For distance runners, fall is the best season of the year. Lots of people love the fall because of the beautiful colors as the leaves change. Or they appreciate the holidays like Thanksgiving or Halloween (not an actual holiday, I know). Or they love football. But for runners, the fall represents cross country season. Or the culmination of all their marathon training during the long hot summer. There are probably more marathons in the fall than all the other seasons combined, because, in most of the country, fall is the best time of the year to run.
The weather is the key. Temperatures are mild, even crisp. To a lot of people it is a time when it starts to get cold. To runners, it's a time when we can start our run feeling a little chill, and finish it comfortably without needing to wring out our clothes from dripping sweat!
Last weekend, the final weekend of summer 2009, was the day most of those training for the Chicago marathon finished up their hard work and entered the 'taper' phase. I heard lots of talk about the 20 milers many of my friends were doing. They had a great weekend for running, and as the days grow shorter, the weather is going to continue to be perfect.
Truth be told, It makes me feel a little envious, and a little bit like a slacker. I'm not running a fall marathon, and for the first time in more than a year, I failed to get a long run in over the weekend. In fact, Saturday's Mad Dash to Madison 5k was my big effort of the weekend. But enough about me. Let me tell you about the race.
It was part of the Blackhawks training camp festival at the United Center. I agreed to run as part of a media contingent arranged by my friend at Fox 32, Amy Freeze. We had a fun group of runners from print, television, public relations, even Miss Illinois! Hawks President John McDonough was also there to support the runners and the festivities. He tells me he was a runner for years before his knees decided he should try something else.
I never heard the final number of runners entered, but it was a small field. I'm sure there were fewer than 1000 runners, and many of them were hockey fans who came out to enjoy it, but don't do many runs otherwise. But course was flat and fast. The weather was about perfect. And the leaders of the race were still in my sights at the one mile mark. That hasn't happened in many, many years.
Unfortunately, I really never mentally prepared to try to run fast, and I lived up to my low expectations as the race unfolded. I never warmed up, and shortly after the starting horn (sounded by Hawks legend Stan Mikita), I ran with my friend Tom, who is still trying to get his speed back after a year off with injury. I was trying to help pace him to his goal time, which he made easily. In retrospect, however, I think I provided more irritation than support. I encouraged him to try to catch the next person in front of us all the time, while he was running a good pace regardless. In a race that short, each runner really needs to run his or her own race.
When I finished, I felt a little empty. It's interesting, because no matter your expectations or goals, any time you pin on a number in a race, you tend to want to do well. I didn't really try to run well, and therefore I felt like I betrayed the spirit of the race in some way. It's strange, but most of us race to try to challenge ourselves on some level. In this case, my finishing time was probably about a minute and a half slower than I was capable of running on that day. Oh, wait, I said enough about me earlier didn't I?
Anyway, no one really talked about times when we finished. Although I do have to say I'm proud of my wife for cutting more than a minute and a half from her 5k time of just over a month ago. Her determined effort to get back to her 'pre-maternity' body is paying off! All in all, It was a fun morning, and a great way to get psyched up for the Hawks season!
Oh, and please excuse all the pictures of me. I wanted to show the people I was talking about, but I happened to be in all the pictures!
Congratulations to all the runners who did their 20 milers over the weekend. Enjoy the taper. Get lots of rest, and eat and drink well for the next couple weeks. Remember, there is nothing you can do at this point before the race to improve your fitness. The work is done, and you can really only fine tune things at this point. You can, however, hurt yourself by doing too much at this point before the race. So relax and have fun. And enjoy the fall!
See you on the roads....
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