In one week, I’ll be running my first 50-mile race. I’ve been diligently following a training schedule, and I’m ready to give it a go. However, this past week, I’ve been unable to run outside at all. There is snow and ice everywhere! In fact, we had to cancel our (outside) training run with Boise RunWalk (our training group) for the first time ever. The running path was simply unsafe to run on, and it would have been irresponsible to lead a group of runners and walkers on such treacherous conditions.

That said, I’ve had to move indoors and train on a treadmill – and this week will probably be the same.  Not the ideal scenario for the last couple of weeks before a long race, but I’m lucky to be able to get my workouts in at all.

There was a time when I would have stressed out over this “kink” in my training plan – to be honest, a “kink” in any kind of plan would have caused anxiety. However, I’m totally ok with this minor obstacle, and I’ve asked myself: “What is the Opportunity?” in this.

There are several answers to that question:

• Running indoors is adding variety to my training methods.
• Running indoors is decreasing my chances of injury by falling on the ice.
• Running indoors is giving me a chance to monitor and regulate my speed intervals.
• Running indoors is allowing me to run with Mark, something we can’t do outside.
• Running indoors is allowing me to run early in the morning – in the dark. As a result, I have more time to get things done during the day.
• Running indoors is helping me practice being more flexible in my life.

Remember: It’s not the event, but your reaction, that determines the quality of your life. I have not let this change of training plans derail me from my training and my upcoming goal – which is to run a 50-mile race on January 3. The events are what they are – neither good nor bad. We decide how we will deal with them.