Cold runnings
Although out of bed and back at work my sinuses and chest are still in a bad way but I'm desperate to get out there again.
A week or two can be passed off as a rest period but once it stretches beyond this to three or four weeks I can feel my fitness ebbing away.
Thankfully I haven't got any events lined up until February but I still miss my weekly Parkrun, the Parklands Jog & Run sessions on a Monday and the opportunity to go for a stress relieving run on my own.
One ray of light during this time came when Chris Lamb, who runs the PJR sessions, turned up at my door on Saturday with a trophy in his hand. Apparently I had finished as runner up in the Runner of the Year Award for our group.
Now the nights have drawn in and the temperature has plummeted I look forward to pulling on my long sleeved top, meggins, beanie and gloves and running through that sweet, chilled winter air. There is something beautiful about running in winter.
I love those crisp, frosty mornings when the sun hangs low in the sky causing long shadows to stretch across the path. The dark skeletons of trees are edged with spiky frost and I can feel the ice cracking on the top of the puddles beneath my feet.
Or those dark, wet nights when I force myself to go out. The street lamps glowing through the mist casting an orange pall before me. People huddled inside their houses are slumped in front of the gogglebox while I am out there feeling so alive.
Each season has a special and unique beauty and each one can be appreciated and enjoyed even more while running. So this Saturday I hope to be slipping my Asics back on and heading off to Parkrun come rain or shine!
