Marathonjunkie's blog

Perhaps it is similar to pickles and ice cream for the expectant mother, or maybe comparable to a championship ring for an OSU alumni…but after 30 days from not running…my body so craved a long distance run that I jumped into a small local race in Dublin, Ohio. The Last Chance for Boston was designed to allow anyone wishing to make the current year Boston Marathon as a great way to pace for the qualifying time.

The race is a one mile loop run in 26 consecutive laps. The only difficulty lies in the unpredictability of Ohio weather. Having lived in more states in the past 15 years than I have fingers, I am confident that the motto of each of those states should be that if you don’t like the weather just wait 15 minutes. I spent early Friday morning on February 9, running in mild conditions around the limestone path of Antrim Park. I watched as Canada geese flew overhead and caught a brief glimpse of the sun through the leafless trees. My legs were still feeling slightly heavy from a few marathons last year. This burden told me that I might not be ready for the full distance. But something about the way the geese flew overhead tempted me to further contemplate jogging that mystical distance. Birds fly because the can. I believe some things are just that simple. We find ourselves intrinsically motivated and satisfied by the things in which we experience success.

Last Sunday morning I woke to pitch black conditions and very still air. The temperature hovered at 18 degrees. I left the house with shorts and a Wiki Max top and watched my breath escape my lips like a heavy San Francisco fog. Standing still provided a warm feeling but moving even an inch in the cool air caused my hair to stand on end. I embraced the cold air with ambition and determination. A few quick steps and I knew my body would be on its way to a warm buzz. A soft glow canvassed the sky from downtown Columbus and the dim light would be my only company for the first hour and a half of my run. The grip of the cold dark night gradually gave way to the encroaching day only to reveal loaded snow clouds. I found myself stamping through soft powder for the last hour. By the time I had made it back to ground zero there was a little over four inches spilling over the top of my shoes. I spent that last 4 miles wishing for spikes.

The weather guys actually got it right today. Unfortunately for me they were right. The rain started on Saturday and continued to flood the Columbus area all weekend. In fact at the time of this writing it was still raining. So do I stay inside and ride, or find some comfy little treadmill to get in high speed miles while the treadmill does all the work. I decided to head out on the bike for a quick 40 miler. Rain or no rain. Two miles and just under 6 minutes into it I was soaked to the bone. Just under two hours to go and I was already feeling like a sea cucumber in the North Atlantic. Temps slowly dropped throughout the ride but remained comfortable in the low 40's and upper 30's. Perhaps a water proof jacket would have offered a little respite from the water and windchill. Seeing my good friend Jimmy down and out in the morning with some sort of all over body flu had me questioning if I should encourage the virus to latch on to my immune system. As I gave the weather a second look out the back window, Jimmy asked me if I was really about to go out in the rain on my bike. I smiled and said it could be worse. He said how?...it is raining,cold and miserable out there. I said "it is above 32 and thus no ice" as I grabbed my still bruised hip. That is when I realized the trails would be void of all other traffic and I would have them to myself. I put on my swim goggles, mounted the bike and dove in. I managed 37 miles in one hour and 49 minutes. Hot chocolate and a scalding bath were in order for the day. I am sitting on the couch with a down comforter and my electric blanket. I might be comeing down with something. Tomorrow is another long run....the rain is supposed to subside and I am excited that the temps are going to get a little cooler. We will be in the low teens for Thursday and Fridays long runs. I may have to wear a shirt.

The past several days of training have been slugging it out in the rain and clouds. Of course with temps in the 40 and 50's it has been rather easier to get in 10 and 12 per day. I still get strange looks for running without too many clothes on. But I have really become aclimatized to the high 30's in shorts and gloves. Fair warning....don't stop to walk or dig out your shoes in mud in these temps. The chill starts quickly.

I am not sure at what temperature my MP3 battery will fail but I would like to ask Duracell and/or Energizer to let me take their best battery to the NPM and test the limits of their batteries as I test my own limits for a great race.

Most of my miles are along the paths of the Columbus Metro Park Systems. On Wednesday morning I opted for the planned wind chill ride. As expected the wind was howling and the temps had dipped to the low 20's. There was about 1/2 an inch of snow on the ground. The icy chill in the air had caused all of the standing puddles of 3 days of rain to ice over. I would find out just how solid the ice was all too soon.

The 21 mm tires on my tri-bike slung snow up onto my helmet and my back. The initial shock of cold snow sneaking inside my thin jacket shocked my system and seemed to spur my legs to go faster. Perhaps is was an involuntary response to warm up. The snow and ice beneath the tirese made the flimsy bike even less responsive than normal. My cold tight muslces stabbed at the pedals and my rear wheel would spin at the top of every pedal stroke. I soon realized I was in for a long ride.

On the 8th of Monday I decided to start some cold weather running in Northern, Ohio. Knowing full well that it is usually colder about one hour before daybreak I opted for the early 5:30 am run. Windchill at 20 and temps near 25. Winds were sustained around 5 to 8 miles an hour. I started the run with shorts and a thin dri-fit long sleeve. One mile into the 6 mile run I tossed the shirt and finised the remainder in shorts, gloves and my trail pegasus. The fun thing was that I actually broke a sweat. I remember watching a masters runner in Mississippi do some long runs in the two weeks of winter that Mississippi has. He would start of with barely a stitch on. Gloves,shorts and shoes. He always stated that when their is not wind...you can run in anything. I found out this past Monday that he was dead on. I was so comfortable while humming along in the lower twenties.

So on Januaray 1st I was told about the NPM. And although I did 52 marathons last year and figured 2007 to be relaxing, I could not resist a challenging race like the one at the North Pole. On January 1st I traveled back to Ohio from my last marathon for 2006. Several emails pointed me toward the NPM. I woke up on the second of January and told myself to relax for few days. It could not be done. As I tried to sit in my puffy black barca lounger...my legs began to twitch out of control. I soon found myself out in the freezing rain on my bike in the middle of a 40 mile ride. I loved every minute of it.