Wow, what a run!

I ran for two hours on the Jordan River Parkway, and had a great run. South Jordan City and Riverton City had the snow cleared from the path, except for a couple of access points. On the way out, I ran at the comfortable pace I used yesterday, and on the way back I ran slightly faster. It was on the way back that I experienced the feeling of cruising down a highway as if I could drive forever. I don't get that feeling often as I run, and it is a cool feeling. My energy level was higher than it has been lately, due in part to my getting 8 hours sleep the past couple of nights. My wakeup HR was a bit high (51) this morning, but I still felt great.

As I was finishing the first half and was nearing my turn-around point, I started feeling cold, indicating my body wasn't generating enough heat to keep me warm and propel me down the path. Twenty-four years ago while running marathons, I learned that I would start getting cold after an hour, and that was my experience today. At my turn-around point, I stopped and swallowed an e-Gel pack. I didn't feel cold any more as I continued my run. I ran 9 miles and probably burned about 1000 calories due to the distance and the cold temperature. The e-Gel gave me 150 calories, so I burned a net of about 850 calories during the run. I've been eating more food, via grazing during the day, so I think (hope) I had enough food before I left for the run.

I ran in the late afternoon, and it was just getting dark when I finished. I was glad to finish before it got really dark, because there were patches of ice on the path from melting snow, and I was able to see the ice and skirt around it. The temperature when I left home was 27 (F) and 18(F) when I returned.