Adventures In Running

Now that the introductions are over let’s talk about getting through the winter. So far most of us have enjoyed unseasonably high temperatures until now. It is time to toughen up and continue to run outside. Even if you use a treadmill during the really cold days, try to make it a point to get outside for at least three miles, twice a week. I made the mistake of getting on a treadmill all winter in the beginning of my running life and when spring finally came I could not figure out why the street stopped moving on it’s own under my feet. Let’s face it, the treadmill is like methadone for running addicts. It might get us through but ultimately we want and need our running fix outside.

If you’re anything like me you tend to backslide during the holidays. Yep, I put on 12 pounds as I do every year and now it’s time to lose it or face being the proverbial toilet paper of the racing community, “bringing up the rear”. So far I have taken six of them off but the other six seem to have set up shop around my waist and love show themselves off when my sweat soaked shirt is clinging to my midsection. Time for me and all of you out there to get a better grip on our diet. My best weight loss comes from eating a raw vegetable diet, plenty of fruit and cutting out as much fat and carbs as possible. By the end of February I should be the sleek, speedy Adonis that I was in August. This is possible for ALL of us with some discipline. When I see sweets, I see poison for runners. When I see breads, I picture my race times looking more like someone’s zipcode than a finishing time. After a while unhealthy food is something you don’t even want anymore.

Lastly I want to address one thing that bugs me all year but even more often in the winter. When I am running on a sidewalk or on a trail I inevitably come across people who are all bundled up and out for a walk. Sometimes with a dog and sometimes with a spouse. Let me be clear, I am an overly friendly runner and will give the casual wave to someone I am passing. So I ask myself how do these people seem to find a way to take up the entire trail and look at you with the blankest of stares as if they can’t figure out why someone would want to run without being chased by someone or something. It can be the oldest, skinniest of grandmothers out there and somehow she will suddenly expand to block my path in an instant and then look at me with a hollow look the likes of which I have not seen anywhere but a zombie movie. Really, there is something wrong with these people that don’t run.

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