Some decisions are easy.
For example, a new race is starting next April in the city I call home, Canton, Ohio. It's a marathon/half marathon sponsored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and they offered free race entries to all active and reserve military service members. I am not one to take advantage of perks for military members but I couldn't turn this one down. After ruling out the Cleveland Marathon for the next 5 years, due to my wife's birthday weekend being on race weekend, I wanted a spring marathon where I didn't have to travel. Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Kalamazoo were my closest options until this gem was announced. Registering was a no-brainer.
When corresponding with the race team about the military registration I even offered my services as a blogger. Shameless, I know. And as scripted as my description of the race may sound, they did not take me up on the offer, but I'll blog about it anyway. Canton has had a bad history with races over the past year and a half so I'm hoping this race created for runners, by runners, will get the bad taste out of the community's mouth.
Visit them at http://www.hofmarathon.com/
There are also some decisions that are a bit more difficult.
This past weekend was the weekend that puts Canton on the map. Canton is the birthplace of football and the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One weekend a year they induct new members into the hall of fame. To celebrate, there are dinners, fireworks, a balloon festival, parade, and much more. Saturday was the grand parade going down the center of Canton and my family and I go every year (even before the kids came around). With this, and a few people being out of town, the team run was cancelled. I planned to run later in the day due to the unseasonably cool weather we've been having (high in the 70's with little humidity (cha-ching!)).
Thursday my friend Daren (check out his link on the right side of the page titled Run Daren Run) texted me out of the blue. He was going to be in Canton and wanted to run Saturday with the team. D'oh... I wanted to run but I promised my daughter we'd go to the parade. I don't know if this is normal for 4 year olds, but she has a steal trap memory. She remembers places we went to for birthday parties last year. She remembers when we didn't go to a baseball game because she wasn't listening. Plus, this year was a little different because I was giving my wife a break so she wasn't going to take them alone. Over the past few weeks our kids haven't been sleeping great and she hasn't gotten the amount of sleep she's accustom to.
I opted for the best of both worlds option and we set up a 5 am group run. Daren, Bryce, and me. The plan for the morning was 15 miles and the forecast called for rain all morning. I didn't think the parade would even happen. The run was, in a word, wet. Team runs go on a combination of 5 and 3 mile loops. A little over a mile is on unlit trails. This is a non issue on 8 am runs but rainy and 545 in the morning on dark trails is not the best combo. While I was hopping to avoid puddles, Daren and Bryce were taking turns splashing each other. It only took one 5 mile loop for Daren to fit into the Team Dork mold. On the second lap, meteorologists in Northeast Ohio looked pretty foolish because the rain halted. For once I was prepared for such a situation because I told Bryce and Daren I'd duck out at 10 miles if I thought the parade would go on.
10 miles done and I took the girls to the parade. I'm not a huge picture taker. Being married to a photographer, who is the daughter of another photographer, does that to a man. I've started to appreciate the moments in life without requiring documentation.
On to the final decision I have yet to make, and hoping I don't have to make...
I've signed up for my first Olympic tri, which also happens to be my first open water swim tri. Sunday I was back at the lake. Unlike last week, I didn't have any moments of panic in the lake. Mostly because I barely did any swimming. When I did swim I was in a wetsuit, which was an interesting feeling (Interestingly awesome. It's almost like I was floating). A majority of the hour we spent there I was frustrated and mad at myself. I looked out at the buoy in fear. An irrational fear because I know how to swim. Right before we left Bryce had seen enough and told me to swim out to the buoy. Then he told me again. And again. And again. Each time I stood there avoiding eye contact. Defeated. Stupid, I know. Eventually I took the plunge and swam out to the buoy and back. A little bit of the burden was lifted off my shoulders. The gorilla on my back is now just a monkey.
While I feel more comfortable this week than I did the last, I found myself sitting at work today panicked. That nervous beating in my chest rose up. With this feeling I did what any reasonable person would do, mask my fear by making a joke on Twitter:
Is it normal to have heartpounding nerves over a month before a race? Will drowning disqualify me? #trichat
— Thomas Costello (@Runnin4h2o) August 5, 2013
A friend messaged me and told me that I may want to think about switching to the sprint distance for my first OWS. I took absolutely no insult with this advice because when I was standing in the lake I thought to myself "maybe I should switch to the duathlon". My second time in the water and I was talking about quitting. That's not gonna happen.
So I have a decision to make, and I've given myself till September 1st to make it. Switch to the sprint or stick to the goal of an olympic?
I'm really looking forward to that one day when I can look back at these posts and laugh.
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