Winter Solstice

My alarm went off at 6:00 AM. I listened to the news for a minute and then the weather report. I rolled over and thought to myself, "winters here." One winter, I ran in the cold. This winter I have decided to hit the gym or run on a treadmill. Breathing in the cold air makes me cough. I don't like it.

I've been running all summer and became addicted to it. I run for several reasons. I run to keep fit. I run to think. I run to calm my mind. I run because I can. I was running 3.5 miles every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and most Saturdays unless I had some other outing planned on the weekend. Then I went nuts. I started to run 3.5 miles every morning except Sunday. And then I started running 3.5 in the evening too for a total of 7 miles per day. On the evenings I didn't run, I would ride my mountain bike. I would put in 10 to 20 miles a night including some hill work. Like I mentioned I was going nuts. I was running in the summer heat. Some evenings the temperature was 90 plus and I would run. I actually loved it. The sweat dripping into my eyes and burning. I couldn't see. I wiped it away as best I could and then would look for a yard with sprinklers. I would run into the sprinklers and wash the sweat and salt from my body and then run again. Eventually, I started to wear a sweatband and it helped keep most of the salt out of my eyes. I was overdoing it and started to have a problem in my left leg something called the IT band. I had to stop for two weeks to heal and now I have cut back to 3.5 miles every other day. I want to maintain that through the winter.

I'm not a winter person. I get cabin fever. It seems every year it comes earlier. I'm already dreaming of summer. I wouldn't mind winter so much if I had a nice warm place to hole up where I could just write, paint, draw, and tie trout flies. But since I have other responsibilities, I have to travel out into the cold, white, but mostly grayness of winter.

In the past I have tried to trick my mind as a way to get through the cold months. I look forward to the winter solstice. I watch the calendar and wait for December 21st. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. It is the day the sun is farthest to the south of my location. It means the sun will start to move to the north and as it progresses to the north the days get longer and eventually warmer. The long, cold nights are on their way out. I can't wait!

I'm going to try to enjoy the winter more this year. I have a few days planned to go after mountain whitefish. They are not as lethargic as trout in the winter and will give me some much needed fly fishing pleasure. I used to go after them with my brother. Cold, winter afternoons all bundled up and standing in the river, laughing, smiling and knowing that we were the two toughest, and smartest, and best looking men in the world. Man, I miss those days!

I've got some other ideas I want to try to help me make it through the winter. It seems long all ready and it's just beginning. Five weeks to the winter solstice and I'll be fine!