Winter Running Confession

            I have a confession to make. I have not run at all this week and I have decided I probably won’t go more than a couple of times. I do not like to run in the dark, even with a headlamp. In the depths of winter it is dark until I go to work and by the time I get finished it is dark again. I only have 25 minutes for lunch so I use that time to prepare and eat. And let’s face it: my days at work are manic. I teach over one hundred students, coach the Knowledge Bowl kids in winter and a zillion other things get piled on me because I am the senior member of staff here. The precious daylight hours are taken away by my job.

            This confession isn’t something I feel compelled to do out of a sense of guilt or penitence. I feel perfectly fine about having a season in the year where I slow down a bit. This year I even planned for it and fully embrace it. I did the same thing in December and now that it’s January, we’ve had a thaw, and the days are getting longer, I am setting running goals for myself. I spent the holidays just getting fat and happy and I truly believe in taking a complete break from running for a week or two. It used to be that that break coincided with a big race or the end of the cross-country season. I’ve almost always skimped on running at this time of year with great guilt. I’ve hated the forced runs with headlamps on icy roads or cold rain in my face.  I’ve hated nursing rolled ankles from going into the ditch to get out of the way of traffic. So why do it? This is the time of year to take my running break. This is the time of year I should stay off the scales. But I have still been weighing myself and I haven’t gained any. I might not be losing those pounds I wanted to lose, but I’m not gaining more.

            I have to say that it’s really nice to just stop worrying about getting a run in the dark completed. It’s really nice to just embrace the holiday season. During the Christmas break I was able to run in the middle of the day and that was nice. I have also taken advantage of the snow and gone cross country skiing. So what’s the big deal about taking a couple weeks off? What’s wrong with giving up a run for friends and a holiday party? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. So why do we runners put ourselves through such guilt trips at this time of year? Maybe it’s a good time to plan on not running at all if everything is icy or soggy and dark. If you live where winter preempts your regularly scheduled programing, take it easy and give yourself permission to just shovel snow.