Winter.

My mental nemesis.

You shorten my days.

You cover my running paths with snow and ice.

You freeze my boogers to my face.

You force me inside to run on the treadmill.

I am not your biggest fan, winter.

Every year around this time, I hit a slump in my running. This is the time of the year when I start training for the Boston Marathon in April. My runs are getting longer and the efforts gradually start to get more and more intense. But right around the end of January the past two years, I have gotten sick for a week or two, then we have been hit with snow and ice. My race times and training runs have not been as sharp as they were early in the year. So, once again, I am coming off an illness and being forced to run indoors after a 30+ inch snow storm. It has really has put a damper on my spirits.

In need of someone to complain to, I sent a text to my friend, Nathan. I told him how I was struggling. Like any true friend, he pretty much told me to stop whining like a baby and suck it up. That is the advice I needed from a fellow runner and competitor. Even though he lives in tropical Florida. What a bum.

Of course I complained to my coach, Kyle, as well. He took the more diplomatic path. Read the comments below from bottom to top.

I really was a whiny baby.

In the end, I realized that it was not me being in a slump. It was just the cycle in my training and the effects of my nemesis, winter, messing with my head. I am actually trending upward with my 5k results compared to last year’s race at the same time.

It will soon pass, But for now, winter can kiss my …