Fries

We just made an unusual track for late night grub. Sometimes you just have grab fries after 10.

Sometimes

Day Off

I had a friend back in college that was balancing quite a few jobs to get through a tougher time. After several weeks of straight work he finally had a day off from all his jobs. He woke up at 1:30am and ground some coffee. By the by we were roommates at the time. When I an our other roommate inquired what the hell he was doing, he said he was going to get the most out of this day off and didn't want to sleep through any of it. That response has always made me smile and oddly I've thought about that often since. Today I decided to follow in my friend's distant foot steps and hopped in my running shoes right away this morning. I've got a full dance card for my day off but am pretty excited to pack in as much as I can. It's no 1:30am start, but I'm happy with it.

Monday Is Ok?

It would seem Monday's have the worst rep of all the days. They are dreaded and despised, even on Tuesday's. Well, I am experiencing a different facet of Monday this morning. It is a new week, but with that I have new opportunities to get some things achieved. To me the clean slate is a good thing and I am enjoying it thus far. Maybe Monday's have some redemption qualities that are overlooked?

Blizzard Run

So all the alerts said it may be blizzard conditions. I was resigned to the grim idea of doing my 14 mile run on our treadmill. When I woke up and looked outside, there was indeed a lot of snow, but it seemed to be gently falling. The temperature wasn't too bad either. I decided to go for it. It was a new route that mirrored some of the marathon course. The downside was that it was a mostly off roads. Turns out, it was colder than I thought and the wind caught up a little bit out the gate. As an additional perk, I had epic gear fail. The worst part was my head gear and gloves completely froze. We are talking near solid. Even with all these obstacles I am so glad I went out there and did it. Sure I spent a couple breaks in a port-a-potty outside Sports Authority Field and an REI just to warm up, but that's ok. By the end, the euphoria of just getting out there was in full effect.

Snow View

They say a storm is approaching tonight. There are warnings of blizzard conditions tomorrow. It's been an up and down week and personally I hope the predictions are true. When nature unleashes her power, it tends to add healthy perspective all around. With snow, it also just seems to make the whole world outside cleaner. It reminds me of how we have this chance to be a part of something bigger than us. With a view that embarrassingly falls short of my own troubles, I appreciate the reminder.

Caution and Ambition

There must be a peculiar twist to my brain when it comes to limitations or at times just common sense. After yesterday's near debacle of running in my barefoot shoes in snow and way too cold conditions, my speed workout today was looking grim. Especially after one of my toes decided to let me know how much it disliked the yesterday's workout last night by inducing a limp for an hour. The twist came when I got out there today. It is icy and snowy and just not conducive to speed work at all. I hadn't committed nor ruled it out though as I was running easy to the park. Then as soon as I got to my start point,I took off. The trail wasn't too icy, but worn and uneven snow made it much tougher. Despite constantly telling myself I could opt out at anytime without shame under the conditions, I made my two laps at tempo speed. For me, that looks close to 2 minutes shy of my regular speed.

The question lingers though, why? I am all for leaning in and going for it, but at what point is that just foolish inertia? Last night's limp concerned me and reminded me all too quickly, my goal for May's marathon may be dashed instantly if I irk my ITB or screw up a toe (again). The creed of go for it has served me well, but caution has become an equally valued training partner. Go for it doesn't work if I break the system.