Every Day Should Be Thanksgiving

For many people, including me, Thanksgiving is a great holiday.  It’s a day to spend with family you don’t see often enough, eat A LOT of food you don’t eat often enough, relax like you don’t do often enough, and say the thanks you don’t say often enough. 

Although Thanksgiving isn’t a “religious” holiday celebrating a specific Biblical event, it is a good time to specifically thank God for all He has given us.  No matter what problems or trials we face, God has promised to provide all that we need.  The problem for many of us is that we often think we “need” much more than we really do.  So, lets be thankful every day for whatever we have.  

And lets run a little extra today as we say thanks for that great food we ate together yesterday.

Winter Running Is Cool!

19 degrees.  That was the temp this morning when I headed out the door for a run.  There’s something cool (pun intended) about running outside when it’s too cold for many people to even think about driving somewhere.   

With the proper clothes, like Under Armour Cold Gear (www.underarmour.com) and hat and gloves, winter running can be fun.  The cold air feels fresher and cleaner than hot, humid summer air so breathing is easier.  Your body doesn’t sweat as much in the winter so you don’t need to hydrate quite as often.  And you get the most interesting looks from drivers as they try to understand why anyone would be running when it’s so cold outside.

One trick to winter running is to warm-up and stretch inside so your muscles are ready to run as soon as you get outside.  With the right gear and preparation, winter running can be a blast.

As long as the roads are dry so you don’t slip on ice, cold weather is no excuse for missing a run. 

 

Do You Need A Goal In Order to Run?

Why is it that some people can only run if they’re training for a race?  I’ve talked with several people recently that tell me they just don’t run unless they have a specific race coming up.  Does that mean they aren’t ”real” runners?  Or does it mean that the other runners are addicted to running?  Just asking.

I ran the Detroit Marathon three weeks ago.  I took the entire next week off and then started back running four days a week.  Not long miles, in fact, the eight miles I did today has been my longest since the race.  

I’ve run for years without worrying about what the next race was that I’d do.  The problem is, this week as I was running something felt different.  I enjoyed the runs but I missed the anticipation of a race coming up.   At the end of the summer my plan was to run the marathon in October then just run a basic training schedule all winter to prepare for some summer 10ks.  But not I think I need a race sooner.  A running “fix”?        

I checked www.runmichigan.com to see what races I could find for November or December.  It seems there are dozens of “Turkey Trots” in November and “Jingle Bell” runs in December.  Most are 5ks.  I’m not sure that’s what I’m looking for, but at this point it may have to do.