Happy Vomit-days

Aaah the holidays. I spent a lot of mine in a dark room with a fever accompanied by a nasty stomach bug and left it in day-after Christmas stockings for all to enjoy. Sorry to everyone who contracted my nasty bug.

Up until I got that bug, my Christmas was going great. Amanda and I visited her folks, then we visited my folks on Christmas day. I had planned on getting back to Bristol on Sunday evening to take care of a few things on my Monday day off, one of which included a nice trail run.

With the weather being cold and snowy, not many people are heading out to the local city park to make use of the trails, which means that I can run them and have them all to myself. Just me and the sound of the snow and sticks crunching under each stride. I think it's also more about motivation. Most people just aren't motivated to get out in the cold and do anything. Sure it's cold, and if you're a runner or cyclist or hiker, it will be cold for the first few minutes, then you warm up, I guarantee it! Rule of thumb is that, when doing outdoor exercise in the Winter, dress as if it's 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. This accommodates for you increase in body temperature and will keep you from overheating.

Another issue of motivation comes around this time of year, which comes in the form of resolutions. Everyone at some point has made one, and more often than not, broken one. I know I have. Resolutions are good in that you've set a goal for yourself, but most of us don't take into consideration what motivates us to accomplish these goals.

I can use this blog and my marathon as an example. I've always wanted to run a marathon, or attempt to finish one, but never really had the motivation to do so. So, a good motivational idea was to use it as a way to raise money for a charitable donation. Not only do I get to run the marathon, but I can use it to do some good at the same time. Your goal doesn't have to be big, nor does it have to be really all that important. Just as long as you do it for the right reasons and have the proper motivation to see it through. We all know that "will power" isn't exactly what we make it out to be.