Let's try this prediction thing again.

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Stravinsky: Rite of Spring

     About this time last year ( February 5th ) I was yearning for spring. I won't take credit for the extended wait, but I did post ( Winter is Half-Dead! ) that I thought we were just a few weeks away from mild running weather. Little did I know my wife Jeanette and I, along with our good friend Stan and a few hundred others would be running in sleet and snow in mid May during part of the Lake Wobegon Marathon.
     No such prediction this year. In fact I'm kind of hoping for a bit more winter weather, not Arctic, just a few more days of regular cold stuff. You see, I don't feel like I've earned my winter stripes yet.
     With the Polar Vortex keeping me in more than out this winter, it's hard to look at my calendar and see all the DNR days. No treadmill, no gym membership, it's run outside or try and get in some sit-ups and push-ups, maybe a few minutes on the bike stand. Ugh!
     It wasn't too bad at first. I have had a pretty full running schedule the past few years and hadn't taken a real break from running so the first two weeks of the year, which happened to coincide with super frigid weather, made for a nice respite. Unfortunately there really wasn't much of shot at just jumping back into training after my break, being that most days were single digit temps at best. And forget about adding in the windchill, that made it seem just obscene outside.
     Still, I knew there were runners out there, more headstrong than I, more crazy for sure. I had found my limit and now it screams back at me on my running log. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, but I want to spend a few more days on the snow packed trails earning the right to run on dry roads and soak in the warm days that eventually will come to us here in Minnesota.
     I owe my fellow runners that much, the ones that have piled on the miles outside during this nasty stretch and the others like myself that have gone out when we could. We don't want to feel like we sat back and waited for 'nice' weather, we need to feel like we've broken through the tough days as part of the runners code.
     In 1912 Igor Stravinsky penned his famous 'Rite of Spring'. Since you've got plenty of indoor time take a few minutes to listen to this incredible work.
     And no matter how many days you ran outside this winter, so far, take pride in the fact that you've earned the right to enjoy this coming spring. Big time!
     .

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