Running into the Wind

So, you are doing a tempo run on a windy day.  I did Monday.  It was hard.  In fact it was so hard I decided to turn this run into an easy run.  Why was it so hard?  I got a physics lesson that morning and today I watched a physics lecture that clarified my lesson.  The formula for air resistance is ½ A d v² (the area [that’s you] times the density of the air [heavy, wet or sea level greater than dry mountains] times the velocity squared [the sum of the wind and your speed].  

So what?   So, if you run twice as fast or the wind is twice as strong, the force of the air resistance is 4 times as powerful.  Put another way and 8:30 pace is about 7 mph and you are essentially running into a 7 mph wind, but you don’t really think about it.  This is normal on a calm day.  When you run a hard tempo at 6:40 you are going 9 mph and it is into a 5 mph wind, you are fighting 4 times the normal force of your easy run.  If you are running into a 9 mph wind it is 4 times your normal tempo resistance.  If it is really windy, say 18 mph winds, you can do the math.

Next time you find yourself fighting 20 mph winds, stop looking at your pace and focus on your effort.  Save the time trials for another day.