For this week, we are looking at the coldest "first week" of TRY that I can remember. Hopefully the park service still had a plow truck available and has the course cleared out. Because only a lunatic would run in snowy and slushy conditions, right? (But more on that later). As "always" the group will meet up at the 0.0 mile marker of OLP at 5:30 with the group run starting at 5:35. Is anyone expecting new friends to join in? (Probably not this week, right?)
Lots of random thoughts this week:
1) I would like to start with an official congratulations to a new wave of TRYers. The spring birthing season is complete with Amy and Ben welcoming Evelynn into the fold on April 2nd. Congratulations on kid #2 guys! That is on the heels of Corey and Jacque welcoming Lydia and Matt and Lisa welcoming Evelyn (I know, dueling Evelyn(n)'s...hawkward!) back in March. I think all three girls are slated for the Liverpool high school graduating class of 2034? Watch out, planet Earth! Hopefully it works out that we'll have a stroller brigade filled with new baby girls once spring finally gets here.
2) A different type of congratulations to all the kerr-aaaa-zzzz runners that completed the "Syracuse Half Marathon" on Sunday. The conditions were so out of whack that the story got picked up by Runner's World today! Story including video here.
For TRYers and friends I believe we had the Duerr's, the Berman's, Eric, Janna, and the Roger-dodger's all out there in weather more suitable for the Iditarod than for a spring jaunt. Facebook reports (and the RW story) all had the same theme - it was the worst running conditions that almost anyone had ever ran in. Which made me wonder a couple things. 1) After the extra pain from the poor footing wears off will this become your most memorable race ever? The time will unlikely be a PR (or stay a PR) but in all likelihood you'll never run in a snowstorm like that again. And since the bad parts tend to fade away in memory leaving only the good...will this become THE go-to story for most people that finish it? 2) Does a race owe it to it's participants and volunteers to cancel for the greater good? I would guess that less than 5% of the racers would have kept an informal plan to run a 13 mile training run outside that morning, so why is that so many showed up and ran the race? Human nature is that if you paid money for something, you don't want to waste it, plus since it was not cancelled and "everyone else showed up to do it" that you have to do it too. So it was a "perfect storm" of monetary and peer pressure that led to an otherwise illogical decision. It's interesting certainly. And not all that dangerous of temperatures and conditions compared to what we get in the heart of winter. But how many people have to end up in PT for knee and ankle tweaks from thousands of slippery foot landings for it to not be worth it? Certainly for anyone that has the rest of their spring running derailed by a minor (or major) injury it was a poor choice. But how many cases of that would have to happen for the race itself to have been a poor choice?
Then again, some people thrive in inclement weather, so how would a race director ever make that call?!
3) The weather forecast is not promising for Thursday, but it is opening day for the Syracuse Chiefs! Game time is 2:05. Let me know if you might join in? Obviously will be weather dependent but I am planning to go. It is a "dollar Thursday" so it's $1 soft drinks, $2 beers, and $1 hot dogs.
4) This Sunday is the PWP 5K Run/Walk. (Website here.) Formally called "Paint Westvale Purple" the acronym has lost it's meaning but is the same group that has put the race together the last 3 years. With a busy weekend and uncertain weather, the turnout is likely to be smaller this year...so I encourage anyone and everyone to come on out. There is a free kids dash and valuable age group prizes - so for you fast people - if you want to get a 5K training run in and want to walk away with a $25 gift card to a local establishment...come on out! (Disclaimer: I am the 6th most important person on the 6 person race committee, so I do have a vested interest in this race. I'll be around helping out so I'll be around all morning.)
5) The Celiac Run/Walk is not happening in Syracuse this year due to a scheduling conflict. So that is one less thing I'll bug people about this year.
6) My sister-in-law is looking to recruit a few volunteers to help out for the Syracuse 70.3 on Father's Day Weekend. I'll write more in another post, but think about if you'd be willing or able to help out on Saturday or Sunday to help.
7) I'll try to come up with some fun stuff for this 10th year of TRY...stay tuned.
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