How badly has this winter in Cleveland affected me? Forget the physical pain, how much have all those miles in artic conditions warped my psyche, impaired my judgement? Here is a simple incident to illustrate. This Sunday morning, I awoke knowing I needed to do about 22 miles, and be home by 10:00 AM, so I got an early start. I had not checked the weather the day before, so I had no idea what to expect. To my surprise and delight, it was a beautiful morning. I dressed and left the house just as the sun was rising. As I ran, I witnessed the cloudless sky morph from stunning Floridian pink and turquoise to deep blue. I though to myself several times, "What a gorgeous morning...what a perfect morning for running."
It was 16 degrees.
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February marks three consecutive months over 300 miles. That, my running friends will understand, is my tribute to the great respect I have for Boston. I was humbled by that course last year, specifically after cresting Heartbreak Hill around mile 21, looking at my time, and naively thinking, "I can finish around 3:10, maybe under, no problem." Idiot. I finished at 3:16:55. You see, what I failed to consider at that moment of exhaustion-induced addle brained stupidity, was that I had nothing left in the bank. I had spent it all to get there, and I had hell to pay for the last five miles. This year, I've been putting miles and miles and miles into my account all winter. I know better than to think that this will guarantee a good time in Boston, but not doing it will guarantee it will not be a good time. Again this year, I plan to run strong through the hills of Newton. Unlike last year, I plan to have something in reserve when the hills are behind me. As my friend Wayne Vereb likes to say, "After Heartbreak, Boston's very runnable." Wayne is a funny guy.
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Training Miles Review for the Week and Month
Total for the week: 87 miles
Total for the month of February: 300 miles
Intervals: On Tuesday the 24th, I ran 9 miles total, with 3 x 1 mile intervals at 6:00 minute pace
Long Run: On Sunday March 1st, I ran 21.5 miles at 7:39 pace.
3 comments:
Our frigid winter makes your running volume is doubly impressive. Good job and good racing luck to you in Youngstown.
Your killing it Frank. I hope it pays off for you in Boston!
Warm sun on your face...as well as a bunch of cold wind 3 out of 4 directions! You really are logging huge miles and can't wait to see how well you run in Boston!
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