Cold and Snow in the Heartland

No complaints but it's gotten cold here in Kansas City. I'm not sure what I expect for a few days before Christmas but today we have an inch or so of snow, schools closed and a wind chill of 4- 10F. Winds are in the 30-40 mph range. 

Running of late has been steady - regular but without any special reason or plan.  Sometimes it seems like I am wasting time but "without a goal, any road will get you there". Right now, I don't have a goal other than to maintain fitness and not get hurt.  I've been averaging 4-5 days per week with mileage at about 75% of peak marathon training.  Interestingly, speed has improved although I don't run with speed feedback available to me until after I'm done.

The topic of goals continues to interest me, not from an academic perspective (I'm not going to do any research) but how goals motivate me. (Isn't it interesting that at 57 years old, I still don't know much about myself). I can say this - if I have a well defined goal, and an accompanying plan, my motivation, drive to succeed and discipline is dramatically increased.  This isn't a surprise but interesting nonetheless.  (For anyone reading this, yawning while reading this is expected).

Upcoming races?  Maybe a 10K in January in the caves here in KC.  The temperature in the caves is stable at 56 (?) which makes it nice in the middle of the winter.  Sara has suggested a 10 miler in Chicago in April and I've already signed up for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Chicago in July.  Registration for the Chicago Marathon is not until February.

Thanks for reading.