Winter Cometh

First off, my profound apologies for not posting a great deal as of late.  My schedule has reached new heights of insanity, so I'm still scrambling to get everything to have it's place.  So onto the post...

As many of you have noticed, October is bringing winter our way much faster this year.  Fall looks like it'll be shortchanged this year and the snow will reign supreme in a few short months.  So where does that leave the runners?  Do you run in freezing temperatures and over ice and snow?  Do you shell out the big bucks for a gym membership?  Do you obtain every workout DVD made in the last year and set up shop at home?  Do you stop running altogether, afterall, isn't running a summer thing?  It's a challenge I have faced at the end of every summer.  A few times, I was largely pregnant during the winter and so running was kind of pushed aside for those reasons alone.  But here I am, winter beating on my door, I'm not pregnant, and I'm thinking, "What should I do?"

Well, against my natural instinct to stay warm and cozy in my cute, little house, I'm going to try running in the winter.  Given the fact that some winter weather is just not runnable (if that is a word), I intend on backing up my running with a pilates video I have and possibly Zumba 2-3 nights a week.  That's my plan.  I do not want to lose everything I did over the summer to some jerk named winter.  By golly, I'm going to stay in shape, in running shape to be exact, and when the warm weather comes back, I won't be starting over because I never stopped.  I know it will be hard to run in the winter, I know that finding time is going to be even more difficult, but I'm going to try and do my best.  If nothing else, I want to accomplish the feat of just staying in shape throughout the winter.  It seems like every year I go through this roller coaster of being in shape and weighing less in the spring and summer, and then winter comes and I pack on a few and get out of shape.  NOT THIS TIME! 

So I highly recommend that if you live in an area where winter really is winter and not just slightly colder than summer, you need a winter running plan.  Whether it's finally getting a treadmill or a gym membership.  Or whether it's workout videos and quick jaunts down the street and back whilst you're covered head to toe in Gortex (warm coat material).  Make a plan, because add the holidays into winter, and you're about a hop, skip and jump away from temptation city. 

If you do have a winter plan, share it with me.  Comment here or email me at annadurfee@yahoo.com. 

I plan on getting a whole bunch of winter running clothes and I promise that on my first cold run, I will take pics of the getup. 

Happy Running!