Perspective

Every year in the fall when the temperature starts to drop, my view of what is considered a beautiful day starts to become altered. After the summer, when we are in the midst of beautiful fall days, a sudden change to 45 degrees feels frigid and horrible. However, when the calendar rolls around to January and there has been snow on the ground for weeks and weeks and temperatures haven't gotten above freezing very often, a sunny, 45-degree day feels like summer! We were lucky enough to have one of those days on Saturday, and I tried to take full advantage of it by getting out and taking my long run. Dare I say, there were times when the wind was behind me that I actually felt warm. And this was with no hat or gloves or jacket! There were a ton of people out walking and running and biking, and enjoying the "warm" day. I thought that if maybe we could just have one of those kinds of days every couple of weeks during the winter, the weather might be a little easier to take. Or would we just get used to having those days and begin to expect that as the norm? And when something becomes the norm, do you stop noticing just how special it is? It's all in how you look at it, right?

Perspective is a funny thing. It is influenced by life experiences and age and hunger and education and geography and how many hours of sleep you got last night and varying levels of information (both true and false) and so many other factors. And it is different for every single person. Just this week, we've seen the devastation in Haiti which absolutely alters your perception of your life and your needs. We've seen a surprising outcome to the senate election here in Massachusetts, possibly because the population originally perceived the expected conclusion to be a no-brainer based on the historical voting history of this state. These results will likely change the way future races are managed here, to say the least! Last week, I spent some time with my parents trying to settle some family matters that have been pretty stressful for all of us. My dad reminded us to just remember what we have been through, and that this situation, while difficult, is nothing compared to what else we've been through. Or more simply, instead of complaining about the cold, we are often reminded by the locals up here to embrace the winter and to take advantage of the fun stuff the season brings. And so we've been ice skating and sledding and skiing and building snowmen (and having fun!) instead of watching the days pass from the window of our house! Sometimes, we just need a little reminder to look at things from a different perspective. To appreciate the sunny day. To be grateful for shelter and water. To be thankful for the right to express our voice through voting. To know that we have strength because we've used it before. Often, a change of perspective is all the change we need..

Onto my training.....here's my last full week. I was out of town for a few days, so I missed a workout or two, but my runs were good. While there are still 13 weeks of training to go, I only have 6 weeks where my long run will be a distance greater than 14 miles. To me, that is a much more manageable way to face the 13 remaining weeks of training. It's all about perspective, right???

Monday: Yoga class, 3 mile run

Tuesday: Running group (drills, circuit training in gym and on treadmill)

Wednesday: Travel/rest

Thursday: 4.5 mile tempo run

Friday: Cross-training (walk, stretching)

Saturday: 14 mile run

Sunday: rest

Be good. Be strong.