Fake It 'till You Make It

Last week, while working in our Brunswick store, I made the decision that I was not going to write another blog post about winter. February had arrived and the groundhog said we had six more weeks of winter, but I wasn’t buying it after a fairly warm January.

Now here we are, and I’m writing about winter again.

Since December, we’ve had some bitterly cold days and we’ve had a few decent storms, but this past week gave us both at the same time. And it’s been brutal. I’ve looked out the window multiple times this weekend and waved my little white flag in surrender to the winter weather. And then I put on my running shoes and went running anyway.

I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from running this past year is that it is possible to “fake it ‘till you make it” in running. It doesn’t matter whether you want to run and do so, or if you don’t want to go for a run and do it anyway. If you end up outside, you’re still running.

There are definitely exceptions to this. If you live somewhere where you would be putting your life at greater risk with slick roads and limited visibility from snow banks, you should be smart about where and when you run. But the worst choice is to sit on the couch and do nothing.    

Spring races are not as far off as you think. It’ll be March by the time my next blog post comes out. The Boston Marathon is under nine weeks away. By putting in the time and effort now when the weather is at some of its worst, you’ll be able to better enjoy your runs this spring when the weather is at some of its best.

If you’re more of a winter person, more power to you. Enjoy the snow and cold while it’s here. But I’ll keep daydreaming of warm spring days on muddy trails at Pineland Farms and whatever else pulls me through this last stretch of winter. For all my warm weather friends, just keep faking it ‘till we make to spring. It won’t be long.

In other Maine Running news, these first few months of the year bring in some awesome shoe updates as well as a few brand new models. If you ever get a chance to stop shoveling or snow-blowing or however else you remove your snow, come on down to check them out!

Happy Running!