'Tis the Season

Okay - we've all eaten WAY too much turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and in my house, kielbasa and kluski kapusta! Gotta keep moving to keep off those holiday pounds!

• This Sunday is the Frostbite 2 mile and 10 mile run - go to the SRRC website to download the application - the weather will be in the 30's - so not a bad morning to run! 9:00 a.m. from Fit Club West.
• SRRC Saturday Social for December is December 9th at the Corkscrew - 7:00 p.m. (I wil be in Chicago - but let me know if anyone finds a really great Merlot or Shiraz....)
• Group Runs - if anyone is interested in setting up some group runs - post them here.
• Cold Duck Fun Run II
  Join members of the SRRC and Springfield Bicycle Club for a run or bike ride on New Years Day morning. It's been a tradition of many to meet in the park for an informal run (or ride) followed by a gathering around a bonfire at the Washington Park Pavilion. There is no formal start time, but it is generally from about 8am to 10am. So call your running buddies, organize a run and start the year off on the right foot!!! (Okay - all you New Year's Eve partiers - what a better way to get rid of a hangover??) Okay - HalfWits let's put in a great showing and schedule a six mile run for that morning. Who's up for it?????

It's tough to stay motivated to run this time of year. I've been a little under the weather and kept putting off running until I felt better. I even decided that maybe I could just walk a few miles, 'cause after all any activity is better than sitting on the couch with Thanksgiving leftovers. But I missed it - I missed the feeling I get after a really good run - 'da zone, as Barry tells me. So Monday, I laced up my shoes on my lunch and decided no more excuses. Sometimes we don't feel great and of course, serious illnesses and injuries need to play a factor in our decision to run, but we need to keep the commitment to ourselves to exercise as long as we possibly can. And as my body heals, it will draw on it's own physical and mental strength - the benefits of running with a bunch of HalfWits - so I can't just hang up my shoes.

It was a tough run - just 3.5 miles, from work to Lincoln Park and back. But when I was done - wow! I sure don't feel like my old self - the runner who was primed to run a marathon just over a month ago - but I felt I had accomplished something. I overcame excuses and a lack of motivation. I went out today again (to run with friends: btw - Happy Birthday Jeanne S.!!!) and ran 4.5 miles. More than missing 'da zone, however, is that I miss all of you - the HalfWits. So hopefully, soon, we'll be able to get together for some group runs, a frosty race, and maybe even a cold duck.

Between holiday activities with family and friends, shopping (aaarrgghh), the weather and shorter days, and not having a specific race to train for, many of us will find ourselves in January struggling to regain the fitness level we've worked so hard to attain. So - how do you stay motivated? How do you fit in workouts when it's dark in the morning and dark after work?

I found a blog online in which one of the postings specifically deals with this issue: http://www.drjimtaylor.com/homtemplate/endurancearticles.html It's a long article - but if you're not out running - you'll have time to read this! Let me know what you think - and I'll see you on the road soon, hopefully! Keep moving, one step at a time...

Mary

Good luck to those participating in December marathons and half-marathons - and you all thought we were crazy? Keep us posted - we want to hear your experiences!

Oh, and fellow penguins - remember, we were cool way before Happy Feet came out!