NEVER ENDING WINTER

Thursday after work I ran 8 easy miles with some strides. During the run I was planning what I wanted to do on Friday, since I was taking the day off from work. I figured I could get in a 20 miler and then 9 days later get in my last 20 miler before Boston. Well, when I woke to about 6” of fresh snow of Friday, that plan went out the window. Instead, I ended up with a stronger paced 10 miler on our newly fixed treadmill. The motor was replaced and the difference is night and day. I no longer have to wear ear plugs when I run on it.

Saturday morning there was another 2” of fresh snow for our group run. I felt blah and am tired of running on the crappy footing – even with my Yaktrax – so I cut the run short at 11 miles. That gave me 53 miles for the week on 6 runs. I can’t seem to get myself above 60 mpw since I stopped skiing. Now with only four weeks till Boston, I don’t even know if it’s worth it to try and get in two weeks over 60 miles.

Easter Sunday we woke up to – guess what? – 2” more of fresh snow. It’s like the winter that will never end. Seeing the girls in their springy Easter dresses with white sandals in the snow was rather odd. Later in the day I jumped on the treadmill for an easy 6 miles.

During the weekend I finally managed to finish Again to Carthage. Note: if you plan on reading it, you may want to skip the rest of this post.

I have to say I was disappointed. I waded through what seemed like 200 pages of fishing because I thought the final running sequence would be worth it. While there were some very good passages along the way, overall I was disappointed. I thought the whole chapter about trying to get him banned from the race the day before – and what happened regarding that during the race – was out of place. I’m not sure why it was even included. But what bothered me the most was that I didn’t think the description of Cassidy’s marathon jived with his splits. He was a basket-case around mile 17, which I can see that happening to someone. However, he basically ran a 1-minute positive split – that doesn’t happen to someone in his condition. And the whole thing about seeing a former teammate during the race was way too transparent.

Oh well…Friday I was at the library and I came across Kathrine Switzer’s Marathon Woman. There wasn’t much else to choose from so I grabbed it. Well I’m happy to say that it’s been entertaining. After just two days, I’m already near page 200. I think it took me two months to get that far in ATC.

Quote of the day;

“The distance doesn’t matter; it is only the first step that is difficult.” – Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond