Winter training is tough. We all know this. I do my best to
find the positives and keep my complaining to a minimum but sometimes Mother Nature gets the best of me. Like last week, for example. It was single digits almost every day and sub-zero with the windchill. Then on Saturday, it snowed quite a bit. Let's just say I did a little victory dance on Sunday when I'd successfully gotten through the week. But, alas, it's January. And therefore we are in this winter "situation" for a while. I'm lucky that I have friends and teammates to run with once in a while. That definitely cushions the blow. But when I'm solo, things are harder. Motivating to get out there is a feat in and of itself. Then, the run itself, particularly when conditions are bad, is also inevitably challenging. Sharks in the ocean in the summer time? Whatever. Ice on the road in winter? I am literally scared to death. Because falling. Obviously. I don't even want to take the risk. Today as I ran down Route 3 in Winchester I hopped out onto the road because the sidewalk was covered in snow and ice. Seems logical, right? And yet, still, drivers were annoyed with me because I was on the road with them. Now, I get it. Sometimes things get tight and a driver's options are limited. And I'm sure it's annoying to creep by a runner and feel like you might hit them. But more often than not I don't have a choice. I'm not going to run on ice. I'm just not. I will do my best to stay over to the side and not get in the way but I'm not putting myself at risk of falling. As I cruised along this morning I thought of things I would like people, mainly drivers, to know about the my training situation and what I'd tell them if they could hear me. Then I thought it would be funny if I got a shirts made with these statements on them and wore them throughout the winter months. Perhaps it would smooth things over or, at the very least, explain my logic for being out there on any given day. So here's what I came up with. And does anyone out there work in printing? Asking for runners everywhere.
~ The sidewalks are a shit show.
~ The bike path is not clear.
~ The track is not clear.
~ I'm training for Boston (or any spring marathon).
~ I like being outside.
~ I don't have a treadmill.
~ I loathe the treadmill.
~ I am running 20 miles & I refuse to do that on a treadmill.
~ I can't take today off.
~ Yes, I know this seems crazy.
~ Yes, I'm choosing to do this.
~ Yes, I do this for fun.
~ It's winter. Please share.
~ The situation is temporary.
~ I know.
~ I get it.
~ I don't like it either.
~ Sorry. Not sorry.
Listen to this:
