Ideal temperature

50-55* 

That's it -- and I'd say closer to that 50* mark. 

I've run a lot of miles this week.  My legs should feel workd.  As the weekend approached, the temps dropped.  I ran 15 yesterday morning, and followed that with 10 miles today.  Both runs felt great.  Low temps, solid running. 

It's amazing just how drastically warmer temps and humidity kill my running, and how much better I feel in temps in the low 50's. 

I read somewhere that 55* is the ideal temp for cold therapy after physical activity.  In other words, directly applying ice can be too cold -- it stops the blood flow to the area, which is why you limit it to 20 minutes.  You then take anti-inflamatories to prevent swelling when the blood flow returns.  On the flip side, we don't use heat therapy to help recover from activity.  Apparently, 55* is the ideal temp -- it's cool enough to decrease the blood flow to the area while still allowing the flow of the capillaries -- thereby reducing the possibility of swelling. 

Scientific, yes.  How accurate is that?  I'm not sure.  But what I do know is that my muscles, my legs, my body run better in cool temps -- and that 50* mark seems like the best one for me.  Yesterday and today were strong arguments for that. 

Now if I could just get an ideal temperature day for my goal, distance races!