On the bright side
I didn't need a meteorologist to remind me of the depressing lack of sunlight my hometown has seen recently. My mind and body had taken note long ago.
Apparently, the Twin Cities had seen only two hours of sunshine -- not even two full hours, but more like two hours in which the sun made a dispiriting now-you-see-me, now-you-don't cameo appearance -- in the previous five days. Our dearth of sunshine goes back further, at least another week.
That's not to say it has been dark here, as it is nearer the North Pole. But it seems it's just constantly cloudy here. Gloomy.
This is winter. This is one of the primary reasons why I don't exactly embrace the season. Especially here.
But not all is bad. In fact, despite the disappearance of sunshine, we're enjoying an exceptionally mild January. By Minnesota standards, anyway. Temps have routinely approached and surpassed the freezing mark. Overnight lows have been in the mid-teens or higher Fahrenheit.
This weather, lack of sunlight aside, makes it hard to create excuses not to run. January comes smack in the middle of my offseason. My traditional goal for January is to run only 31 miles -- an average of a mile a day. Heck, I'm more than halfway there in the first week of the month.
It won't kill me to run more, to exceed my goal. But I'm not sure it will help me much, either. I finally feel fully recovered from a string of nagging injuries I endured last year. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize my physical comeback or my 2006 marathon training, which I have scheduled to begin in earnest in mid-to-late March.
So I run occasionally. More than I might normally would in January, but just as slow as ever. The slowness of my runs frustrates me. It's not unexpected now -- not in my offseason, not when I'm running without serious purpose, not when I'm not in peak condition, not when I'm running fully clothed, not when footing can be treacherous -- but it's frustrating nonetheless. To run my final mile at a perceived level of exertion that I would describe as moderately intense and see that I'm barely running faster than 9-minute miles is discouraging. I have so far to go.
Apparently, the Twin Cities had seen only two hours of sunshine -- not even two full hours, but more like two hours in which the sun made a dispiriting now-you-see-me, now-you-don't cameo appearance -- in the previous five days. Our dearth of sunshine goes back further, at least another week.
That's not to say it has been dark here, as it is nearer the North Pole. But it seems it's just constantly cloudy here. Gloomy.
This is winter. This is one of the primary reasons why I don't exactly embrace the season. Especially here.
But not all is bad. In fact, despite the disappearance of sunshine, we're enjoying an exceptionally mild January. By Minnesota standards, anyway. Temps have routinely approached and surpassed the freezing mark. Overnight lows have been in the mid-teens or higher Fahrenheit.
This weather, lack of sunlight aside, makes it hard to create excuses not to run. January comes smack in the middle of my offseason. My traditional goal for January is to run only 31 miles -- an average of a mile a day. Heck, I'm more than halfway there in the first week of the month.
It won't kill me to run more, to exceed my goal. But I'm not sure it will help me much, either. I finally feel fully recovered from a string of nagging injuries I endured last year. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize my physical comeback or my 2006 marathon training, which I have scheduled to begin in earnest in mid-to-late March.
So I run occasionally. More than I might normally would in January, but just as slow as ever. The slowness of my runs frustrates me. It's not unexpected now -- not in my offseason, not when I'm running without serious purpose, not when I'm not in peak condition, not when I'm running fully clothed, not when footing can be treacherous -- but it's frustrating nonetheless. To run my final mile at a perceived level of exertion that I would describe as moderately intense and see that I'm barely running faster than 9-minute miles is discouraging. I have so far to go.
posted by RTG at 7:08 AM
1 Comments:
Maybe change your music to "Here comes the sun?" I see it peeking over the horizon there in the east. Supposed to be in the 40's (I'm east of you in Eau Claire) by tomorrow, great running weather... or even biking. Have fun and enjoy it!
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