Wednesday, November 16, 2005

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION

I love winter. I love winter. I love winter. Maybe if I repeat it enough, I’ll believe it. No, actually I do love winter. I just wish we could ease into it a little more. Or as Daws would say, “make smooth transitions.” Yesterday morning it was 37 and rainy. This morning it was 20 with 20+ mph winds (with gusts to 40+ mph) making for a wind chill of 0 degrees. We only got a dusting of snow, rather than the 4 inches they predicted. However, when you put it on top of the rain that froze over night, it makes for rough conditions. Luckily I was up early enough to avoid the rush hour traffic. Plus since I run on dirt/gravel trails, they don’t get icy like roads and sidewalks.

I made it 8 miles this morning. I wore my watch because I thought it’d be “fun” to see my splits. See if you can tell which half was into the wind; 36:44/33:03. I ran nearly 1:00 faster per mile during the second half!?!? I’ve mentioned that most of the trail I run on is blocked by trees; however there’s a stretch from 1.5 to 3 miles that is open to the North. Of course, that’s the direction the wind usually comes from. So while I was pretty miserable for the first 3 miles, the last 5 miles were great.

Under the category of “Art imitating Life” (or would it be “Life imitating Art”?); Last night I was watching The Office and in one scene Dwight is sitting at his desk on a Fitness Ball. You know, the kind you use for core exercises. I can honestly say that I’ve had thoughts of bringing my ball to work and using it as a chair while I’m at the computer. Would you think it’s weird if one of your co-workers sat on a Swiss Ball instead of a chair? Of course Dwight was bouncing up and down and annoying the hell out of Jim. The scene ended when Jim asked Dwight how much the ball costs. Dwight says $25 and then Jim proceeds to stab the ball with his scissors. In case you didn’t know, Dwight has a blog.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I love winter too--it sure beats running in the sauna that is summer here on the east coast--but we're not easing into it either. This morning it was pushing 70 degrees, but tomorrow morning it will be near freezing.

Chad said...

Brian, 70s is nice. Heck, right now freezing would be nice.

Susan, I was surprised when you said it was 28 in Dallas today. That's gotta be unusually cold for you guys in mid-November I would think.

brent said...

maybe i should just keep repeating that... i love winter! actually i don't mind winter, its winter running that i can't seem to get positive about. bleah! i love winter running though!!! (is it working?)

Rich said...

I think I'd be so out of breath repeating "I love winter" that I won't have any left to run with!

Zeke - it was in the 70's last Sunday, and Susan's right, it's downright cold today, officially freezing.

Mike said...

I almost peed I was laughing so hard at that scene. Thank god for TIVO. Sorry about the crummy weather, I won't tease you with Tucson's forecast.