So…its been awhile. Almost a year. But, it’s race season, so…I’m back. Just in time for Way Too Cool. Two years ago, it poured. Buckets. Like therapy, a shower, and cardio, all at once. I’ve never been so wet and muddy. And, I ran the best 50k I’ve ever run. How, I’m not sure. Well, yeah, I am. Pretty sure it was some grit, determination, and a gym called Orange Theory.

Last year, it was wet. And cold. But no rain. And I…well, it wasn’t fun. Fighting off injury, recovering from a different injury, cold, under trained, and just not feeling it. I didn’t have a good run….was out of it, made rookie mistakes, and just needed a break.

Over the summer, when I returned to the same place for an attempt at a 50 miler, it was hot.  Well over 100 hot.  I made it to mile 20…I guess that’s saying something.

This year, I was determined to be ready. I trained, with a plan that worked for me. Mileage goals…mixed with long runs. Enough wiggle room for life. Lots of back to back OrangeTheory classes.  And it was good. I ran more miles in January 2018 than either January 2017 or 2016.  And, the miles came easy, other than a few tough days (we all have them ;)), I didn’t have to fight for them. I just ran. A lot. Smarter than I had in the past. Stronger. Maybe faster.

And then I started tracking the weather. First it was maybe wet and cold. Then most likely wet and cold. Followed by definitely. Shortly followed by colder…colder enough to snow. Then definitely cold and snow. 500 feet higher, and I’d be looking at a run through a blizzard.  I’m pretty sure there’s a few thunderstorms thrown in there too.  Awesome.  Exactly what I was hoping for.  Or, more like everything I wasn’t.

So…what now?

I’ve come this far…and spent too many mornings training before the sun came up to walk away now.  So, I’ll take the advice from 2016 to heart.  Staring down 2016’s rain-pocolypse, the best advice I got was to plan for it.  Expect it to pour…expect traffic to be bad…expect to get in late and wake up early.  Take the waterproof camera.  Have fun with it.  And I did.  Made the three turned five hour drive. Enjoyed Carl’s Jr. instead of my typical pre-race pasta. It was a wet, muddy, slog through the forest…I got soaked, got dirty, took pictures, made friends…and somewhere in there ran my fastest 50k ever.

So, for 2018’s race-pocolypse (cause what else do you call a race where you’ll freeze, it will probably rain, it might snow, and it might thunder), I’ll bundle up, bring the waterproof camera…plan to laugh, hopefully make some friends.  Maybe enjoy some more Carl’s Jr. And who knows, maybe I need terrible weather to have a good race.

Life is either a daring adventure….or nothing at all.  And, I suppose if all else fails, I do miss thunder storms, and I can always stop and build a few snowmen along the way.