It's finally February! The question of the day is: What's the best thing about February? No, not Valentine's Day although that's a plus. The best thing about February is that it's not January and spring is a month closer.
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, but I don't think that it's going to be a typical Groundhog Day. Since winter never really got started, who needs a groundhog to predict its end? In fact, I'm betting that the groundhog never hibernated this winter. Like me, he's been out enjoying our unseasonably warm weather.
That said, today isn't as nice as the first two record-breaking days of this week here in Hog Heaven. But it still isn't bad: cloudy with temps in the 30s and a light wind. I did a one-hour maintenance run at a very relaxed pace. With the Weather Service calling for cooler temps and rain and/or snow Saturday and Sunday, I'm thinking of moving my long run (20 miles this week) scheduled for Sunday back to Friday. So, I wanted to take it slow and easy today in preparation for that. Tomorrow is cross training. Then, we'll see whether the weather favors a Friday or Sunday long run. It's nice having that kind of flexibility. Most folks don't. Until I took early retirement, I didn't.
I missed this when it appeared a couple weeks ago, but Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune ranks the all-time best U.S. marathoners (male and female) here: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-12/sports/chi-benoit-samuelson-top-list-of-us-women-marathoners-20120111_1_women-marathoners-boston-marathon-joan-benoit-samuelson
Joan Benoit Samuelson tops the women's list. Not only did Joanie dominate women's distance running in the 1980s but she also won the first-ever Olympic Gold in Women's Marathon in 1984. Over the years, she's also become a staple at the Quad-City Times Bix 7, the premier local road race--so much so that a statue of her stands near the finish line.
Deena Kastor, who won Bronze in the marathon at the 2004 Olympics and just missed making this year's team, is second. Desiree Davila and Kara Goucher, numbers 7 and 8 respectively, finished second and third at the Olympic Marathon Trials and qualified for this year's Olympic team. The winner of the Trials and my pick for a medal in London this summer, Shalane Flanagan, isn't on the list. With good reason. The Trails was only her second marathon. Give her five years, and I'll wager that she'll be on this list.
Frank Shorter, Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist in 1972 and Silver Medalist in 1976 heads the men's list. I have a particular fondness for Shorter. Although I ran track in high school, I didn't become a road runner until after watching Shorter's performance at the 1972 Olympics. I think that his performance that day--televised by an innovative ABC Sports team that put a cameraman on the back of a motorcycle to record the leaders--was an epiphany for lots of people and helped spur the running movement that first gained real traction in the 1970s.
Bill Rodgers, another fixture at the local Bix 7 and on the winner's stand at the Boston and NYC Marathons in the 1970s and 1980s, is second. Meb Keflezighi, third on the list, and Ryan Hall, tenth, finished one-two at the recent Olympic Marathon Trials.
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