The marathon: Not for wusses

Okay, I was asking for it, I suppose. I've dodged bad weather for just about every marathon morning, except for maybe a warm day or two. Heat, I guess I can deal with. Rain and wind? Not sure how to handle. I did run a 30K in rain a few years ago, and my share of other bad races, but not for the full 26.2 miles.

I'll get back to that in a second. In terms of my goal pace and speed, I finished Boston with a decent sub 3:30 that a time I though would be a great training run for a faster Toronto Marathon. In actual fact, I do think I have the fitness for a faster run. My last Toronto Marathon was run in 3:24, ahead of three weeks that included a half-marathon bunny assignment and two more marathons. In other words, last time I did this course, I held myself back.

Tomorrow? Who knows. My fitness may give me a decent performance. I am absolutely untested in the last three weeks. In that time, I've gone through an incredibly busy spell in the news file, all while plotting a major change in scenery.

So my head is not 100% into this race at all. Add wind and rain, I've got this nagging voice in the back of my head that says "hey Kenny, you don't want to catch a cold. You hate running in the rain. You hate the wind. Where's the nip guards for tomorrow? Where's my garbage bag supply?"

I was emailing with a buddy of mine, and he relayed his conversation with another runner who will no nameless but will be toeing the line on Sunday. He was relay talk about backup races, etc.

Here's the paraphrased reply:

"I suppose there's that [bleeped out] half marathon at the end of the month for wusses that are a scared of a little rain....."

Okay. You got me. Race time is at 9 a.m. I'll be there, wind and rain.