Good morning!
With only 22 shopping days left till Christmas, we are clearly headed toward the official start to winter! Yesterday, DeeJ posted a great group picture from the NFLR “Winter Pacers” and it was clear to see that this large group is enjoying winter running so far. No doubt the temperature was chilling when they all congregated at 8:30, but between the heat generated by the run and the warmth of the group, they all looked comfortably happy! This group is the perfect opportunity for enjoying winter running and because they are not training for a particular event, anyone can join in at any time. Getting out in the winter is challenging mentally, so having a running group such as the “NFLR Winter Pacers,” is not only motivating, but also offers some encouraging accountability.
To the south about nearly 900 miles, Kathy and I do not have nearly the same weather challenges and in fact, we are able to enjoy some wonderful running weather. Yesterday, we ran a great event called the “Reindeer Fun Run”, that offers a choice of running a 5K or a 12K. Two years ago, we enjoyed running the 12K immensely, however this year due to our current running state, we chose to enjoy the 5K race. This is a great local event and truly captures the Christmas season atmosphere and offers a very challenging but fun rolling hills course. To say that Kathy’s running has been minimal, might be a stretch, as due to her heavy class load, she has been lucky to get one run in a week. Despite that, we tackled the hilly course and finished under 28 minutes, which pretty darn great! I really enjoyed this race and would have even had our time been plus 30 minutes.
Kathy and I have been running together for well over 20 years now, and being witness to Kathleen’s development has brought great joy to me. In those early days running 3 miles took some prodding, and now yesterday, she was able to run a 5K using mental strength to overcome conditioning AND asthma issues. Kathy is truly a runner and while she may not be running with great frequency, she has the inner confidence that she can get it done! Despite her current training state, Kathy is competing well, and I think she knows that she is quite capable of running even stronger. That too me, is the sign of a “true runner.”
Thanks for having coffee with me. Have a great week and remember the “reason for the season.”
God Bless!
Mike