The Adjustment Excuse | My Week in Running

November 22, 2021

(This is part of a series for Grampian Runs, detailing four weeks in my life as a runner.)

Winter is here and I’m still in that period of adjustment to the cooler temperatures. This admission of weakness comes on the back of a week of plummeting temperatures, culminating in Storm Arwen’s arrival on Friday afternoon.

Too many times this week it’s been a case of cancelling my plans to go for a run just before I walk out the door. Flinging my shorts and thermals back into my drawers after glancing out of the window at the rain and sleet.

With no motivation to go to the gym, I’ll need to start adjusting fairly quickly. I’ve mentioned previously the importance which I place on running as a support mechanism for my mental health. For me being a fair weather runner isn’t an option because I’ve never been motivated to get a gym membership.

In the end I managed two runs this week and Wednesday’s run in fairness, was decent enough. Just over an hour spent in the evening sleet. It was slow, but enjoyable.

On Saturday it was a much shorter run, predominantly motivated by a curiosity to see what damage the storm had caused the night before. There were a couple of garden fences down and plenty of debris on the streets.

There was nothing too major, although several trees had been totally uprooted, indicating the brutal force of Friday’s 70mph winds. As far as I know, there was relatively little disruption in Aberdeen City Centre which is far from the truth for huge swathes of the North-East.

Arwen hit the more rural areas the hardest and many people are still without power and even water in Aberdeenshire. This morning several of the Deeside based runners I follow on Strava have posted activities.

Despite the freezing temperatures, some of them had cited warming up as a reason for venturing out into the wintery conditions. Still without power, they’ve described how its warmer than staying inside their unheated homes.

I can only hope they’re managing to keep warm somehow as they potentially enter a fourth night without power. In the photos on some of these Strava athletes were still smiling, standing amongst a plethora of fallen trees.

I strongly believe runners like these folks are a special breed and this is especially true when you see them battling the elements in a t-shirt and shorts around this time of year. I prefer a thermal myself but perhaps, my adjustment excuse, is just that. An excuse.

Highlight of the Week: Getting a run in on a cold Wednesday evening after a long existential debate with myself about whether it was worth it.