Holy mother of Wow is it cold outside!

After the second or third pair of pants didn't fit quite how I expected, I decided it was time to get back on the horse (so to speak) pick a new marathon and start training. (I have some very crazy awesome friends who think I'm going to be ready for the frozen half. They're out of their minds but that leaves me free to cheer instead.) After determining the social work trip that would've totally screwed up marathon training was moved to spring 2011, I picked the Twin Cities Marathon as my next race. What else was I going to pick?

Sunday night after the best 5k in town (where it was only slightly warmer than today), I sat down and mapped out my next marathon training plan. I did this last year too so I knew how far I had to run each week and how far my long runs needed to be each week as well. I like the schedule I found because it's a 40 week program, the 20 week marathon training plan and the 20 week "you have to be able to do this before you even start training for a marathon" plan.

Also, I noted to Amanda that the last two races I've run (the 5k and the marathon) have been at, um, a biologically inconvenient (read: painful) time. I learned, there's an app for that. Which I installed onto my iPod. Seriously, that's one way I know the next marathon can be more pleasant. The app actually proved helpful right away in scheduling step back weeks on the training plan and for picking which spring races to run. Minneapolis Marathon here I come. I will be running the half just like last year.

In honor of the training program, I ran today. Outside. For 4 miles. Wow! It's cold. I gave the yaktrax their first workout of the season. I was glad I had them in a few spots where the wind comes off the lake and blows snow all over the path. I probably could've made it without them. There were a few places where I wished I didn't have them on too. I ran an out and back path around Lake Nokomis. When I got back to my car after running I first noted that my Dreidel Dash hat was covered in frost and my balaclava had literally turned to ice and was frozen in one position. I had icicles in my hair too. When I got in my car I thought "oh, my legs have also turned to blocks of ice" but they thawed quickly. I celebrated by going to the YWCA and sitting in the hot tub.

I'm trying to remember what training in the cold was like last year. I remember a lot of early mornings in the cold. What was I thinking? I think I did that because the YWCA is the least pleasant place on earth in January. (When I want to know how many people make new year resolutions about getting in shape I go to the gym in January. Anyone I don't recognize is guilty.)