If I had a crystal ball last December, I would not be training for this marathon right now. No maybe, no doubt. If I had seen then the winter of ’13-’14 that was ahead, I would have said “not this time”. However, the fact that my running friend and I have run right through to the other side makes this marathon even more valiant.
I admit I was not especially enthusiastic about this marathon at the beginning. Last year had been a difficult one, with the spring marathon, summer half ironman, fall metric century ride, and the crazy idea I conceived for November, “5K a Day”. When December 10th rolled around and we were kicking off our training with an 8-mile long run, I felt more like I was doing it because I should, not because I wanted to. I hoped and assumed the passion would strike at some point, because dropping out wasn’t an option but neither was slogging grudgingly through hundreds of training miles.
For my very first run of this marathon cycle, I wrote in my training log:
“Run 8 in 1:15:49 (9:28 pace): 20-degrees and 22 mph winds. Tried to run perpendicular to the wind but [the road I chose] is so HILLY and there’s nothing to block the wind for 5-10 miles; I was almost blown off the road, and when trucks passed it was like hitting a wall.” (December 10, 2013)
The second run wasn’t much better:
“Run 9 in 1:31:14 (10:08 pace): Lots of snow on ground, more soreness prob bc of running so tentatively to not slip.” (December 17, 2013)
By the third, we should have been reading the clues:
“Run 6 in 55 (9:12 pace): on TM due to crazy cold, and sad to miss annual Christmas Eve run w/ Dawn.” (December 24, 2013)
Third time’s a charm? After three in a row like that, we should have seen the signs! As anyone familiar with the weather of this past winter knows, it got no better. We did our 12-mile run inside my gym, alternating between 3 miles on the treadmill and 3 miles on the 16-laps/mile indoor track. The constant turning/leaning left us with minor but undeniable injuries. Fortunately, a running friend told us about a much bigger indoor track, and that became our savior. Spending each week fretting when the weather and our schedules would allow us to do these long runs was exhausting. Now, we could plan a time and just go to that track if needed. Which we did. A lot.
Adding up my miles from January and February, I ran 124 miles inside – treadmill or track – compared to only 84 miles outside.
I know better than to taunt Mother Nature when it comes to Chicago weather, but it looks like we are through the worst of it. While we were not relishing the idea of 124 laps around that track for our 19-mile run, we were ready for it. Fortunately, the day of our planned 19-mile run arrived sunny and 40-degrees, with most of the never-ending snow cleared off the roads. Side note: I got us lost and we did 20-miles by accident; something that would not have happened on the indoor track!
Next week’s “official” 20-mile run is forecast to be 47-degrees with a 40% chance of rain. Not great, but after what we’ve been through, that’s manageable. I refuse to speculate on what St. Louis weather will be on April 6, but I am optimistic. Somewhat. There’s also the part of me that thinks Mother Nature will make it 80-degrees just to torment us.
This is one of the worst winters in Chicago’s history. We ranked 3rd in total snowfall, though I don’t know the actual statistics for temperature. I do know, however, that we had four days off school because it was too COLD, which has never once happened in my life, nor have I ever been aware of the ice cover on the Great Lakes before this year. So, it’s been nasty. On many a day, we were colder than Barrow, Alaska, which is north of the arctic circle. The term Chi-Beria was coined, combining Chicago and Siberia. We heard the term “Polar Vortex” just about every time we flipped on the news. Road salt became scarce about mid-January, and the temperature never cracked freezing for weeks, making running on the roads nearly impossible even in between bouts of snow and dangerously cold temperatures.
When I was training for my first marathon, I was told to never look more than two weeks ahead, or it would be too overwhelming. I believe that’s what helped us Survive Chi-Beria. We had no CHOICE but to focus only on the next run, and the next, and the next. When can we fit it in, what will the weather be, where can we do it? There was absolutely no way to contemplate what was farther ahead, so we didn’t. And my inner Pollyanna kept convincing me that “THIS has got to be the last of it”.
The ten-day forecast looks great in terms of temperature, but I remind my inner Pollyanna that some spring weather conditions are miserable, too. Like wind. I remain cautiously optimistic.
Still, never ONCE, through all this, did we skip a single run due to weather. We adapted, rearranged schedules, laughed at our own insane fortitude. Clicked off lap after lap on the indoor track.
Excuses get you nowhere.
Athlete After All 
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