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.