How exciting was it to watch a race??? It’s been so long, I forgot how much I love watching the elites run. And what a field… Sara Hall, Kellyn Taylor, Steph Bruce, Keira D’amato… and on the men’s side, my favorites Jared Ward and Scott Fauble! To cap it all off, Des Linden did the commentating. What more could you ask for?
Until this race, I wasn’t aware of Martin Hehir- but it looks like I’ll be well acquainted with him from now on. What a finish in 2:08:59 (yep, I was yelling at him to get in under 2:09!). And Noah Droddy… if you’re going to come in second, that’s the way to do it- he crossed the finish line ten seconds behind Hehir, then promptly leaned over and vomited. Obviously he gave it everything he had.
Luckily they had ten minutes to clean up the huge puddle of puke before Sara Hall finished in a PR of 2:20:32. Unfortunately for her she was chasing Deena Kastor’s American record of 2:19:36… bummer. To run that fast and set a PR, but still be a little disappointed (which she confessed in her post-race interview). Still… more exciting things to come from her!
Maybe everyone else in the running world already knows this, but for me it was a huge bombshell dropped when they mentioned that Aliphine Tuliamuk is pregnant- that’s a plot twist! Her baby is due in January, and she still plans to run the Olympic marathon this summer.
What a fascinating situation. It’s not a lot of time to recover from childbirth, get back into training and then compete in the Olympics. I’m rooting for her… buuuuuut…. if for any reason she decides not to run in July Des would go as the runner-up, and I’m a huge Des fan (who isn’t?) I can only imagine what’s going through her mind these days.
All in all, it was fun to watch a race, and not just any race, but one with so many inspiring runners. I watched the replay on NBCSN, so I was treated to commercials for the 2021 OLYMPICS! It was such a nice reminder… oh yes- this is going to end. This year has been so flat and blah, but there’s real hope for the future.
Last week’s “training'” looked like this…
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 1.5 mile run, Gauntlet Plank Workout
Wednesday: Strength Training
Thursday: 45 on the bike, Gauntlet Plank Workout
Friday: 1.5 mile run
Saturday: Strength Training
Sunday: 1.5 mile run, Gauntlet Plank Workout
I know… it’s so boring. I love those runs, as short as they are. The bike, not as much, and strength days… I really have to talk myself into them. My motivation has been waning and a couple days last week I almost skipped it. ALMOST. It’s hard to find the motivation when I have so far to go before I can actually train for anything. Maybe watching The Marathon Project will inspire me. I’m sure Sara Hall has been injured… and I’ll bet she does her strength work. I just have to forge ahead until there’s light at the end of the tunnel. We will all get there!
Hope everyone has a happy and festive week of running!
