It is brutal here on the east coast this winter. Abnormally low, way below freezing temperatures, with the wind chill factor the temperature often dips to minus 20 and more. The rise in the temperature just seems to bring rain and then it dips yet once again which just brings ice, ice and well more ice. Another snow storm is brewing and we are bracing ourselves. Not to mention that wind. Intense, slamming in your face and relentless. Howling and screeching 24 hours a day. Slamming onto the shore with gusto and bending trees to their max.
None of these factors make a runner happy. It is down right dangerous. So what is a runner to do? Well for starters get really excited because the Run Nova Scotia Race List is out today. That means you can sit with your calendar and plan your races and your season and well generally start getting your act together.
The next most important step is accepting the fact that you can not just run a marathon starting tomorrow with all that couch sitting. Realize that yes even a seasoned runner has to start from the beginning. First you must start by being grateful for a million different reasons. Even if your desired outcome is not going to be a reality. You are healthy and in pretty good shape from running last years races and spend a lot of time outdoors.
Then you just have to be incredibly patient and start slow. Yes slow, almost from the beginning, until you feel yourself gliding into your old running self.
I have been running for years now and I have gained so much from it mentally, physically and spiritually. When I first started, I struggled to complete a kilometre but I knew that figuring out how to run and get myself in physical shape would somehow change me and help me grow in ways that nothing else could.
Here are 10 life lessons I've learned from running:
Beginning is always the hardest part. Push yourself to keep going. It gets easier.
Consistency creates habits, and habits create the results to want to achieve.
If you want to get better, pain is unavoidable. Don't shy away from it.
If you don't get out of your comfort zone, you'll never achieve your goals.
People who do things better than you are your teachers, not your competition.
Often, thinking you can't go on any longer is a illusion. You often can.
Sometimes things don't go as planned. Accept it and move on.
When you're going uphill and you want to quit, don’t. Move slower if you have to, but keep going. You will get there.
Happiness shouldn’t be put on hold until you cross the finish line. Enjoy as much as you can along the way, even when the going gets tough.
Don’t let your desire for improvement rob you of pride in small victories!
RACE # 1 COMING UP
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2019
FROSTBITE 5 MILER
looping around First Lake
SACKVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA
IN SUPPORT OF BEACON HOUSE
