and rode the bike for 90 minutes.  Very cool to be out in the Tennessee country riding the bike.

On Wednesday, we were staying in Charlotte, NC.  After a full day at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, we drove back to Charlotte and I ran a little over 4 miles.

Thursday morning I rode the back for a little over an hour in North Carolina.  We had an appointment at Clemson in the afternoon so I rode early.  It was an easy ride and I wasn't real interested in pushing the pace.

Thursday night we arrived in Tuscaloosa, AL.  I went to school at the University of Alabama so I was very excited about this stop.  On Friday morning, Jeff had me running an easy 2 mile run.  I ran to campus and back from the hotel early in the morning.  Saturday was to be a rest day so it was good to get all of the work in despite the schedule we were working under.

Sunday is the Mean Green Triathlon in Denton.  I made it to Dallas in time to pick up my packet in Denton before 5pm on Saturday and I was ready to roll for Sunday.

3.7.13 Tempo Run

Weather looked much better this evening again today so I chose to run tonight.  Jeff gave me a pretty tough run tonight considering all the work I have put in over the past week.  The plan was 2 warm up miles, 2x (1 mile at 8:20-8:30 and 1 mile at 7:40-7:50), and 2 cool down miles.  My legs just couldn't really get going tonight and the results were mixed.  The tempo miles were 8:30, 8:01, 8:11, and 8:07.  I couldn't muster the speed to get into the 7s but some of my miles were faster than plan.  My legs were pretty tired so I don't think there is much need on dwelling on it.  I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow and will not get a workout in over the weekend.  My daughter's gymnastic team at college is in the Regional Championships on Saturday in Wisconsin and my wife and I are going to see the Blue Man Group tomorrow night.  Should be fun.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/281624763

3.6.13

This morning was a swim workout at the CARC.  2300 yards with alot of speed work in it.  I felt a little sluggish to start but it quickly faded and I had a good strong swim today.  After the run last night, I took a potassium pill and a Shark Salt to make sure I didn't cramp in the pool.  I was in a rush this afternoon after work.  I had to get my bike inspected in case I decide to do the Mean Green on March 17.  After I got home, I pulled out the trainer for an hour ride.  An hour is about all I can really take on that thing without going insane.  I followed Jeff's plan.  I have to admit that the plan he puts together is easier to follow on the trainer than it is out on the roads.  Since you don't have hills or wind to deal with, it's easier to maintain consistent hard efforts and recovery.  Tomorrow will be a tough run in the morning and things ease up a bit the rest of the week.

3.5.13 Track Workout

More speed work today.  It was kind of cold this morning but the winds were like 25mph.  I decided to wait until tonight to run again.  At some point the weather will turn for the better but it seems like the interminable winter will never end.  Tonight's plan from Jeff was a warm up mile, 4 1600s at 7:40-7:50 pace with 400 recoveries in between, and a cool down mile.  Jeff is putting the screws to me the rest of the week as I will be out of town for the weekend and will not be working out.  My 1600s were good tonight as my pace was 7:49, 7:37, 7:37, and 7:46.  The last one was a bit of a struggle but I made it ok.  The wind was still pretty strong tonight but the temps were better than the morning.  My hamstrings are still a little tender after the speed work.  I cramped a little on my cool down mile.  I need to be more cognizant of my water intake during the day and probably should get on my Shark salt and potassium pills.  I didn't work out yesterday.  I had a business meeting at the Travis County Sheriffs Department and had to drive to Austin and back yesterday.  Left early and got home late so I skipped out yesterday.

3.3.13 Trail Run

Long run day today.  I met Joe and the Matrix at Joe's house at 8:30 this morning.  We ran the full trail from the Twin Coves trail head to the other end at Rockledge.  Joe's wife was nice enough to pick us up there and drive us back to Joe's house.  I was looking for 130 minutes today.  Around 12 miles should do it at Northshore.  I have never run the entire stretch at one time so this was a nice change of pace.  The second half of the trail is much more forgiving than the first six miles.  It is smoother and faster.  Unfortunately, I forgot to us my body glide this morning and have some chaffing issues at mile 5.  I ended up taking my shirt off and putting it in my running tights to save the day.  Good thing I had two layers on this morning.  The first six miles were a little slow as the terrain is much more difficult.  We were around 11 minute miles.  After mile 6, Rich pushed the pace a little bit and we were doing less than 10 minute miles for a few miles.  We ended up averaging around 10:30 miles for the entire run which is really good for that trail.  It is really tough.  Altogether, we covered 12.13 miles 2:09:47.  13 seconds shy of the target time Jeff gave me.  I felt pretty good today.  Grasslands is on March 23 and I hope to get all of my work in for the next few weeks.  We have some trips planned so it is going to be harder than it would be if I were at home.  Good run today.  I am hoping for a time somewhere in the 2:00:00 to 2:10:00 for the Grasslands Half.  The terrain is supposed to be much faster.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/279939910

3.2.13 Bike Trainer

Grasslands is about three weeks out and things are about to get interesting with my training.  I am going to have to get creative starting next Friday.  I will be on the road for about a week and am going to try to work in bike rides and runs while I am on the road.  Hopefully, it will all work out.  This morning I woke up to 32 degrees outside with wind chill in the low 20s.  I tried to hold out for the warmer temps this afternoon but we had a lot to do today and I had to get moving.  I opted for the trainer today.  I think about 4 hours were in order but I made 3 hours and 15 minutes before I cried Uncle on the trainer.  It just isn't comfortable to drone on endlessly on the trainer.  Hopefully, the cold weather is about done.  March should be the turning point for the warmer temperatures.  Trail run tomorrow and it will be good to get back outside tomorrow.