Citizen Cope @ Terminal 5 & Chi-Town Aftermath

Two Nites of Citizen Cope @ Terminal 5;  Bowery Ballroom would've been a better venue -

Chicago Marathon Aftermath-

Finally got back into the groove with some easy/stress-free running.  I'm in the process of figuring out which marathons to tackle for 2011 (Houston or Austin?).  Winter training is going to be tough, but I'm still going to go out there and race/train in the winter (similar to all the racing in the beginning of this year) - gotta get out of my comfort zone.   However, I'll be careful with the racing volume for 2011 and schedule/space out the races a lil' better.  And....errrrrr oh wait, in less than 20 days, I'll be running NYC!  I'm going to go out there (depending on feel/adjust) and just have fun; no pressure at all-

Again,  Chi-town conditions seemed "perfect" and favorable to me relative to all the marathons I've raced (i hate the cold - but i still get out of my comfort zone and raced throughout the winter).  As for the hot weather, pops and I used to play tennis in cunningham/alley pond/hempstead park in the 90 degree heat and humidity; so thats what I'm used to.  What would I declare to be horrible or less than perfect conditions? There's the monsoon in Hamptons of 2008, where goals were adjusted and there is this year's NJ where I came into the race knowing what I was getting into w/ the heatwave.  Although I ran a 3:26; I was satisfied because I made adjustments to my pace and that was the best that I could for that day.  Moreover, there's the two ultramathons in Quebec with all the heat, humidity and bugs for over 10 hours- i knew what i was getting into.   In addition, Miami's condition was more hot and humid than this year's Chi-town; again, never once did I complain because this is expected given its race location.  I registered for 10/10 because I heard great things about this course.  But I'm also well aware of the unpredictable weather.  Did it stop me from registering?  Not at all, unless Nostradamus could give me a clue on what is in store or all of us.  Believe it or not, I know what I'm getting into and if I truly had doubts about the weather  (if the weather were to affect me) I would've explore other options like mohawk, wineglass, clarence demar, hartford etc.  

Lastly, I'll always remembered when my CPTC coach elaborated over the fact that none of us complained or whined about the weather before racing the club champs; he stated "finish with dignity" all the time.  Granted you can't compare a 5M to a marathon, but it is the same adage and mantra that is certainly applicable to use to keep you going and competing; not whining.

Let me reiterate; from the 21 marathons I've ran, I knew what I was getting into and Chi-town's race condition seemed perfect and favorable to me.  I really believed that competing in the summer (8 races) and training in the sauna-like summer really helped me get comfortable with the conditions.  Hence when it came down to race day, total tunnel-vision mode; never once did I think about the external factors that were out of my control; ie.weather.  If I were to feel oveheated etc, i would slow down and adjust my goals.   At the end of the day, it is all about finishing and perservering the conditions - thats the big picture.   

Onto other news, registration for the 2011 Boston is closed.  I didn't think too much about it until 5:30pm when I heard about the official news.  Seriously, I thought it would be closed before NYC, but 8 hours was very unexpected.  As for the quick close-out I think they should.......I'll keep my opinions to myself since my general comments could be mistakenly directed to any single individual; no offense really.  I'll probably share my opinion over drinks (crunkin' anytime!) or maybe another blog post when the frenzy has died down.  But if it is about stricter standards, then why not revert it like it once was in the 80s (2:50/3:15(?) xy/xx(?)) --- ill be shut out as well.  There's just other variables that BAA could change.  No biggie if so, there's always Big Sur or back to Charlottesville lol

So what's next after Chicago? I'm thinking of nixing Houston and opt for Austin.  I just CAN'T make an executive decision!  Either way, I haven't been to any cities in Texas except for Fort Worth and Dallas.

One more thing, I wanna congratulate my buddy Billy who ran a 6min PR on his half marathon @ Long Beach.  Effin' amazing breakthrough man!!!!!!