Snow Day!

All good things must end . . .  Including our unseasonably warm and relatively snow-less winter.  With the snow still flying outside, we've got about 3-4 inches on the ground.  (Somewhere between a nuisance and a headache.)  The temp is 16 degrees, and with the winds gusting up to 30 mph, the wind chill is -1.

Nevertheless, I bundled up, grabbed my walking stick and went for a four-mile trek.  With both roads and sidewalks still a mess, I was lucky that today was a cross training day, not a running day.   Even if I don't like the weather, it's nice to get outside and moving.

Jeff Galloway (Marathon: You Can Do It) includes the cross training days in his training program--especially for active recovery--but he concedes that they can be missed, without harm, on occasion.  I have a Type A personality so I don't like to paint outside the lines.  I might miss one or two in a 26-week train-up, but that's about it.  That's just me.  There's no one-size-fits-all marathon training program.  Everybody has to figure out what works for him/her.  I like Galloway because he allows quite a bit of flexibility.  Plus, for the long training runs and the marathon itself, I find that Galloway's unorthodox run/walk/run approach works for older runners like me.  It results not only in a more consistent effort over 26 miles but also a more enjoyable experience. 

The weather should be much better in Houston this weekend for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (men and women).  The top three in each race will qualify to represent the U.S. in the London games this summer.  You can find information on the Trials in lots of places, but the official website is: www.houston2012.com

The good news for us running fans is that the Trials will be telecast on a tape-delay basis on Saturday from 3-5 p.m. E.T.  As they say, check your local listings.

Over 200 women met the qualifying standard for the Trials.  Anything can--and sometimes does--happen at the Trials, but a few of the favorites include: 1) Shalane Flanagan, a relative novice in the marathon--who clocked 2:28:40 in her debut marathon at New York--but the bronze medalist at 10,000 meters in Beijing, 2) Desiree Davila, who owns the fastest qualifying time at 2:22:38 (2011 Boston), and 3) Deena Kastor, the bronze medalist back in 2004.

Quite a few of the leading men and women in the Trials have run right here in River City, a.k.a. Davenport, Iowa, home of the Bix 7-Mile race.  The Bix 7 offers decent prize money and usually attracts a handful of world-class runners every July to the local streets.  In fact, the list of qualifiers (men and women) includes 44 runners who have competed in the Bix 7, including Colleen DeReuck on the ladies side and Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi on the men's side. If you've never been among the c. 20,000 runners for the Bix, check out their website at: http://www.bix7.com/2011/

If I have a favorite in the women's race, I think she's Lisbet Sunshine of Larkspur, Calif.  I don't actually know anything about Lisbet, but I saw her name on the list of qualifiers and was hooked. 

That's me in front of my home. The road to Ft. Collins runs thru rain, snow, heat, and gloom of night, but we runners are an intrepid lot. (Probably not so much heat and gloom of night this time of year.)

Tomorrow:  If the roads/sidewalks are clear, the plan calls for an hour of running (c. 6 miles).  I try to avoid indoor tracks and treadmills.  Later, inside by the fire, we'll look at the men's field for Saturday's Marathon Trials.