Running into the wind

I have learned a lot from running over the past year.  I’ve learned practical tips – if I eat 2  waffles with peanut butter two hours before a long run, I will not hit the wall ½ way through the run.  I have to wear socks when I run – I experimented once with running sockless and ended up with 2 half dollar sized blisters on each foot.

I have also learned about running into the wind.

I went on a long run with a friend one spring weekend recently.  We’re always trying to plan our run to hit the right window during the day when weather and daylight are optimal (we tried running in the dark once and that didn’t go so well).  We opted for Saturday as it promised to be warmer than Sunday and relatively precipitation free……the downside to running on Saturday was to be strong winds.  We essentially ran in a big rectangle or some other variation of a parallelogram.  We ran north, then west, then south, until finally heading east and back to the car.  By some freak act of nature, we ran into the wind for what seemed to be ¾ of the run.   It seemed as though every time we turned a corner, we were still running into the wind.  We pushed through and kept on running – we logged in close to 9.5 miles which was our goal for the run.  It was laborious, but we finished without stopping even once.

That windy long run also made me realize that, sometimes in life, no matter what direction I take, the “wind” is going to be in my face.  I will be successful, but on some days there will be a constant resistance to progress.  I will struggle and stress, but ultimately I will finish the day.  I will simply have to encourage myself a little more to stand up against the winds I encounter.

Here’s to having the wind at your back; and when it is blowing into your face, the strength to keep pushing through….even when it’s coming at you in every direction.  You are strong.  You will finish the day.