Two 2012 Marathons to savor

The snow storm that pummeled Colorado last night was predicted to be here in Hog Heaven by this morning.  But, I awoke to . . . light rain.  To celebrate, I did a hill workout: 6 x .5 mile (4% grade) at 5K effort.  Darn near 5K pace which surprised me.  A hill workout so soon after my last long run (22 miles last Saturday) might not have been the smartest thing, but I felt fine and wanted a hard effort today.  So, we'll see how it goes.  I'll do cross training tomorrow and likely run a slow and easy 7 miles on Saturday. 

BTW: The snow has just been delayed.  The Weather Service is still predicting 2-4 inches overnight tonight.  But, one week from today will be March.  And, March usually brings spring even in Hog Heaven. 

I'm counting down the days 'til spring and to the May 6 Colorado Marathon.   I'm actually excited about two marathons this year: the Colorado Marathon where I'll be trying to improve on my recent marathon times and the Olympic Marathon in London: August 5 for the women and August 12 for the men.  If you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to the Olympic marathon course: http://www.london2012.com/documents/general/london-2012-marathon-route-map.pdf

The course starts (and finishes) on the Mall near Buckingham Palace and runs through central London, much of the way along the Thames River.  The organizers selected the route for its scenery and it passes Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Nelson's Column, among other London landmarks.  Whether the runners notice or not, it should be an interesting route for television viewers.

For a preview of the front of the men's pack at the Olympics, watch the results of the April 22 London Marathon.  All the prominent Kenyans--who won all six of the Marathon Majors in 2011--will be there including world record holder Patrick Makau.  If the Kenyans should falter, their fellow east Africans should benefit.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Olympic medalists didn't come exclusively from east Africa: Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.  Yes, tiny Eritrea.  Three of the top twelve marathoners in the world come from there.

The African women should be strong in London, but the rest of the world has a better shot than in the men's race.  My favorites are Kenyans Mary Keitany and Florence Kiplagat, but there are a number of women from outside Africa who could surprise.  I continue to believe that American Shalane Flanagan has a shot at a medal.  The home town favorite, of course, will be world record holder Paula Radcliffe.  But, Radcliffe has a history of faltering in the Olympics (dropping out in 2004 and finishing 23rd in 2008) and she is 38-years-old.

Bring it on!