As I write this winter is coming.
Brr. I don’t mean to pull the panic alarm for all my fellow run crew who might be reading this, but it’s hardly a long term prospect that at the end of October we should be making sure our winter wardrobe is on stand by.
I’ve run my fair share of—let’s call it—less Canadian climates, and have explained to more than a few folks who don’t suffer through our deep winters that, yes, we still run when it’s cold. We run when it’s very cold. We run when its so cold that most sensible people who live in moderate or tropical climates might consider such running (a) a hazard and (b) a mental illness of some kind.
It’s really neither.
It’s really a bit of a lot of things: reality, coping, and acceptance that you need to embrace the world where you live or get the hell somewhere warmer if the cold bothers you that much.
Winter is coming, yes, and with it are those soft runs through fresh snow when the world is nearly silent, the sound dampened by a blanket of white.
Winter is coming, yes, and besides are the warm up coffees after the run when we all huddle close and sip our hot drinks and are grateful for the season.
Winter is coming, yes, and along with the cold air comes frosty eyelashes and fuzzy mitts and brilliant sunlit days when the apricity warms the heart.
Winter is coming. Get ready. And embrace it.
Definitions
- Canadian
- I write this blog from a small city in the middle of the Canadian prairies. It means I use terms like kilometres and celsius and you're just gonna need to deal with that. I run four seasons long, from blisteringly hot summers through icy cold winters. I've encountered moose, beavers, and snakes on our trails. And we're proud of it all.
