Winter Blues
Born and raised in the Pittsburgh region, your existence with the outdoors varies from one extreme to the next every few months. I was born in June, yet the older I get, the more I don't enjoy summer as much. Just so damn humid, and unless I am at the beach, anything above 70 degrees is too much.
Which brings me to my current state of affairs, winter. My relationship with December-March has changed drastically in the past few years. My disdain for winter took on new heights my freshman year of college, trekking around our campus' hills and enduring wind gusts that seemingly never ended. 5am hikes across campus for workouts in the winter of 2007 further enhanced my loathing of the winter blues. During the month of February that year, for the first time in my young life, I experienced seasonal depression. It was very real. Maybe a combination of stressors from school, and football, but my serotonin had to have been all kinds of whacked out.
I couldn't shake the hatred of winter from my mind, and spring breaking to Clearwater, Florida the first week of March, almost instanteouly heightned my mood and removed the winter blues. Wow, this is what life could be huh? I was convinced that after college graduation, I was jet setting to Florida. Life had other plans for me, and it never happened, which is quite alright. Their summers are too damn hot and miserable anyways. So, back to winter.
My brother told me a few years back, "you really need to get outside more, you're programmed to be outside, hence why you're so miserable this time of year." I don't ski or snowboard, so my winter actitivies are forced runs when the weather wasn't too bad, but maybe he was right, maybe I had to do a better job of working with nature vs fighting the inevitable.
As my running has continued to steadily evolve more each year in the last decade, I had to accept that there was no way around outdoor running. With no space for a treadmill, extra layers would have to suffice.
I remember vividly 2 winters ago getting my dogs outside after work. It was a beautiful winter day, some lingering snow on the ground, sun peaking through the partly cloudy sky, and they ran around like puppies chasing each other. Something about their innocence and just embracing the conditions made me smile and think, they really love this. So it became our regular endeavor, and in turn it helped me, tremendously.
Similar to a forced run in July-August, I force a run in January-February, and to my surprise, I enjoy the latter. Quite on the contrary to my younger self desiring the Florida sun. Don't get me wrong, a trip to Clearwater right now sounds incredible, but my spring break days are retired.
My mind wanders on those cold, dark mornings, to "what is this all about?" While some might never venture down that path, I find that those days are never about hitting specific paces or trying to force a workout. Those runs are more about the mental fortitude that gets cultivated due to the chatter that naturally takes off between your ears. Sure, it's not ideal or desirable, but so much of life is all about taming that internal chatter, and for me those times help me transcend moments later down that road that require extra patience and attention.
Maybe some of us are designed for varying conditions more than others. Florida or San Diego weather isn't relatable to life, sure all days would be amazing with 75 degrees, low humidity and a blue sky in February or any other day of the year, but, life isn't such. Life brings about different ebb and flows, varying conditions, the inevitables and the undesirables. As my brother told me, get outside and work with it, stop fighting the inevitable.
Much love to all my cold weather runners,
Andrew
Which brings me to my current state of affairs, winter. My relationship with December-March has changed drastically in the past few years. My disdain for winter took on new heights my freshman year of college, trekking around our campus' hills and enduring wind gusts that seemingly never ended. 5am hikes across campus for workouts in the winter of 2007 further enhanced my loathing of the winter blues. During the month of February that year, for the first time in my young life, I experienced seasonal depression. It was very real. Maybe a combination of stressors from school, and football, but my serotonin had to have been all kinds of whacked out.
I couldn't shake the hatred of winter from my mind, and spring breaking to Clearwater, Florida the first week of March, almost instanteouly heightned my mood and removed the winter blues. Wow, this is what life could be huh? I was convinced that after college graduation, I was jet setting to Florida. Life had other plans for me, and it never happened, which is quite alright. Their summers are too damn hot and miserable anyways. So, back to winter.
As my running has continued to steadily evolve more each year in the last decade, I had to accept that there was no way around outdoor running. With no space for a treadmill, extra layers would have to suffice.
I remember vividly 2 winters ago getting my dogs outside after work. It was a beautiful winter day, some lingering snow on the ground, sun peaking through the partly cloudy sky, and they ran around like puppies chasing each other. Something about their innocence and just embracing the conditions made me smile and think, they really love this. So it became our regular endeavor, and in turn it helped me, tremendously.
Similar to a forced run in July-August, I force a run in January-February, and to my surprise, I enjoy the latter. Quite on the contrary to my younger self desiring the Florida sun. Don't get me wrong, a trip to Clearwater right now sounds incredible, but my spring break days are retired.
My mind wanders on those cold, dark mornings, to "what is this all about?" While some might never venture down that path, I find that those days are never about hitting specific paces or trying to force a workout. Those runs are more about the mental fortitude that gets cultivated due to the chatter that naturally takes off between your ears. Sure, it's not ideal or desirable, but so much of life is all about taming that internal chatter, and for me those times help me transcend moments later down that road that require extra patience and attention.
Maybe some of us are designed for varying conditions more than others. Florida or San Diego weather isn't relatable to life, sure all days would be amazing with 75 degrees, low humidity and a blue sky in February or any other day of the year, but, life isn't such. Life brings about different ebb and flows, varying conditions, the inevitables and the undesirables. As my brother told me, get outside and work with it, stop fighting the inevitable.
Much love to all my cold weather runners,
Andrew
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