Fall Marathon Season...

Fall Marathon season is officially upon us. Several friends ran their respective marathons this weekend. Chad qualified for Boston at St. George yesterday. He worked hard for it and really deserves this. I'm super happy for him. St. George was originally the fall marathon that I was going to train for this year, but I did not get in through the lottery. The course is supposed to be very PR friendly due to the significant elevation drop, so I'll probably try to get in again next year. Other Rogue's qualified there yesterday, too. Congrats to all!

And, then there was Chicago today. The weather conditions were brutal for marathon running there today, and I am soooooo glad that I wasn't there to run. I would have died a slow, horrible death in that heat and humidity, I'm sure. I applaud those who ran and finished, even though it was not within the goal time that most were shooting for. I also have tremendous respect for those who bowed out at the halfway point knowing that it was not their day in order to save their legs for another upcoming marathon instead. This is just one of the things that is so hard about the marathon...6 months of training and hard work all comes down to one day where anything can happen. I ran Chicago last year (in completely opposite weather conditions, thankfully), and I had been training at a BQ pace all summer. I knew it would be difficult and everything would have to go absolutely perfect that day for me to qualify, but I had a chance...until I got sick a few days before the marathon. I had an emotional meltdown at packet-pickup at the Expo the day before the marathon because this was not happening the way that I had planned it. I probably shouldn't have ran at all, but I just couldn't imagine letting it all go to waste. In retrospect, the smart thing to do would have been to refocus on Dallas in December, which is what K actually suggested as I was sitting in the hot tub after the marathon. It all comes down to persistence and hard work...and, a little bit of good luck.