spring is coming ~ back to running!

Last weekend had a freakout moment when I realized the Shamrock Shuffle was just 2 weeks away. Oops. Hadn’t done serious running (ie, more than 2 miles) for quite awhile, but luckily the weather was great on Saturday (great as in 40 degrees and sunny) so I attempted a 4 mile run. It was hard! Ugh. I was hoping that the spinning classes I’ve been taking would keep me in decent shape, but I guess it’s not a substitute to actual running in terms of preparing for a 5 mile race. I know I can get through 5 miles, but my time may not be what I’d hoped for. Lesson: pay attention to race dates, and start training at least a month ahead!

I guess I really just am not great at running in the wintertime. Treadmill running is so boring to me, and running through cold weather and messy, snowy sidewalks is just so unappealing that I will take any excuse not to run. But going for that outdoor run on Saturday did remind me how much I liked running last summer during the half-marathon training, so I am looking forward to getting back into it, whenever the weather improves a bit more. Hard to say when that will be: March in Chicago is one of the most unpredictable months in terms of weather. It’s an emotional rollercoaster of warm sunny days ~ “it’s SPRING!!” ~ and bouts of gray, windy snow ~ “winter is never going to end!”. Because of this, I tend to be pessimistic and eliminate any expectations of good weather until at least April. But, there are some undeniable signs of spring ~ being warm enough to run outside, snow melting, longer days – it’s now light when I wake up, and light when I get home from work! And even more promising: today there’s a high of 58°F!! And the clocks change this weekend, which means it will be light out until 7! Cannot wait for some serious spring with growing things and warmer weather. In the meantime, I've got this race to force me back into some consistent running, regardless of what the weather is doing. I hope that the snow stays away at least for race day!