Getting past "to run or not to run"

Weather really took a turn over the last couple of days.  It was rains, windy with rains, and rains with stronger winds over the last few days. The picture above is today's skies. It is very windy. All this before hurricane Joaquin passes by on Sunday (tomorrow).

Yesterday (Friday) was a regular run day.  Morning was dark due to clouds and rain, and the wind was howling.   I took one peek outside, and the bed started looking really really attractive.  However, as I mentioned some time ago, even on good days if I start thinking about the run first thing in the morning my mind has a tendency to pull away from it.  To run or not to run is not a question I want to ask first thing in the morning. If I do then most often the answer is going to be no.  However, if give myself a few minutes before getting up, give a few gentle stretches to my body while still in bed,  and then make myself a cup of tea, then I normally bypass the question of to run or not to run. I give myself a good one hour to slowly ease into the day reading emails and the morning news as I sip my tea. I am now thinking what should I wear for the run.  So don't think, especially too soon after waking up.  Give your mind time to leave the bed behind.  Give your body a hot drink to feel some warmth and time to really wake up. Then, just lace up and get out. You'll be happy you did.

I took easy on the run, partly because I didn't want to fight the 20 mph wind too much, but more importantly I wanted to give an easy time to the sensitive ankle although it's been feeling much better, much much better recently. Last but not least, Sunday is a big run in New York City. My first half-marathon. Although I want to take that easy as well, I don't want to go into the race after a hard run on Friday. It is going to be very windy and likely raining as well, due to the hurricane. Race starts at 8 AM Eastern time. In case you've nothing better to do you should be able to see my status during the race at the following link -

http://liveresults.nyrr.org

Other than that, I'm taking it easy today and I am feeling well rested.  However, I want to be cautious tomorrow and not get caught up with the crowd and do anything crazy as I have two more half-marathons coming up in the following two Sundays. I'm hoping that these races will give me some good experience running a long distance race at my pace in a varied crowd.  They should be good stepping stones in my preparation to the marathon next year.