It was 37 degrees this morning when I climbed into the tights and went out for what ended up being a 7 mile run. I took a totally new route today which involved a hill that was easily be a mile long climb and one that if you were on a bike you'd be down shifting to a low gear. Then around the corner and up and down several hills. Yesterday I was running against 30 degree winds and didn't make it too far before turning back, but today the sun was out and while it was cold, the wind wasn't there.

Things have been crazy of late. I have written about some of that here and some is so personal and so lacking in clarity that I rarely speak of it let alone write. Heading out to the gym at lunch for a quick 40 minute run is what keeps my stress levels controlled and me from spinning out of orbit. The upside of these jaunts to the gym has been that I can set the treadmill to fit what I need and for the past could weeks its been a combination of sprints and heavy runs up good sized inclines. Both of these burn off adrenalin and also burn off the extra food that I find myself nibbling at work as stress fixes.

So this morning when I left my street and headed toward the long hill I normally would take a left and do a route that is rolling and goes into town. But this morning I kept on going straight and went downhill and then started to climb. To my great satisfaction my treadmill workouts had me ready to complete the hill and still have something to turn the corner and continue on.  On a long run it takes me about 20-25 minutes before I start to feel good and at about 40 minutes I am at my peak and that is when I start to think about returning back. At about an hour I am starting to feel tired and but usually by then pretty close to home, although I always have a last quarter mile hill to get up to my street.

Finishing up the run I felt great as usual but a short while later my butt was clearly reminding me that I gave myself a strong hill workout. A few Ibuprofens and even that is under control.

So why the hell did I even start writing about this?  I guess it's because with all going on around home and work I have been thinking a lot of how small changes can really have an impact when they start to accumulate. There aren't a lot of big changes I can make to make things better or calmer or more fulfilling, so I am seeking out even the smallest positive change.  One of them being to gradually increasing the incline and speed on the treadmill over several weeks of short runs reveled itself this morning in my ability to tackle a 7 mile run of mostly hills in just a about an hour. Not a shabby time at all.

So I will continue to seek out those little changes and continue to see where they bring me.