Of Black Toenails and Shin Splints

Running round-up: Week whatever

Haven't done the running round-up in a while, but let's have at it, shall we?

• There once was a woman named Amber Miller, who ran the Chicago Marathon. Oh, and she was 38 weeks pregnant and went into labor and delivered right after the race. That's amazing, but let's move on to the next big "OMG" running moment - Fauja Singh, who is *100* and ran the Toronto Marathon. Big applause, here. No, seriously, that's awesome. I hope I'm still alive at 100, let alone running marathons.
• So, did Todd Richards live-tweet during the Chicago Marathon? Yes, yes, he did. I can barely run and talk, so this is kind of cool.
• Patrick Wagstrom ran the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9, then decided on a whim to run another marathon a week later. Yeesh. Dude, stay  home this weekend!
• I know Disney does a half-marathon, but I had no idea they had one that A) includes FOOD and WINE, and b) is at night. How cool is that? Heather from Run Faster, Mommy? You have yourself a cool life.

A sobering thought

I just read about Zachary Gregory, the 26-year-old physical therapist who died on Saturday during the Chicago half-marathon.My heart goes out to his family, as I am sure this was devastating news.

Whenever I read of runners dying during or after a race, I always wonder what, exactly, happened. Did they really think they were ok, and that they were tougher than the current conditions? Did the weather change too quickly, as it is suspected to have happened with Gregory? We will probably never know.

This also scares me, as I am approaching the Chicago Marathon (124 days as of this writing). Chicago in October can be hot, which might come as a surprise to people who are not familiar with the area. Look at the 2007 marathon - people dropped out in droves because of the high temperatures, even before the race began that morning. (The event also ran low on water, despite the 10,000 runners scheduled to participate who did not show up.)

I can also be stubborn, and I can see myself thinking "I'm ok, I'm ok, I'll just run it to the end." Is that what happened? That the runners who put in untold hours of training tried to convince themselves that they were ok, and that they could run as long as they didn't push themselves too much?

I think about the 2007 marathon whenever I lace up and go for a run in this heat. I was supposed to run that marathon, and had been training diligently for it. And then, about six weeks before the race, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I dodged a bullet that day, but many did not.

This is one of those topics where I struggle with what, exactly, to say. "Watch out for that heat" sounds trite, as does "drink plenty of water!" Sure, I can make sure I don't have side stitches, but I think the thing I need to do is tell myself to take it down a notch. And it's not like I'm some super-competitive person; I'm stubborn, and I just want to finish the race.