I am not proud of this past year. 2020 was an odd year in many ways, but I’m disappointed that I lost sight of some of my goals. Habits that took time to establish sadly crumbled. This year, I plan to reestablish them. I’m going to take it slow and steady, like the famous tortoise, and chase those goals again.

Week 3 – March 27, 2021

Distance: 4 Miles

Weather at run time: 39 degrees, Sunrise 6:58am

Started my run around 7am. The weather has finally been getting nicer but it was pretty overcast today so I wore a reflective vest with a long sleeve and running pants. Today, was exactly a year since I returned to Rochester and it was hard not to reflect on that. It’s amazing how much change both good and bad a year can bring. While running the canal today I noticed that there might be an interesting route that I could take from my house that I haven’t tried before so I’m thinking that might be tomorrow’s run. I did not use gels or water today. It was pretty quiet overall, with few people out. I do have to mention my one giant pet peeve is people standing on opposites sides of the trail. I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but it happened twice today and left me annoyed. Overall, I’m happy with how this run went, and how this weekend is starting.

Enjoy your weekend!

Week 2 – March 13, 2021

Distance: 4 Miles

Weather at run time: 25 degrees, Sunrise 7:23am

I forgot to do a write up on this one, but decided to leave it in.

Week 1 – January 30, 2021

Distance: 3 Miles

Weather at run time: 12 degrees, Sunrise 7:27am

I woke up around 6:15am which has been typical for me this past week. I am slowly trying to get back into running. It has been very cold, with consistent snow. A few days this week, there was a lot of ice which made running difficult, but today while it was very cold it was not too icy. Since I did not plan to go too far I did not bring a water bottle or gel packs. Although I did not expect to see many people out, I did wear a bandana face mask that I could put on if I encountered anyone. I wore an Under Armor type shirt and a fitted long sleeve over it, running pants, gloves, hat, and a reflector (it was still pretty dark out). The cold hit me hard as soon as I started. I normally only use one layer even on cold days, but even with two layers, the frigid air just seemed to pierce everything I was wearing. My face got very cold when I was just starting so I used the bandana to cover my mouth and allow my breath to warm it. I encountered two people on the entire run, one person standing idly outside the village fire station and an older woman taking her morning walk on the canal. I expect I’ll see less people on my runs here than I did in DC, but it being just after 7am on a Saturday and 12 degrees outside I’m not sure today was indicative of what I can expect. While it was very gray and very cold, it felt refreshing, both mentally and physically. I know it was not much of a long run but I want to gradually readjust. I happy to be running again, and excited to have a new place to explore.