I have always wanted to do the Chicago Marathon. I had hoped this would be the year. It was not to be! Not even close. My long run got up to 16 miles but that was in early June before I developed all sorts of injuries. By the end of July I had no chance of running in this year’s Chicago Marathon. I am a victim of a life long aversion to stretching.
When not in shape, the Chicago Marathon is always a reminder to start training for next year. A solid winter of treadmill running and some Yoga will have me on target to run in the Cherry Blossom the first week of April. With moderate increase in mileage I should be on target for next year. I just hope that I some how learn to love stretching.
Back to the Chicago Marathon, after last years stunning come from behind stealth sprint finish victory Berhane Adere is out to win for the third straight time. She will be joined by Bezunesh Bekele and Worknesh Tola. Olympic champ Constantina Tomescu-Dita is also running. It will be interesting to see if Dita has recovered from her Olympic run. Berhane Adere perhaps preserving herself for Chicago was a DFN in Beijing so she should be well rested and ready.
The weather will be hot again. Last year the temperature was unseasonably warm in the 80's and the forecast this year if for temperatures in the mid to high 70's. In hindsight I am glad I am not running the Chicago Marathon this year.
Update:Berhane Adere was out of contention soon after the mid point. I wonder if something is wrong. She could be nearing the end of her career. Bezunesh Bekele ran a brave race. She went out to win but faded.
Of course, you should vote, if eligible, in the upcoming US Presidential Election on Nov. 4. But that is not what this post is about. It is about voting for 2008 World Athlete of the Year. Last year's winners (Tyson Gay of USA and Meseret Defar of Ethiopia) didn't even make it to the list this time. However, you can vote for Haile or Kenenisa for men and Tirunesh Dibaba for women. Make sure you VOTE, although with competition from Usain Bolt and Pamela Jelimo, the Ethiopian athletes stand about the same chance of winning the vote as John McCain.
After 205 posts over the past 24 months, ROOCHA, the blog, today turns TWO years old! It has been a remarkable year with lots of emotional ups and downs, victories and defeats, but it has been a lot of fun writing about our beloved sport of running from a personal, national, and international perspective. Looking forward to the next 12 months as we count down to Berlin 2009. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome.
