(15 + 12) -10 = I Hate Winter

Tip #7 - Winter is lame.

No, "lame" is not a strong enough word. If winter was a political system it would be communism or fuedalism or some other oppressive, dignity robbing tyrany. If winter was a jelly bean it would be those stupped butter popcorn ones that screw up a good handful of tropical fruit flavors. Winter is like banana runts, a skip in your favorite CD, a kick in the pants, and zits on your ear. I am still working on this theologically, but I think winter was invented by Satan. C.S. Lewis equated winter with the something evil, and I think he was on to something.

I am currently deeply entrenched in marathon training, and my almighty clipboard containing my training schedule said that I needed to get a 12 mile run in this weekend. Friday is my "day off", (which is a comical term for someone in full time ministry) so I embarked on this run about 1 p.m. on friday. There is one problem. We are also in the middle of the communist season of the year called winter. And of course on the day I have time for my long run, it was a balmy 15 degrees outside with a howling north wind that made it feel like ten below. The plan was to do four different 4 mile loops in various directions from my house. At mile four as I came by the house for the first time, I quit and walked up the driveway, only to have this annoying voice inside my head tell me that there is no quitting in marathon running. I was freezing, I could not warm up no matter what I tried. But I trudged back out for loop 2. At 8.05 miles as I came by the second time I really did quit to go inside and find a thicker jacket and thicker gloves. I muttered, but for some unknown reason I went out to conquer the last 4 miles. The last loop was an out and back that went 2 miles mostly downhill and with the wind (happy, warm) and then miles 11-12 of the run were mostly uphill, into the wind (beeeeep) I got home and decided that cutting off a leg would be a much more sane and logical way to lose weight than running in that weather.

My wife tells me that I use hyperbole to much. I don't know what she is talking about. Anyway, I over acheived last week by running 27.67 miles total, which is better than the 27 the clipboard of power told me to run. This week is going to be my first 30 mile week ever, and the weather is supposed to be nice when I embark on the 15 miler on friday.

Only 7 weeks to the big 26.2 mile day!

-Fat Ironman