I've been on a bit of a hiatus from running this winter. The longest I've gone is 5 miles, and I've only done that a few times over the past three months. Mostly, I've traded in my morning runs for trips to the gym and to yoga. My fellow Galloway teammates (meaning the ones who've also taken the winter off, not the crazy ones who've kept up their ultras all winter) and I have committed to starting again as a group in March, before the season formally starts in May. I failed last weekend when I completely overslept and woke up in Brooklyn at the time I was supposed to be meeting folks in Manhattan. Oops. Too bad time travel doesn't work. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm fully planning to be there. Hold me accountable, people.
I didn't really plan on running a marathon this fall (sound familiar? I had the same thought last fall, and we know how that turned out)-- but I totally caved to peer pressure when the flurry of emails about registering for Chicago flooded my inbox. I knew that there was a chance I wouldn't get into the NYCM through the lottery, and the idea of not running a race made me feel left out. I put aside my concern about cost of entry, flight, hotel, etc and went for it.
So, Chicago, here I come! This makes marathon #5. Hard to believe. I'm looking forward to running in a different city and to seeing friends along the way. That part will be especially great, since I don't get to see my Midwesterners very often. I'm not as excited about getting up early on Saturday mornings all summer, but it would feel strange not to after doing so for two years.
Thus begins another pre-season. Time for some real motivation.
