It's the Season for Daydreaming

The weather has slowly been getting better. The sun has been starting to show it's face earlier in the morning. I am finding daffodils and crocuses in my garden. And, most of all, it is starting to smell like Spring. As these changes start to happen around me, I start to daydream. Daydream about training and racing another marathon.

It is the season that long runs start to call to me and I get excited about what that may mean. The season to choose a race that is 9 months away and build a training schedule to get me there healthy and prepared. It also means it's the season:


*for hours spent on the road telling my right foot and left foot to alternate and move forward. A simple, repetitive tasks that requires minimal thought, a wonderful change from my everyday life.


*for perfecting the art of a balanced breakfast that can fuel a four hour run.


*for relishing the quiet running paths after running alongside a busy road.


*for eating GU packs once again (yikes!)


*for walking in the door, after hours on the road, starving and tired. Walking straight to the fridge and grabbing whatever might fight off the hunger so that I don't fall over.


*for planning on Friday night what I will wear on my long run only to have to change it at the last minute because it decided to snow on Saturday morning!


*for experiencing all different kinds of weather elements on one long run since I am out there for so long. Wind, rain, hail, sun, and even snow.


*for seeing the irony in life as a car pulls into the crosswalk I am in, quick enough for me to have to abruptly stop, and that car has a bumper sticker on it with the word "COEXIST".


* for having the "long run stink" waft up from my clothes around mile 12. Being able to say to my training partner, "Man, I stink!" 


*for feeling ecstatic that the run is going great.


*for tears of realization that there is still 10 miles to go and the tank is empty.


*for early morning trips in the dark to the start of the race.


*for running a race with the goal of getting to my support squad, my family, at the end as quickly as possible.


*for finding the perfect race and loving every minute of it.


*for finding the worst race and loving every minute of it!


*for thanking my body for being able to run 26.2 miles.

But this year my training season will be a bit different. This year, I will be logging many of my miles alone, without my training partner. For the past two years, we have prepared for 3 marathons and multiple half-marathons together. She is missing out on all the fun for good reason, her 2nd will be born in August.

And I will miss her greatly. Having someone understand the lure and the insanity of running 26.2 has been a tremendous gift. Knowing someone out there understands why I do what I do and finds equal joy in it. Knowing that there is someone out there who I can talk to for four hours straight to make the miles fly by. Who understands, with one look, that a particular long run is going to be aptly named, long. But, I know she will be back in action soon and willing to log the miles again with me.

So, here's to another great running season and new racing adventures. May I enjoy it as much as I did last year and may it be as good to me as it has been in the past. Now, if for some reason, this post has awakened a desire in you to join me on my next 14 miler, just let me know. I always welcome good company!