Gotta love it! You blink your eyes and all of the sudden it's winter in Chicago. I love running in the cold, and even the snow. It's a great opportunity to get outside and get used to the weather when most people are trying to stay inside. I tried to take a picture of the snow, but by the time I finished my run this morning, it was just about finished snowing.
The winter running blog entry, though is saved for another day. We're still in marathon mode right now, and that raised different issues. Even though I've done a bunch of marathons, my nerves are still pretty frayed at this point before the race. Every little twitch makes you worry about how you are going to feel. Every run feels more sluggish than it should. And I obsess about every variable imaginable on marathon day. So when we get the earliest measurable snow of the year ever, a week or so before the race, it's hard not to worry about what the weather will be like.
It's times like these I need to remind myself that it's going to be fun regardless of the conditions. That's one of the fascinating things about marathon running. You can prepare in most every way imaginable for the big day, but you can't control the weather or how you're going to feel.
It's cliche, but I believe it's true. When it comes to the marathon, 'it's the journey-not the destination' that's important. Hopefully you've enjoyed the training and the process of getting in shape to run 26 miles. The race itself is the reward, but not the only one. Hopefully, every run has been rewarding. For myself, I know I'm in the best shape I've been in for a few years. Whether that will translate into a good time on October 22nd, I can only plan and hope. A 20 mile an hour wind could certainly thwart my plans. So could a couple inches of snow.
One of my training partners, Tom Smithburg, was in great shape this spring. He had done a number of hard workouts and was in position to try to set a P.R. at Grandma's marathon in Duluth. I was sure he was going to put a time on the board that was going to be hard to beat. But then on race day he was cursed with 75 degree temperatures, really humid air, and a slow pace. If he'd known of another race in the next week or so, he would have dropped out and tried again at a different marathon. But that wasn't the case. So he ran and finished about 20 minutes slower than he was planning. It was a good time for the conditions though.
Coincidently, he had run his P.R. a few years earlier at that same race. On that day the conditions were ideal. The temperature was much cooler, and he had a slight wind at his back for most of the race.
It's too early to accurately predict the weather on October 22nd, but I have noticed that it always seems to be pretty good running weather on marathon day in Chicago, regardless of the date.
So I guess we have little choice but to hope that trend continues. And if it doesn't, just remember that giving a good effort in the marathon, regardless of the conditons, should be rewarding in itself. Remember, 'it's the journey.....'
See you on the roads!
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