While out on my daily run I made a new friend and also achieved a personal best time of 52:25.

We started a conversation after I was accused of "chasing" and managed to have an interesting discussion for about 4K. I was able to learn a lot about running: from equipment, to strides and setting a pace.

This guy was a real athlete. He was out there for hours today on a 70k run! That just seems crazy !!

Running is one of the top activities for burning fat

Other Benefits of Running

• reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer

• treatment option osteoporosis, diabetes, and hypertension

• reduces the risk of heart attacks

• lowers blood pressure and maintains the elasticity of arteries

• helps fight the aging process

• helps maintain and improve general health

• reduces the risk of blood clots

• encourages use of the 50% of your lungs that usually go unused

• boosts the immune system

• stress relief

• attitude boost

• builds confidence

• runner's high

What is Runner's Euphoria? or Runner's High?

Psychologically, runners may experience euphoria, a feeling of being invincible, a reduced state of discomfort or pain, and even a loss in sense of time while running.

I had a difficult run today. It was soooooo cold ! and the wind was terrible. I was slipping on the ice and the snow really slowed me down. I was going for 10k but I only managed slow 6k. Other runners didn't seem to have a problem as they all passed me with little effort.

I had read an article that said all you need is long underwear and an extra sweatshirt. Well, I wore 2 pairs of sweatpants, 3 sweatshirts, a turtle neck, ski gloves and a ski hat and still froze. The temperature was around -14C with the windchill.

The weather is an obstacle right now. I really need to practice for my upcoming race in May but I'm not sure how. I hate treadmills, so that is not an option for me. What can I do to beat the bad weather?

There is snow in the forecast for the upcoming week