So, I lied…

No posting about running last night. I got wrapped around the axle trying to keep my Windows VM up and running. Stupid windows.

But running has been very, very good to me.

I’m back on a mas o menos “Run less, run faster” (henceforth referred to as RLRF) schedule – rest Monday, track work on Tuesday, Cross-train Wednesday, tempo run Thursday, Cross-train Friday, long run Saturday, and rest, easy run or cross-train on Sunday. I like it, in that the three runs each have foci – try to puke on Tuesday, try to finish exhausted on Thursday, and cruise on Saturday.

And I’m pumped about the idea of blogging about running again. Open Source’s intervew with Jonah Lehrer struck some deep cord with me – Cezanne painting the same mountain over and over again, learning about the way he perceived the mountain along the way. Running may be my mountain, and this blog may be my little attempt to push us closer to Truth. (This is where my wife rolls her eyes)

Last Thursday’s tempo run was out-freakin’-standing. I left the office around noon, and just RAN. Snow had started to fall; there was about a half-inch on the ground, and there was a steady wind coming across the Bay from the north. I was sore from Tuesday’s abortive track workout, and sorely tempted to blow off the run in the snow, but I’ve come to recognize some cold hard truth:

  1. I’m right up against 16 weeks until the OKC Marathon
  2. My wife’s wicked skinny, and is planning to run the Vermont Marathon in May. So, I’ve got one shot at getting the family title back, and then she’s got it pushed under 4 hours.

So, I laced ’em up, and headed out the door into winter.

And the run was good. There’s something soothing about running in the snow. I was on the trail that circumnavigates the base, padding down the soft stuff, and watching the drivers hunched over the wheel in the universal “Oh, crap, I hope I don’t slip” pose. I passed one other runner, doing the loop in the opposite direction from me, with his face and hair coated with ice, just like mine.

About mile 4, I broke down and walked for a little bit. Interestingly enough, as soon as I stopped, the snow started melting off of my fleece and face. I was digging on it.

But the run was great. Winter ain’t gonna phase me, no siree bob.