This winter has been unusual throughout most of the Lower 48. More akin to the summertime pattern, it is bringing dry air and warmer temperatures. Even though it is January, it feels like July here. The current oscillation has pushed all of the rain we typically get here on the North Coast to the north and into Oregon and Washington. We are left with warm temperatures and no rain. No rain! As much as I love running in the sunshine and with dry shoes, I can’t ignore the underlying fear bubbling to the surface.
I chose the Little Su 50K in Alaska because I wanted an excuse to go play in the mountains to train. And train in the snow. But as this dry spell continues and snow is nowhere to be found, I find myself believing that I will go into this race more unprepared than any race I have ever done. Friends’ photos of ski trips with frosty faces renew the memories of my own experiences: The raw, dry burn of the -40F air stinging my throat, forcing up a cough with each unprotected breath; the laborious effort of every footfall; so many layers that I never feel more distant from nature, a wall of fleece and wool protecting me from the elements. These sensations couldn’t be more different than my training here in California.
Weather-depending, I may go into this race and not enjoy a single minute of it. I may not even finish. This feeling has never occurred in my racing history. I’ve always known I would finish, even if it were at a slow pace. Part of me wishes for a blind naivety of never before experiencing it; but another portion is glad for that experience because it provides an irreplaceable mental fortitude of knowing I’ve survived it before and surely can again.
The good news is that snow is probably coming soon, at least to the Midwest. With recent cold spells in Alaska, the cold air will soon move south. Matt and I plan to vacation for a week in Southern Michigan at the end of this month. This appears to be our only hope for training in colder conditions, a 30 mile icy road run. Hopefully that cold air will arrive when we do. Pray for record cold temperatures, please!
So until then, we train on ridiculously hilly trails, trying to improve our fitness, the only control in our preparations. Be the strongest we can be to face the conditions.
How do you prepare for a destination race when you train in weather drastically different than your own?
4 comments:
And we have hardly any snow. Strange! The only race I can think of that was different for me was Napa Valley Marathon...I was training in southeast Alaska and was unprepared for the sunshine!I suffered...
As I approach the start to another training season, I wonder to myself - if this is January, what will February bring? More of this? Or is all of winter being "saved up" to pummel us later?
Not a thing I can do but to enjoy what we have for as long as we have it.
I think you WILL enjoy AK, no matter what the weather brings. You may not be prepared for it, but you'll enjoy it - it's who you are :)
I am very frustrated by the lack of snow. It is not only wrecking my winter plans but also a out our water supply for the summer. Our reservoirs are dry.
Somehow I still think you will do fine in your race.
Beat and I were hoping to go to Yosemite this weekend or next to get some sled training, but then I looked at the Web cams ... dry grass and bare granite, even on the higher meadows. We'd have more success dragging those sleds on the beach near Santa Cruz.
But while I was in Alaska, I had similar anxieties about our three-day, 90-mile "training" run, starting with very little specific training and cold weather acclimation. After one mile of tugging that sled, I thought my hips would fall apart for sure before the end of the trek. But after a few more miles of adjusting to the new motions, I was fine for the remainder of the trip. Bodies are more adaptable than we give them credit for, in my experience.
And for what it's worth, the extreme cold you remember from Fairbanks is highly unlikely in the Little Su. Even last year — the coldest year for the race on record — the mid-day temps on Saturday were still above zero. There's a better chance they're going to be in the 20s. My fear is they'll be in the 30s, or, heaven forbid, a 40-degree Chinook. But regardless, as a fast runner in the 50K, I'm guessing you won't need all too many layers to feel toasty.
As long as you keep training on sand in getting those ankles and IT bands accustomed to soft footfalls, IMHO, you'll be golden. I bet you'll have a lot of fun.
I'm more worried about what this winter means for spring and summer. It's going to be a long, hot, dry summer if snowpacks don't start building soon.
Post a Comment