This was not the blog entry entry I had planned to write today. In fact, I had something else on a completely different topic finished and ready to post. But as I've experienced quite a bit lately, situations - and goals - can quickly change. I personally witnessed this fact firsthand last Saturday as I stepped outside before sunup to check the weather conditions before preparing to leave for the Frostbite Series half-marathon (13.1 miles) in the park. After breathing in a lung-searing dose of wintery air, I checked the temperature on the Internet - 12° with a wind chill of -7°.Now I've run in some cold races in my day. I reflected back to the 1994 Chicago Marathon that began with a comfortable temperature in the 50s before the city lived up to its windy nickname and blew in a cold front (don't say front) dumping a bone-chilling mixture of snow and sleet on me as I hobbled the final six miles along Lake Shore Drive. A woman, who obviously felt my pain or simply couldn't bare to watch a grown man both shiver AND cry, gave me her jacket with a toasty fur collar. As I crossed the finish line that day, I wasn't sure if my fellow runners were laughing at me because I was swaddled in a woman's jacket, or because the brown suede clashed horribly with the yellow Nike running shirt I was wearing beneath it . . . I'll never know for sure.
Anyway, let's leave that disturbing vision behind - permanently - and return to our present-day story. As I bundled up in my layers of dri-fit clothing (not running was never an option) and arrived at the starting line, I reminded myself that I was running this series of races simply to get a training base for the big races coming this spring, summer and fall. I plan on running the St. Louis Half-Marathon in April, during which I hope to run a time that will qualify me for a top starting position at the Chicago Marathon this October and also qualify me for the New York City Marathon (my favorite race!) in November. For today's race, I was in survival mode - simply finishing in these conditions would be victory in itself.
After the first mile, I realized I couldn't feel my legs. Not in a bad, hurtful way, I simply couldn't feel them. I also noticed that ice crystals formed on the back of my throat with every breath - an odd feeling but kinda cool in a weird sort of way. I tucked in with a group of runners to try to stay out of the wind and learned that they were teenager members of a local high school cross-country team. They didn't seem to mind that a father figure was in their midst and keeping pace with their youthful strides.
At mile marker 8, I veered off the course to grab a G-2 (Gatorade) bottle out of the back of my truck. I took a quick swig and glanced at my watch. What? I was actually well ahead of my planned pace and my mind and body felt as if the race had just begun. Jumping back on the road, I began to pick up the pace even further and felt better than I have all year. I pondered a headline of a magazine article I had read earlier in the week that asked the provocative question, "Why now? Why not!" and couldn't decide if the chills I was feeling were from inspiration or the howling wind (I decided it was a bit of both). I'm not sure if the daunting elements had taken all the pressure off of me, or if my off-season training had finally starting to come together but as I glanced up at the digital clock at the finish line, I was happily startled to realize that I had just qualified for my coveted top 1000 starting position at the Chicago Marathon and will need to shave off just three more minutes of time in April to qualify for New York City.
Walking back to my truck, I realized that too often in life, I have my mind made up of how things are supposed to be and when there are supposed to happen. This race result was an exciting revelation and lesson to me - why not seize every opportunity as you have it? Why not go for it when the odds seem against you? Why put a timetable on your goals? Just as I caught my second wind at mile 8, I am ready to catch my second wind in all aspects of my life and am open to all of the possibilities and blessings the universe has to offer. And remember . . . that woman's coat story is just between us . . . okay?
Extra Mileage
Murphy continues to stay busy with his photography and recently sold another one of his photos, this time to an advertising agency. Check out his latest work at: http://flickr.com/photos/murphyr
Little Aubs's latest fascination is a big bag of popcorn at the movies (she takes after Jackie, me and Murph!). We found that she can be bribed to watch even non-animated movies, such as "Bride Wars" last weekend (love that Anne Hathaway) with this tasty, salty treat!Thanks for reading and talk to you soon. Until next time, remember to pick up the pace and run your own race.
- Jeff
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