As we head into the depths of fall and on into winter, most of us have done our big races for the season and are in recovery or maintenance mood. A good time of the Year to get over those nagging injuries and do some cross training. Give your body a break. I know if you have been running well over the Year you don't won't to loose the momentum you have built up. However, running is hard on our bodies. If you have been doing three hard workouts a week cut it down to one. For instance on your long run cut your pace time down. You will feel a lot better after the run and your body will recover faster. I did my last "big" race a couple of weeks ago and like the idea of coasting out the rest of the Year and planning races for next Year. In the New Year start building up again. Maybe you are doing Around the Bay, then a Marathon in the Spring. Build it up as best you can January through March. Maybe some tread mill runs or cross training maybe needed because of poor weather conditions. At XSNRG, we run all Year round outside. It feels a lot easier to run with a group at a specified time. Gets you out the door and gets some time in on your feet. Don't feel the need to go crazy at XS during the winter months. Maybe some nights will probably be better than others. On these nights you can push it a little harder. Happy winter running! "Running should be a lifelong activity. Approach it patiently and intelligently, and it will reward you for a long, long time." -Michael Sargent