Shhh....do you hear that?

It's your running shoes calling you! 

I know how hard the winter may have been on some of us.  It usually involves running on treadmills (gross), supplementing with other forms of exercise, running outside in the cold and wind, or doing nothing at all.  Winter is hard for a lot of runners.  There are those few that seem to not even notice the change of seasons and run no matter what, but for the rest of us, Winter sucks.

But Spring is on her way!!!  The days are getting warmer.  The sun comes up at a decent hour.  The streets aren't covered in ice.  It's time to get out and run!

I got myself a treadmill during the winter and I've used it, but not as much as I should have.  I really hate treadmill running.  Doing just 3 miles on them nearly bores me to insanity.  That and I find it almost impossible to find my pace on those contraptions.  But, it's been good to have the option of running inside.  I did Zumba too and abs exercises, but nothing really takes the place of running outside. 

If you've been like me during the winter, running hasn't really been at the forefront of your mind.  School schedules, work schedules and holidays just mess stuff up.  And if you're like me, you may have been feeling unbelievably guilty about it all.  During the summer, I was running 4-5 days a week.  During the winter, maybe 2 days a week and some weeks not at all.  It made me mad to be honest. 
But all of that is behind us now, right?  Well, sort of.

The thing about winter is that we don't run like we do in the summer.  Whatever activity level we had in winter becomes our new normal.  When the warm weather shows up, it may prove rather difficult to get back into the higher level of activity and let that become our new norm. 

So I'm going to suggest, as I've done in the past, to sign up for a race!  There's no motivation like being responsible to a racing event.  You put the money down.  People are expecting to see you run.  It's gets you up.  My brother recently invited me to be on his team for the To Bone and Back Relay race.  So my first race is set!  It's June 23rd.  I have until then to get back to being able to run 5 miles in a decent time and do it all on rolling hills.  Am I motivated?  You bet I am!  Not only do I have to be responsible to the race but to my teammates as well.  People are counting on me to do my part and run a good leg. 

Now I can still run 5 miles, but I bet I'd be really slow.  And hills?  Forget about it!  So I've got me some training to do.  But running with a goal in mind is SO much better than running without one. 
I've also asked my mom to run a 5k with me toward the end of summer.  So I'm now responsible to her as well.  I'm excited!

So answer your running shoes.  Get up and go!  The running season is here and it wants you to partake once again in the thrill of running and competing.

Now that the school year is coming to a close and my own work schedule gets to slow down some, I can, once again, be that awesome blogger you all love so much.  You do love me, right?


Happy running!!!