It appears we will all be the beneficiaries of an early spring this year. Whether you’re a runner, golfer, biker or gardener we will all benefit from an early start to spring 2012. Certainly an earlier start than the springs of 2010 and 2011. With little frost in the ground from an unseasonably warm winter followed by March sunshine, the soil temperatures will warm quickly causing the earth to wake from it’s winter slumber. With daylight saving time I look forward to running outside after work instead of the monotonous circuit of an indoor track. With warmer weather our winter habits change to the fresh air exercise of a good run or gardening project. With an early spring we are able to establish “mow”-mentum as I call it, and I run from winter and don’t look back.
Gardeners like to use the phrase, “you can’t control the weather.” “Whether” you like it or you are along for the ride and are swept up in its dictates. I found running can be the same way. You train and prepare for race day, but there is nothing like the flow…the momentum…the energy of being in a pack of runners at the start.
In this picture you can find me in the pack of runners at the 2011 Fifth Third River Bank Run. It was a cold windy day with snow flurries in the air. At the bottom of the picture near the center I’m #8488 dressed in black wearing the blue cap and for some reason looking to the skies before the start. I don’t recall if I was seeking divine guidance or dreaming of sunny warmer days. All I know is that I enjoy the start of a race. You can feel the excitement in the air, the anticipation and the positive tension as you jostle for position with other runners at the start. After a mile or two as the mass of humanity starts to thin a little you find your pace and regulate your breathing…….you my friend have experienced positive momentum.
The same applies in our “yardening” efforts as spring breaks and we’re out mowing the lawn with our neighbors. Once we’ve dusted off that lawn mower from it’s long winter nap and it roars to life you’ve experienced spring “mow”-mentum. Here’s hoping that spring and a new season provides some “lawn” and order in your life. Now get out there and move.
