Two weeks ago, I ran my best half marathon to date at the Hershey Half Marathon in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Two weeks ago. So, when it came to training for this half marathon I am running in Louisville this morning, it consisted of a few short, easy runs, and a 10 mile run last Sunday morning. And that was all the time I had.
The only reason I signed up for this half marathon was that it is literally in my backyard. One short drive over the river into Louisville, Kentucky and…there we are! I promised to treat it as a training run. A recovery run. I promised to take it easy.
And…I know that I will. I know I will because it’s freakin’ COLD out there. The Weather Channel claims that the temperature is currently 39°F outside, but feels like 37°F when you factor in the wind. Pardon me while I say…BRRRRR! Granted, I would rather run in cold weather than warm, despite not liking being cold. Even at little 5K races, I’m a wimp when the weather turns cold. I like a nice 55°-65°F temperature to run in. It’s ideal and perfect. But, after experiencing a half marathon in brutal heat and humidity, I’ll take cold. Even bitter cold.
So, this morning, I am taking to the streets in the Louisville Sports Commission Half Marathon. This is the second year that it has run. Last year, I was going to run it, but I just hadn’t prepared for it and honestly wasn’t ready. And when I saw the people at the mall walking around in the t-shirts with their finisher’s medals on…I was sad I hadn’t done it. I knew when they announced this one that it was only two weeks after Hershey, but I wanted to run it. No excuse. It’s right where I live.
My greatest source of nerves and concern, however, has not been with my training. I know I’ve trained for this. I’ve run three other half marathons this year and still have one more to go in December. Nope. It was with what I was going to wear. Before you get the wrong idea, let me explain. I have never, as a runner, had to run 13.1 miles in 30 degree temperatures. This is not be trying to be a fashionista runner and look as cute as possible at the start and finish. Nope. I just didn’t know if it was better to wear compression tights…or go with shorts and compression socks. I didn’t know if I should wear a jacket over my tech shirt, or just go with a cold weather tech shirt. This is all a guessing game with me. I went ahead and bought knit gloves I could wear at the start of the race and then simply discard them as I warm up. The fact of the matter is…this race isn’t going to get much warmer than the temperature when it starts. A couple degrees…and that’s it. And that was my biggest source of nerves this time around.
I’m not concerned with my time on this race. I’m not out to set a new PR (although it would be awesome…it won’t be happening). I just want to make sure I am prepared for the conditions. There is a chance we might see a bit of rain at the beginning of the race now. I didn’t prepare for that because the rain wasn’t supposed to hit until late afternoon. I’m hoping it stays north of Louisville.
So, yeah…as you can tell, I’m still a little worked up over it all…but I’ve settled on compression tights and a cold weather tech shirt. Gloves. And, of course, my BondiBand, which I can pull down over my ears to keep them warm. This morning, I am going to just go for a run. A really long, quite chilly run.
And when I’m done…I’m going to go get some food and some coffee…then come home and take a nice warm shower. Because, tonight…I am heading back to the site of the start of the race for a very different sort of event.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN at the Yum! Center. I can’t wait for that either. Lots going on today…but now, I’m turning my focus to the race ahead of me…and just running it the best I can in whatever conditions await.
The Celiathlete 