Had a pretty hard run yesterday due to the quickly shifting elements here in Oklahoma. It was just under 60 degrees at 2 and when the group started running around 3 it had already dropped below 50. The gusting winds of over 35 mph were what really made it bad though. Many of us were only in shirts and shorts which we would pay the price for as the run pressed on and the temps continued to drop. The wind was seemingly in our face for the first 45 minutes, which made the effort feel substantially more difficult than I was hoping for and the cold cut into our bodies even deeper. My hands lost all color, my speech became slurred as my jaw no longer moved freely, and yet the legs kept carrying me forward. Every few minutes someone would curse the run as we all just wanted it to end. We were fortunate to have a brief five minute break from the wind in a wooded area of Oklahoma's rural dirt roads only to have another fifteen minute push back towards the town of Stillwater for some relief. We finished the run, 13 miles in 1:25 and all quickly ran inside to warm up. A pretty solid day for the conditions.
This was one of those runs that pushes you both mentally and physically but in the end reminds you of why you love to do it. It's hard, but you will make it. You form a bond with those around you as you share in the suffering. In the end, you end up running better than you anticipated and you feel good about what you've just done.
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