Cold+Snow+Ice+Darkness+Holidays=Little Running

This is the hardest time of the year to keep a consistent running routine going. First it has been a very cold December this year in Minnesota. It is so hard to get motivated to run early in the morning when it is only zero degrees outside and dark. If I don’t get my run done in the morning chances are I’ll won’t run in the afternoon or evening. I’m a morning runner. There also has been plenty of snowy days that make it more difficult to run outside, and I don’t like the treadmill. Some call it the dreadmill. Time seems to nearly come to a halt on the treadmill. But when the outside temperatures are below zero and the wind chill factor is something like 30 below, the treadmill is a much better choice.

Then there are all the holiday gatherings and Christmas shopping and cleaning the house for holiday gatherings and …….. My problem is that I cannot do a quick short run; I need to always make my workouts a long run. I need to change my thinking and do just a short run if there is not much time. It’s much better to do short runs on a consistent basis than an occasional long run. Furthermore, I could try something different with a short run, like interval or Fartlek training (a method developed by the Swedes), which helps with improving speed.

This week has started well with two 6 mile runs. Tomorrow is the last day of 2008 and I plan to finish the year with a 6 mile run outside, no matter snow, ice, cold or dark.