It’s December and I live in North Idaho. It snows in Idaho in December even when the winter’s are mild. I’m getting older and I learned a couple of years ago that when I fall I can break. (See a previous entry.) It’s also dark in December here in North Idaho.

            Now in case you were wondering, that last paragraph was an intentional, albeit valid, list of excuses for me to not run. But I have also learned that there are ways to overcome excuses and here are some ways that I am working on overcoming those excuses. I need to exercise because it keeps my body healthy and it keeps my mind geared toward positive thoughts. It’s the same reason I write in this blog—to maintain the water in my cup above the halfway point, to fill it to overflowing so when I can’t get out and run as much (because I don’t want to fall and break) I cross train. I cross train in unconventional and conventional ways. Now there is enough snow for me to cross country ski and I love it. When I ski I work out my entire body without having to throw in a few planks or pushups. And I get to see places that you can’t normally get to in the winter. Do you realize how beautiful snow is?

            The other cross training that I do is shovel snow. I know that sounds like work but—darkness be damned—I can do it at any hour of the day. It’s better than lifting weights because I am outside being constructive and working off pent up aggression. And it helps everyone because they don’t have to worry about getting around on snow covered paths.

            I also spend some time throwing in a few pushups and other random exercises for about 10-15 minutes every day just to keep cobwebs out of my head. And it’s not like I don’t run at all. I still go out a couple of times a week, but I’m a little more confined to park pathways and those few minutes of daylight that I actually get to run. But I have decided that if I only get one or two miles in on a run in December and January I have still worked to maintain my running and those two months are just going to be the two down months. And if I absolutely have to, I can run laps around the gym at school or get on a treadmill at the local fitness center, though I’d have to be pretty sluggish and on my last creative sip before I’d get on a treadmill. I’m still fully convinced that I need to be outside, that I need the fresh (even frigid) air and that I need to be gracious to myself in considering my purpose in running. The goal is to fill my cup to overflowing and I don’t always have to use the same tap as long as it’s still water from the main source, the giver of life.