Another Photo for the Gallery of Dubious Behavior

This was a memorable marathon - my 19th overall, and my 9th completed in Huntsville on these familiar roads.  The Rocket City Marathon course is one I know intimately, as only one who has suffered and triumphed through these long miles can know.  (And sadly it is the last time the race will be held on this course or hosted at the Holiday Inn.  Race headquarters for 27 years or so will be torn down the day after the race, and the course will change.)

I came very close to canceling this one because the weather forecast had been calling for rain for several days – at one point a startling 100% - and I watched the three or four different weather apps on my iPhone compulsively.  They indeed showed a long weather front – rain in the south and snow in the north – sweeping inexorably across the country, called Winter Storm Electra.  When I went to bed on Friday night it looked like this (the blue dot is Huntsville):

But by race start, the rain had mostly passed by, its cold waters parting miraculously before me overnight like the Red Sea before Moses: 

Light drizzle diminished in the early miles, and I stayed on pace (10-minute miles) for the first half or so, but when we turned north and headed back to downtown Huntsville, the wind was at our back and it warmed up a good bit, and at the same time the nagging pain in my right leg began to tighten up.  I ran when I could and walked when I had to, and was thankful as always to cross the finish line in 5:17:51 – not my slowest time ever, but not the pace at which I had trained.  Still, victory is sweet when the race is difficult.  "The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." - Moliere. 

And as all marathon runners know, the first goal is to merely cross the finish line.  And what a great experience along the way!  That same house in the Twickenham Historic District was blaring the Halleluia Chorus from Messiah in the early miles, and Christmas decorations all were displayed all along the way.  One house had everything covered in its front yard:  Frosty, Santa, and the Nativity Scene carefully fenced in with candy canes - separating the sacred from the profane, I suppose.  Every time I needed to see it, I saw a sign or shirt with the words, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

This was perhaps the most difficult race I have run.  Do I ever want to run a marathon again?  I have to wait before I can answer this question.  It is easy to trot out that old runners piece of bravado, "You don't stop running marathons because you get old; you get old because you stop running marathons."  But there is more to it than that.  There is the absolute feeling of accomplishment, of glory, of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving when I cross the sweet finish line again in celebration of life and health and fitness and strength.  Amen. 

And so another photo goes on the little Gallery of Dubious Behavior behind the fireplace.

The Starting Line

Has it been so many weeks since I have written in this blog?  I'm not sure anyone is reading it anyway, but I thought I should record my thoughts and concerns about the upcoming marathon this Saturday - only four days from now.  I have been bothered by a nagging injury - a recurring tendinitis that seems to involve all the muscles and tendons of my lower right leg, the ones used for driving.  I suppose this means I have been going on too many drives and not enough runs, because during long runs it completely disappears.  That's when all the other aches and pains raise their nagging heads!

And then there is the rain - going up this week from a 70% to an 80% to a 90% chance on Saturday.  I do not look forward to running four-and-a-half hours in cold rain.  So I called the Holiday Inn to see what their cancellation policy was, and found out that it had already passed.  This seemed to be the final sign I needed to go ahead and prepare myself.  So I made reservations at Connor Steak house this morning, gathered together all my receipts and other information, and began to organize my running gear, which does indeed include a wide variety of options for rain.  And instead of running my chainsaw and splitting firewood today, I think I'll do some light work around the house, like hanging up Christmas lights outside.

Four years ago I qualified for Boston at this race, and they were also calling for rain, as close to race time as the evening before.  But it miraculously dissipated, and the same thing can happen this time.  I have already decided - and stated publicly - that if it is pouring rain at 8:00 a.m. on  Saturday, I will simply call it off, and save this fitness built up over so many weeks for another race, like the hot Chocolate 10-K in January.  I have nothing to prove.  And hard training never goes to waste.

But if the weather is half-way decent - that's all I ask, really, 50% or so - then I will go for it.  "The readiness is all," as Lord Hamlet said.  And I am ready.

And besides, I need a new hat.