When they cancel the race...

For the last 6 months I have been looking forward to a trip to Dallas.  It not only included a girls weekend with a runner friend from Michigan but also are friend who lives down there now and I have not seen since last spring but also the Dallas Metro PCS 1/2 Marathon.

However as the 10 day forecast stalking started so did the realization that the trip may not actually happen.  There were icicles hanging off clouds on the forecast! (I rarely see that in the Michigan forecast)  This could not be a good thing.  Never in a million years did I think when flying in December my problem would be flying into Dallas, if anything I worried I would not be able to fly back into Detroit Metro.

Yep it was going from 77 to 37 in a matter of days!

Thursday night though I remained hopeful, packed my suitcase, got the last few things together at the house and went to bed early.  I knew things were already getting bad in Texas and that the weather was already causing problems.  However are flight was not landing till 10:45 am on Friday, so there was still time for things to clear up.

Just a little weather advisory

Friday morning I woke up, checked my flight, it said it was still on time, so I got ready, picked up my runner friend that was traveling with me, and off we went.  We got the car parked, through security, grabbed a coffee and headed to the gate.  Sure enough close to 7:56 am they started boarding our plane. WHAT!?!? It's really going to happen.  I was so excited even though I was still a little nervous about the weather conditions but obviously if we were flying out things could not be that bad.  That's when things changed, the people that had just boarded were being escorted off and Delta was announcing that the flight was cancelled.  Within 5 minutes we had already been rebooked on the 5:25 pm flight.  Ok, just a delay, we can still get there.  Since we had already parked the car, we decided hanging out at the airport was the best idea and we knew we had an extra set of workout clothes so why not find a treadmill.  Luckily the Westin Hotel that is connected to Detroit Metro Airport has a very nice exercise room (4 treadmills, ellipticals, recumbent bikes, free weights, and a pool/hot tub).  For $15 a person we were able to access the fitness center for the day, which included the locker rooms and showers. Was this ideal? No. It was better then sitting in the airport though.  We changed and managed to each log 7.5 treadmill miles, plus some core/strength work before soaking in the hot tub and chatting for over an hour and a half.  Uninterrupted adult conversation with a friend, honestly it was great.

Selfie in the fancy Westin lobby

Selfie after 7.5 sweaty treadmill miles

View from the treadmill

As the day went on, the conditions in Dallas only seemed to get worse and before the Dallas Metro PCS Marathon had made the official announcement to cancel, we had collectively decided that making the trip was not the best choice or the responsible choice.  Not only was the weather still awful, there were (and are as I write this) that did not have power.  There were countless accidents already because the roads were so horrible.  Even if the flight to Dallas had taken off on Friday night, having our friend or her husband make the 20+ minute on a good day drive from Southlake to pick us up was not safe.  Even if the race actually happened on Sunday, it seemed selfish to expect emergency workers or city personal who could be better used elsewhere, blocking off traffic and monitoring a race.  It seemed selfish to have bottled water and finish line food, when there are people in the city that could use that at that moment more then me.  It seemed selfish to take a seat on an airplane, to make a trip that suddenly had so many more cons then pros, when there were men and women just trying to get home to their families who were suffering the storm alone.  It was not an easy decision, and really sometimes being an adult and making a logical choice stinks, but it was the right decision.  

Am I sad that I was not able to make the trip, sure, I was looking forward to a girls weekend with my friends.  I was looking forward to a long overdue run with my friend.  It will happen, there will be time around Christmas and we are already looking at a reschedule weekend (this time not in December).

Ultimately the race was canceled and in my opinion it was the right decision.  

PERSPECTIVE! This whole adventure was really a lesson on perspective, and honestly a much needed lesson because lately I have apparently forgotten how important perspective is.  It was about finding the positive in a negative situation.  I was reminded that how I felt about a situation was dependent on how I looked at the situation.

So this weekend instead of sitting around a pouting (which I will admit I did Friday night for a short period of time after the kids went to bed and allowed myself to be a little sad I was not going), I decided to make the best of it.  It has included a sunny 10 mile run around the beautiful city of Detroit, a stop at RUN Detroit, breakfast from Avalon Bakery, a nap, some quality time and dinner with the family, the MSU game and tomorrow includes a big day of lounging around, snuggles and the Lions.

After 10 wonderful miles w/ our friends Alia and ACE from RUN Detroit

I hope you all have a great weekend! Any big plans?

Detroit International Half Marathon Plan

"I'm not making any plans. I'm just going to let the universe surprise me." -John Cusack

YES! That is right, I do not have a plan for the Detroit International Half Marathon I am scheduled to run on October 20th 2013.  Every single race that I have ran up until this one I have had a goal, a plan, a strategy but honestly I have got nothing other then have fun going into next Sundays race.  Normally 10 days prior to an event I have clothing picked out, pace charts, split times, studied the course map, and put all of my fuel and accessories in a little ziploc so I am overly prepared.  This time, not so much. 

So here is what I do not know:

• What my splits will be or what my predicted finishing time will be.  In fact I will not even have a Garmin on for the race.  Last year I lost signal through the underwater mile and it messed me all up so this year I will sport my Road Id and my "Relentless" Endorphin Warrior bracelet and that is all.
• What my body will do on race day.  With the up and down runs of the last several weeks, I could wake up with a sore and painful hip or I could wake up and feel great.

So here is what I know:

• I will finish, and I say this knowing that unless something tragic happens I will finish 13.1 miles. That is a very strange shift in my mind set that has occurred since the 50k and 13.1 was considered a short long run.  Having those longer training runs, I am pretty used to a fueling plan of Island Boost right before and again at 6 or 7 miles and I can easily make it to 13.1, even though I will carry an extra one just in case.  Running early I am also pretty used to my pre race "breakfast" of a banana, Picky Bar, coffee and 24 oz of Nuun.  No need to plan there anymore since it's become second nature.
• I will get the same medal if I finish sub 2 (which is highly unlikely given my difficulty returning to speed after the 50k) or 2:30.  (I do however want to finish closer to the 2 ish side knowing I have friends about to crush the full and I want to get to the sidelines, change out of my stinky running clothes and be ready to cheer for them.)
• I have enough running clothes and shoes that I will be able to dress appropriately whatever the temperature is race morning.  And if all else fails I will go to my basic running "outfit"-Under Armor black tank, Moving Comfort black capris, Brooks black PR Skort, Saucony's new armwarmers with built in mittens, a pair of Pro Compression Socks and more then likely my Kinvara 4 since they are lighter then the Ride 6's.
• I will have fun! This will be my 4th time running this course and the three previous times I was so focused on or struggling to finish I forgot to enjoy the experience. That is not going to happen this time, I will slow down at the top of the Ambassador Bridge to enjoy the sunrise, take in the spectators on the Canadian side and enjoy the beauty of the Detroit from the other side of the River.  I will take the time to high five the customs agents who not only are keeping us safe but cheering us on.  Since I do not plan on running this race again next year I want to run this year for the experience.
• I will not stress or have anxiety about the race, now that does not mean I will not be getting excitement butterflies but I refuse to let myself stress about little "what ifs" and seconds/minutes.
• I am very excited for this race, I cannot wait to see friends cross the finish line of their first 13.1 or 26.2 and celebrate their accomplishments with them!
• I am enough! A number on a clock does not define me as a person or a runner, it does not define the handwork and miles I have put in over the last year.  I have ran farther and faster then I ever thought possible since the Detroit 1/2 Marathon in 2012 and I could not be happier with how strong I have become. (Thanks to Brene Brown and her books Daring Greatly & The Gifts of Imperfections for some eye opening aha moments this last year)

See you at the starting line...

Have you ever raced without a plan?  Have you ever just let go to see what you could do?  If so how did it go?