I just had one of the most fun runs. Tonight after I finally got home from work I went out for a 6-mile loop I've settled into. Only this time, I found a bunch of snow out on the lakefront path. Powdery stuff, maybe 3-4 inches deep in places, windblown from the east. It was almost like running on the beach, and it added a challenging element to my run. For some reason I was totally enjoying it - so much so, the lousy headwind (of all things weatherwise, wind has to be my most undesired thing to deal with!) didn't even dim my glimmer. I must have waved or said 'how you doing?' to a bunch of people out there and even some dogs. I think the one dog I saw bounding through the snow drifts on the beach knew what I was feeling. Good dog. Dogs rock.

I've started to accept the adversity of snow and the seemingly constant headwind (how does that happen, no matter which way I go?), not to mention the cold, as opportunities to work out differently. For instance, it's pretty flat here - a good headwind might offer me a chance to work harder as if I were climbing a hill. Especially if I'm plodding through inches of snow. (By the way, it was 30F *warm* tonight!)

The LA marathon has some hills, including a steady climb from the start (I'm from LA; knowing the area, I'm nervous about the first and last few miles!). I'm hoping that the training I'm doing here, and the conditions I'm doing it in, will somehow toughen me up for a decent passing performance (i.e. not DNF) on the 4th. Heck, I won't be wearing all the clothes I have to wear here, that's gotta count for something.

Overnight tonight we're expecting inches of snow and windy conditions. I'm doing a slightly different route tomorrow morning, and I may be miserable. If it sucks, I'll try to remember the good feelings from tonight to keep me going.

I don't normally run at night, since it's possible I won't know when I'll be home from work. At least in the mornings I can decide to wake up at the severe crack of dawn. Tonight was different because I got home completely late last night from a really fun birthday celebration (Whirlyball and then Liar's Club). I didn't think 2.5 hours of sudsy sleep before getting up would be too cool, so I decided to get my run in after work today. I'll get up at my regular time on Tuesday to get back to "normal." I liked running after work, but now I'm completely awake. But happy. Hopefully it'll repeat tomorrow morning.

Oh yeah - I think I want to cue up the first four or five Van Halen albums for my long run on Saturday. That just popped into my head.