Winter

The weather is turning nasty. Yesterday, I battled the cold wind and drizzle in the morning as I ran three miles. In the afternoon, the snow started to fly. We have a few inches of snow this morning -- Thanksgiving. It's OK. I have no problem staying motivated to run -- even in this weather.

One of the track girls asked me a few weeks ago how I can run by myself. It's just never a question with me. I am so intrinsically motivated. Running is a thing that you don't do just to be social or just to be around your friends. I do it because i am a runner -- whether others want to run or not. I search the Internet for other people who might share my goal -- or others who have run a 5-minute mile at my age. They are so rare. And that makes me feel so unique.

"At the age of 45, I pulled the emergency cord and ran out into the world. ... I stepped off that train and began to run. And in that hour a day of perfecting my body, I began to find out who I was. ... In the creative act of running, I became convinced of my own importace, certain that my life had significance." -- Dr. George Sheehan