marathon monday: snow at the halfway point

Monday has rolled around once more, this time bringing along a thick, swirling snowstorm and frigid temperatures. Oklahoma is so beautiful beneath a blanket of new snow, and I am crazy for the muffled quiet. It’s rare and deeply calming. And yes, we know that much of the country, not to mention our neighbors to the Canadian north (Hi Heather!), have been dealing with weather worse than this for a long time, but the Midwest has behaved so springlike since the holidays that this true snowstorm is a surprise. A troublesome but magical surprise.

Also because it’s Monday, my mind is on the upcoming marathon and how training is going. Today begins the tenth week of the program I’ve been (mostly) following, which is just past the halfway point. Wait, what? Already we are halfway there? Life has been so busy otherwise that I’m kind of shocked.

Surprised by snow. Shocked to see that we are halfway to the race. These are good feelings.

Except…

Except that the snow and bitter cold make running impossible, which is frustrating because I’ve really hit an endurance stride here lately. The long runs feel amazing both mentally and physically. I’m to that familiar point where the long run endorphins (they are unique) put me in an amazing mood! Afterwards I feel refreshed, depleted in the best way, and strong. There’s a 17 mile run on the planner for this coming week, and just thinking about it makes me giddy. Nervous, but happy. My legs get bouncy. Of course there’s no telling yet how the weather will cooperate, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

The elliptical machine is great but it doesn’t feel at all the same as running; nor does it really prepare me for the long runs. It’s better than nothing for staying warm and active, though, so I grab time there anytime temperatures or wind chills are below 29 degrees or when my trail is iced or snowed over, which was certainly the case today! Probably tomorrow too. We’ll see after that.

Everything will work out great, of course. Far more serious runners than me are navigating much steeper challenges than this and getting ready. Having fun, running faster all the time, logging miles no matter what. Plus, a super sweet rumor is floating around that Handsome might be shopping for a treadmill.

So I’ve got that going for me. (wink)

‘CAUSE EVERYTHING IS AWESOOOOOOME!!!*
XOXOXO

*Raise your hand if you watched the Oscars Sunday night and the Lego song has been stuck in your head ever since. Yay! That’s not even sarcastic. I kind of love it. The End.