Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Try not to get addicted to running. Here's what it does to you. I was supposed to run Wednesday. It was cold and rainy, so I canceled it. I taught my Ethics courses yesterday, so my next run was scheduled for today. All day Wednesday and all day yesterday, I felt lazy, guilty, dirty, and stupid. Imagine all of these things wrapped up in a ball. What an awful combination! It's been cold and rainy all day today as well, and since I have to go to a meeting soon, I had to get out for my run. I ran 3.1 miles in a cold rain. (By cold I mean 39.6º Fahrenheit.) It was also windy, which made the wind-chill factor close to 30º. I wore Gore-Tex pants and a Gore-Tex jacket, but the pants no longer keep the moisture out. The rain soaked through them, which froze my legs. My cotton gloves got soaked right away, which made my hands ice cold. I wore no hat, so my head was freezing. My shoes got soaked in the first mile, which made them heavy the rest of the way. To add insult to injury, I couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of me because of the water on my glasses. I hated it! But I'm glad I did it. I can now enjoy my day, guilt-free.