“Far better is it to dare mighty things, achieve glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure; than it is to rank with those poor, timid souls who neither enjoy nor suffer much; for they live in that gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”- Theodore Roosevelt
The “Mighty thing” doesn’t have to be a ‘saving the world’ kind of thing; but it does mean that in order to stay out of that gray twilight we need to have the courage to dare and embrace our fears so that our “glorious triumph” can be achieved. Try to think about your mighty things. Do you have any? I’m pretty sure you do. There’s no real criteria, no template or recipe. If you had a dream (or a goal); that you were hesitant to attempt(fear of failure? or fear of not doing it perfectly?) but then finally stepped up to give it a shot, then you have dared a mighty thing and have stepped out of the shadows of mediocrity.
For me, I have been checked by failure more times than I can count (and a had few glorious triumphs); but I’m still in the game and….. still vertical.

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I am currently training for a January half marathon, so the workouts I post will speak to that “mighty thing”:

5 Mile descending interval (it’s actually a little more than 5)
2 mile warmup
1 mile @ projected race pace
2 minutes recovery @ race pace +60secs/mile
.75 mile @ projected race pace -30 secs/mile
2 minutes recovery
.5 mile @ projected race pace – 60 secs/mile
2 minutes recovery
1 mile cooldown
Increase recovery jog time according to your fitness level. I do a lot of interval training during the winter to keep my fitness level pretty high without the benefit of long runs. I try to do this one once a week.
Planning an outside trail run (8+ miles) this Saturday from Jordan, MN to a place we call the Mud Farm- time to get the Yak Trax out!

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Here’s a good article about handling your fitness routines in the winter:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/10/winter-workout-tips_n_4401477.html
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Fitness Tip: Flavor for Fitness – Eating food that has no flavor makes it very easy to fall off your healthy meal plan. Food doesn’t have to be fattening and bad for you to taste good, so spice it up. Here are some great flavoring alternatives that don’t add bad calories to your healthy meal plan when used with moderation.
a. Mustard
b. Salsa
c. Flavored Vinegars – Balsamic, Raspberry, Red wine, etc
d. Teriyaki or Low Sodium Soy Sauce
e. Any type of your favorite hot sauce
f. Herbs – Basil, Dill, Tarragon, Rosemary, etc.
g. Spices – Cinnamon, Cloves, Curry Powder, etc.
h. Citrus Juices – Lemon, Lime and Orange both juice and Zest
i. Low and No Salt Seasonings – Like Mrs. Dash, etc.