With the fall semester coming to a end earlier this week, I drove north to Toledo, Ohio to spend the winter break at home. I was quickly greeted with temperatures in the teens, and about 6 inches of snow. Unfortunately, I was forced to utilize the runners most hated machine, the treadmill, yesterday for my run. Luckily, I was about to get out on the trails today, since Toledo does not mess around with their plowing system.
This past couple months have flown by, with a trip to Kansas for the NAIA National Cross Country Championships, Thanksgiving break, then finals, I haven't had much time to really focus on my training. Which is what I'm hooping a change of scenery up north will allow me to get back on track and prepare for a huge spring.
I've quickly adapted to the routine, and the simplicity of full-time training. Waking up, eating breakfast, going out for a run, heading the the gym to workout, then come back home and make a home cooked meal has become the norm. The only problem with this routine is the amount of free-time I have to sit and ponder about my future. Sometimes I just want to put all my time and effort into my running.
Recently with my position as a volunteer assistant coach, I'm able to sit back and look at running from a different prospective. I'm able really understand and listen to my body and know when to push and when to back off. Without the added stress or pressure on myself to preform on a certain day, or race, has allowed me to excel both mentally, and physically. As I live by the clock, and have my daily battles with mother nature, I'll be keeping my head in the clouds dreaming of the time and day where I'll be screaming by on that oval on a warm, North Carolina evening.
- BJW
