Tuesdays are for speedwork.

I would imagine that most runners have training plans.  The plans could be as simple as something devised on a personal level to accomodate your schedule, or an official training plan prescribed by a coach, a book, or a magazine.  Mine is loosely adapted from a half marathon training guide that I downloaded from Runner’s World some time ago.

If you’re like me, you love the sense of control that running gives you.  You don’t need to wait for the gym to be open or the sun to come up.  Just lace up your sneakers and go.  So it’s hard to accept when something gets in the way of your routine.  That could be anything from illness to injury to a tropical rainstorm named Sandy.

Today, much of New York is under water.  Even though my neighborhood survived the worst of the storm with minimal damage, the rain is still pouring and the wind gusts are still overpowering.  These are not the sort of conditions conducive to a safe run. 

As much as my body craves a speedy run, and as much as my mind tries to tell me “come on, it’s not that bad out there,” I know that it’s bad out there.  I know that I am better off inside. 

This Tuesday is for strength training and yoga.  It is because of days like today that I always have a mat and weights on hand.

And when the storm passes, I will get back out there.

Run safe.  Run strong.