Going the Distance: Taper Time - Countdown to Chicago!

Once upon a time, I signed up for Chicago 2014. That was in...February...March...maybe April?? I don't actually remember because after I did that, life pretty much happened, and had I known then what I know now, I may or may not have made the same choice to register.

However, going with the information that I had at the time, which is to say that I hadn't yet resigned from GET, planned to move, gotten engaged, and started a new job that included fall musical responsibilities, I made the best choice I could. I was...still am...super pumped to run Chicago again.

In the wake of life happening, this year's trip to Chicago feels very different than last year's trip to Chicago. Last year, marathon training became this kind of barely sustainable personal journey during which I ran five days a week, harder than I ever had, because I needed to satisfy this desire to challenge myself beyond reason, just to prove that I could do it. It was totally an "all about me" moment, both in the time it required, and in the fact that you learn things about yourself that you really can only learn by reaching mile 24 of a marathon. My training simply could not be that way this year because I'm sharing my time with someone else. Though at this time last year, I had completely made my daily training my #1 priority, that changed this year somewhere between signing up for the race, deciding to move to Rochester and winding up with a ring on my finger. I'm not complaining that this is the way things worked out...just observing that it feels very different to spend half the day running when you're leaving someone at home then it does to lock up an empty apartment.

To be completely fair to J-Word, he has been the ultimate in supportive, and I'm definitely going to continue running as it's become paramount to the way I operate. However, as I head into taper week, I'm also glad that life will slide back into balance. In all honesty, I have not trained as hard as I did last year because I've been trying to maintain some of that balance already. I imagine this could make this year's race more difficult than last year's. Maybe not though...I think I've trained smarter...I'm not as burnt out. Only race day will tell, but as taper week is a time to be reflective of the process as much as anything else, I can say with absolute certainty, the last 4.5 months have been one heck of a journey!

Let's list...

1. This week J-Word and I are facing off in two fantasy football leagues. Bragging rights and a friendly wager over Halloween costumes are on the line...and I lost to him last time we played, so I might be in trouble! Thus, I've been checking my line-ups and the waiver wire trying to put together my best roster. This is tricky business, but when I see stories like this, where an NFL player actually benches himself in his fantasy league, only to have a career game and put up 33 points, I realize that the "tricky part" of it all...is really just a matter of getting lucky!

2. As long as we're talking about running, there are these all important questions that every runner has asked. Are we there yet? definitely applies!!

3. This infograph was SUPER interesting. It compares the average finishing time of participants from one state against the averages of the other 49 states. Conclusions to be drawn...Minnesota is faster than WI. Also...my finishing time last year was faster than the WI women's average by 11 minutes.