I know i haven't posted about bootcamp in a bit. I think we're into week six but I'm not really sure. All i know is Monday was hell. We ran around the Diversy Harbor and then had to do, get this, 100 push ups. We could do them however we had to in order to get them done. I did sets of ten, then dropped to sets of five. I managed ot get yelled at by the Major (it's only because I talked back...lesson learned). Once the push ups were done, we got to run around the harbor again. Once back we did 150 squats, and 20 pull ups. The pull ups were weak, we were encouraged to jump a little in order to get our chin past the bar. But the squats, well my thighs still hurt two days later.
Bootcamp was rough, as per the usual. We had to find partners that were roughly our size. First time we actually had to partner up. The only stipulation was that the person had to be about the same height/weight. since tc is shorter than me, she was out of the running. in no time i had partnered up with some dude. never even noticed he was in the class before, probably because i was so focused on how bad i was hurting.
Bootcamp: week 3, day 3
Bootcamp week 3, day 2.
today was no exception, bootcamp kicked my butt again. per the usual, the warm-up run was too fast for me. today the exercises focused on building strength so there were a lot of push ups and squats and the like. the picture is just to make me feel better, because i feel like ass right now.
i ran, yay! for the first time in two months i actually ran. yes, Chicago 2007 turned me off from organized events...but not from running in its entirety. i've not been feeling it lately, but the time, aches, and the pounds started to add up.
The reason - You may not understand why someone would choose to run a marathon. True, no one forces us to run. But that isn’t what this is about. We do choose to run, but we choose races that are professionally managed so that they are able to provide us with the necessary resources to run. It’s a pretty basic agreement. I pay the entrance fee, and the race provides water and Gatorade at the aide stations specified on the course map. It’s that simple. If I wanted to run without concern for my own health, I would run 26.2 miles around the city, dodging traffic and finding water wherever I could. But I do have concerns for my safety, which is why I pay my entrance fee for someone else to accept the responsibility of keeping me safe and providing me basic supplies. Mr. Pinkowski failed me on October 7th.
The conditions – It was hot out, no doubt. It was no surprise that it was going to be hot that day. The
The spectators - The heat was tolerable with enough water. I managed to take in just enough. I never felt like I was in really good shape, nor did I feel the effects of the heat beyond what I could tolerate. The only way I managed to tolerate it as well as I did was the spectators. I drank from 3 garden hoses and one spigot in the side of a house. I ran through every open fire hydrant (I’d guess about 4 or 5), and I took ice when it was offered on the last half of the course. The spectators saved many runners that day.
The criticism - What I don’t understand is that Mr. Pinkowksi is claiming to have made a tough, but wise, decision by canceling the race. I don’t believe he would have had to make that choice if he could have supplied adequate water and Gatorade to all the runners.
The play by play - The first aide station I reached was out of water, but they had Gatorade concentrate, which they were giving out with a warning to mix with water. No water was available. The second aide station appeared to be out as well. They handed out empty cups and told runners there was water down the way. You could easily see where they intended us to go, by looking at the clumps of hot and thirsty runners. At the center of each clump was a volunteer with a water jug, frantically pouring into whatever receptacle was placed underneath. With cup in hand, I stood there among the hot, sweaty, thirsty runners…begging for water. Yes, actually begging. I got a half a cup to drink. No extra water to splash on my head and cool myself down with. Oh well maybe at the next station. Rounding the corner to the third aide station, I spotted a line of porta pottys. Business done and cleaned up, I grab a Gu and down it, figuring I’ll get water to wash it down momentarily. I was wrong. No water. Just Gatorade concentrate, but again no water. A mile or two later there’s a spectator with a garden hose, amen! I finally get the water I was supposed to take with my Gu. Miles pass, with similar aide station experiences. Trust me it got redundant to experience it, and it'd be redundant to recall it here. In the meantime I become very good at spotting alternative water sources such as garden hoses. I never got as desperate as the folks who drank out of the fountain at Lincoln Park Conservatory or the little reflecting fountains at various high rise hotels. I keep running, knowing that today will be no personal record.
The announcement – Around mile 16 I start to pass many more walkers. I figure people are slowing down because of the heat. Not so. Shortly after noticing all the walkers that I am passing I hear vague rumblings that the race was cancelled. Nothing specific, just some random bits of conversation from people I am passing. Then I hear it loud and clear. Over a police cruiser loudspeaker I hear someone say that the race was cancelled due to the heat, and that we are supposed to stop running and walk to the finish line. What the hell? How do you tell someone who trained for at least 4 months, and to whom you did not provide adequate support (see “the reason” above) to simply stop and walk back? Maybe, just maybe, if I had received the support I had paid for, and expected, I wouldn’t be pissed. But I didn’t, and so I am.
The end.