One of the hardest things to do is to wake up on a frigid winter morning, warm and snuggly in your covers, and put on your running gear and go out and do your run in the freezing temps. I think it's worth it though, because it's soooo much easier to run in the cold than in the heat. In the summer it's so easy to throw on a tank and shorts, tie up your shoes, and hit the path, but in the July heat, after only a few minutes it becomes nearly impossible to breathe and you end up as just a big puddle of sweat by the end. Boston was unusually hot this summer, which was part of the reason I was never able to get up to the double digits in miles on my runs....that and I was just too lazy and my work schedule made it so it was still too hot to run when I got home, and I didn't like having to wait until seven or eight for the temps to drop.
I've been training for a half marathon since November-- the run isn't until February 24th so I actually started training quite early and after today's run, I'm super ahead of the training schedule which is super exciting. But I had the desire to blog because I just had my best run since before the marathon last April. I woke up this morning, luckily to no rain, but to 0 degrees (been trying to adapt to Celsius) and took an unnecessary amount of time to get all my under armor gear on. Stretched up a bit and started my run and that's the funny thing about running--and those of you who run will know what I'm talking about--you can never predict when you'll have a great run. I've had some of my best runs the day after a night out when I woke up with a hangover or sometimes when I've barely eaten anything. I didn't have high hopes for today, considering I was supposed to log nine, and the package my mom sent over a month ago with my distance shoes in it STILL hasn't arrived and my current shoes are killing my feet...But I didn't run into any problems (haha, it's like a pun....run into any problems...get it? Cause I was running......)
Anyways, this blog isn't even gonna mean much to anyone unless you're a runner and you've had a long run where it hit five miles and you were still feeling great...hit eight miles and still feeling on top of the world...hit ten...and you're thinking of all the opportunities ahead of you and all the runs you're gonna do. It's hard to explain, but it's a feeling of euphoria mixed with endorphins that may be the best feeling in the world. I didn't hit the wall until just after ten and thought about trugging through another three or so but was in sooooo much pain. So I stopped when my playlist ended and OMG COULD NOT MOVE MY LEGS WERE SO STIFF. And the freezing temps hit me like jumping into a frozen lake.
Despite all this pain though, it was such an amazing feeling and made me remember why I love to run. Also made me think back to the Metabolic Effect class Mollie and I would go to-- a short thirty minute intensive workout with Ken, who was wicked scary and yelled at us and sometimes he would yell "NO PAIN! NO GAIN!" It actually worked though- thinking of that truth...combined with our fear of him coming over to yell at us made us work super hard through the entire class. And as I hobble around my apartment, barely able to move my joints, I gotta remember that.
That's how I feel now. I'm already super healthy and in-shape, but I do still tend to drink like a college student, so for the next few months, or maybe even for the rest of my time in Germany, I want to get super healthy and in even better shape, because there will be no other point in my life when I have this much time to do so. It's true I don't have as many resources here as I do at home, like a gym where I can go to spinning classes, cross-train, do weights, and run on the treadmill if it's raining (whereas here, I am unfortunately a slave to the weather), but I also don't have the distractions, schoolwork, and FOMO when people go out and I want to go with them. So in the end, it evens out.
So here's to 2013! I think it's gonna be a great year for blazin' the trails!
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