Spring is on its way!

Guilt's a very powerful motivator. But, not enough of one to coax me out on the roads at the moment. Not only have I not updated this blog for ages, but I have also only run three times since Christmas and they were in a gym in Luton (a stress reliever during a week long training course at Head Office)
Monday 19th Jan 4 miles in 31.53
Tuesday 20th Jan 4 miles in 30.30
Thursday 22nd Jan 4 miles in 32.25

So why do I feel guilty? Firstly my weight has gone back up to 83.5kg, which is nearly what it was before my training for New York started. That means that when I do start running regularly again, my back is likely to get stiff and just carrying that extra weight is going to require more effort.
Secondly, I failed to achieve my first goal of the year which was to keep running through the winter and to run in the Helsby half marathon on 18th January. This was despite entering and receiving my running number and timing chip. As my son said to me 'didn't that cost you money?' He's right! There's a cost to marathon running and that is financial but more importantly time.
So, what will get me running regularly again? Warmer weather, now March is nearly here, but more importantly longer days. I'm not a fan of getting up with the sun, leaping out of bed and running six miles before breakfast. Physiologically that just makes no sense to me, after all, this is the commonest time of the day for heart attacks to occur. Running round the streets in the dark and cold doesn't appeal either. It's not so much the worry of not being seen by motorists, but more the fear of stumbling and twisting an ankle on a poorly lit piece of road.
Guilt hasn't worked, but I'm sure sunshine will. Perhaps I suffer from a weird form of SAD! I've also been inspired this week, by my boss returning from a successful climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro and another colleague running eight miles.