In the aftermath of my second 20 miler the other day, I felt a sense of accomplishment mixed with a sense of wanting to just be done. Sure it was a hard couple weeks, leading into a bit of an easier week. So it was natural to want a little bit of a break. But I seriously didn't even want to think about running.
My training for the Wisconsin marathon on May 1st is actually going really well, as far as the indicators like my long runs and track workouts suggest. But I have this nagging injury that won't go away. And I can't help but worry all the preparation will be for naught. Of course, that's the inherent risk in our sport. You can be in the best shape of your life, prepared for a p.r. in your given race, only to be struck by an injury, or terrible weather on race day.
Under normal circumstances, I can talk about running all day, any day. Maybe more than is healthy. But, this weekend, I was happy to talk about anything but running. I've gone through periods like this in the past, but never so far out from race day. So we'll see what it all means come race day. Once the gun goes off, all the consternation beforehand is forgotten.
That said, I still have to write about something in this space. I could write more about how the Shamrock Shuffle set a record for starters a week ago. Or I could go on about how the Chicago marathon closed a month earlier than ever before this year. That's a crazy one.
But instead, I want to simply give you a little heads-up about another race that may fill up soon. The Rock-N-Roll half marathon on August first already has 11,000 entrants, and will likely sell out. In case you aren't familiar, this is the race that used to be the Chicago Distance Classic (that was co-sponsored by ABC-7), and was then briefly owned by John 'The Penguin' Bingham. Last year, the popular Rock-N-Roll series bought it and it was a big hit with 14,000 runners, including Kara Goucher.
Goucher has established herself as the best American woman in the marathon in the last year or two, but at the Rock-N-Roll last year, she did something I've never seen in a major race. She won the race outright. In fairness, there were no world class men in the race, but she beat a strong field of Chicago area men, who, as we know are no slouches.
And, as satisfied as I was with my own half marathon time of a week ago, I noticed when looking back at last year's race, that she beat my time by a little more than a half hour. Ouch.
Anyway, the relevant information about the race at this point is that you have to sign up really quickly to save 25 bucks. They raise the price starting April first. I ran it last year, and had a blast. The bands every mile are a great motivator, and the post-race concert is a blast. It was one of the most fun races I ran last year. I plan on being out there again this year. I think. Here's a link: http://chicago.competitor.com/register/
But I don't want to think about it right now. Enough about running.
See you on the roads.....
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