Lovin' that arctic wind

I've got this great Gore-tex jacket I bought a few years ago on sale that does a fantastic job of blocking the wind on bike rides or runs. It's good enough that I don't have to really layer up underneath it, even in temperatures in the single digits. It was a great purchase and I'm glad I've got it, but if I have to wear it one more time before, say, November, I might just go a little bit crazy. I guess I didn't have to wear it on my run this morning, but I had just gotten off the trainer and sweat off probably 5 pounds and it was in the 20's outside with a windchill down around 10 I think and it just seemed to be the best option, unfortunately. So once again I was off in my thickest tights, hat, gloves and Gore-tex jacket. Unfortunately it is also like a sail when the wind is blowing right at me, which of course it almost always was in spite of the fact that I ran a loop. That's just always the way it seems to go.

So with that blast of arctic wind blowing in my face for much of my run, it wasn't the greatest workout I've had lately. It also came after quite a difficult ride with some 10-minute intervals I did at 15 watts more than I did last week. And at least needing to know the wattage forced me inside so I did not have to endure the cold and wind outdoors on the bike. I really just can't get over how cold it's been since spring arrived. And tomorrow I get to bring my parents to the airport at 4:30 in the morning so that they can go down to St. Martin and bask in the sun for 11 days. I'm only a little bit jealous, though. I'm sure I'd love the warmth, but I think I'd go crazy if I was just going to spend a week and a half lying on the beach. Throw in some surfing and hiking and then maybe we'll talk. And besides, I'm headed to California in a little over a week so I've got something to look forward to as well. Even if it does mean the coldest water I will probably swim in all season. Maybe that will make me faster... although that certainly wasn't the case the last time I raced there!

In fact, it was my second slowest half ironman swim ever, only surpassed by the first one I ever did which was without a wetsuit... or adequate swim training, for that matter, as well as having to be redirected towards the finish line by a volunteer in a kayak. It was also the most comical T1 I've ever witnessed. You've never seen triathletes move so slowly. It was unusually cold that morning on top of thr 53-degree water, so everyone was taking their sweet time putting on extra layers for the bike ride and working with numb fingers. You'd think that me, coming from New Hampshire would've been fine riding in whatever the temperature. But I took the time to put on tights, a long sleeved-jersey, a skull cap and I think I even wore gloves. Overkill? Yes. But I was so sick of being freezing cold while riding my bike! Let's just hope that this year it is not like that!