winter training

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people." is a quote from the late coach Bill Bowerman.  he coached many greats including Steve Prefontaine and went on to invent Nike's first running shoe.  this is a quote that i tend to live by on rainy days.  even now, during wicked blizzard conditions...i've been trying to get outside and sneak some training in.  i still hit the indoor bike and the weights, etc.  but the real training happens outside.  over the years i've been up against it all.  i've camped outside in freezing mountains while snow falls freely from the sky.  i've gone to bed wondering if i'll make it through the night.  by choice.  after you've been through that a few times, you harden up a bit and tend to think of a blizzard as not such a big deal.  the Midwest just got pounded w/ a bunch of snow w/ drifts here and there up to eight feet tall.  i shoveled out a few driveways and have managed to still get in a few runs.  it's nothing to me but another day.  i enjoy it.  i think as a society we have become too comfortable w/ things.  we sit in our box on a big comfy sofa watching tv or glued to our computers.  we order our "food" to be delivered or at best go to a drive through.  we need instant gratification and if we can't have it we are bored.  we aren't willing to work for anything and we quit as soon as things get tough.  i've learned that i have to go through incredibly difficult things in order to become a better person.  it's just who i am.  i have to be constantly working towards a goal and training hard for something in order to be at peace w/ myself.  and there is no finish line.  i'll check my watch as i cross the finish line but not to see what my time is.  it's to see if i have enough time in the day for the next workout or the next goal.  it's a little obsessive and out there, i know.  i realize i'm a bit on the extreme side.  but that's how i find out who i am and what i'm made of.  most people will never know and never will.  it doesn't come easy for me.  it's hard work and that's why i do it.  my mind and body tell me to stop all the time but i don't and that's how i come out w/ a story to tell.  you say / but i'm not training for an ultramarathon / and i say / Life is an ultramarathon.