Thursday, January 28, 2010

Weather Watch

Blog buddy Morgan of Caution: Redhead Running recently left a comment about how I might check the weather forecast for Surf City about 20 million times, as she did the same before her first marathon.

That's a bit of a stretch.

I'd say the figure is closer to 30 million.

I am in a bit of a helpless situation, however. The Web site I use to get weather forecasts, the one I trust the most anyway, is The Weather Channel's site. But it only goes 10 days out, so as of late Wednesday this was the forecast:

But the Surf City site has a link to another weather Web site, from AccuWeather.com. And that goes a full 15 days out.

That forecast is as follows:

I'm not exactly liking this forecast.

(Okay, I know you readers in cold- and wet-weather locales are shaking your heads right now, saying '64 degrees and he's complaining?' but stay with me)

What's mostly troubling me is the forecast for Monday, Feb. 8 by AccuWeather of course, since TWC doesn't show that. It says "rain." No "cloudy with spotty showers." No "periods of rain," as it calls for on Feb. 5. Just "rain." Plain and simple "rain."

See, my awkward thinking is this (and I'm not exactly hoping for this but this is what I think): AccuWeather is not accurate or reliable (to me, it might spot on, who really knows?) so it will not rain on Feb. 8 but instead will rain on Feb. 7.

It seriously cannot rain on Feb. 7. It can rain buckets on Feb. 6 and 8. It can rain the proverbial cats and dogs on the 5th. But it cannot rain on the 7th.

No. Rain. At. All.

Please.

Am I worried about running in rain? Not really. My cherished Cedar River Run was in the rain. So too was a 10-miler the Saturday after Thanksgiving (six days after the Cedar River Run). I've logged those runs in the rain and did just fine. It wasn't fun, particularly the former, but I did it. Some parts, yeah, it's fun. It's fun to get out in the rain sometimes knowing that the people who drive by you are probably calling you stupid or crazy or insane or something, knowing that deep down inside they're just jealous (probably not, but that's what I tell myself).

But that element of look-what-I-can-do is not part of the marathon. Well, there is an element of that I guess but not the same thing. I mean, I want/need to focus on finishing the marathon, on putting all the information, knowledge and experience I've gained in the last seven months to use, of tackling this enormous challenge that is in front of me, of conquering the beast. And I don't need rain to throw another obstacle in my way.

Also, I don't want the rain to chase Mrs. LB and the girls away. We're going to get a room near the start line so I'm not going to go by myself or anything, but it will be a bummer if they're cooped up in the motel room for four to five hours while I run.

I'm going to be checking the weather... let me see, I've already checked it about 5 million times and TWC's forecast only goes until Feb. 5 or so, so... I'll be checking the weather another 25 million times from now until race day, and I may blog about it again, so this post is definitely to be continued.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Rain, rain go away.
Come again another day.
Luis Bueno wants to run.
You can rain when he's done.

Willoughby said...

This reminds me quite a bit of the way I felt in the weeks before we got married. Our wedding was in April, so the chance of a spring rain was pretty high. Of course, this was pre-internet, so I couldn't see the forecast very far in advance. At some point, I decided that, since I had no control over the weather, I wasn't going to waste any energy even thinking about it. I never even checked the weather report the day before or the day of our wedding. You just have to tell yourself, it is what is (or will be) and don't let it mess with your head. Even so, I'll keep my fingers crossed for a clear day for you!

BTW - It ended up being a beautiful clear day. It sprinkled lightly that evening, but we were inside enjoying our reception.

Jen Feeny said...

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :)

Sorry I have to laugh because I just knew it... I was so right there with you and having an absolute anxiety attack about how cold they were forecasting for Chicago. I could say, Don't worry about it. Or, what will be will be. Or, you can't change the weather... but seriously... just keep hitting refresh and pray to the running gods. :)

thrasherswife said...

Yes, rain would blow... but I believe you will have perfect weather. Besides, we both know, no matter how many times you check the weather stations, the weather here is what the weather wants to be.. My kids ask every day, whats the weather going to be like today, and my reply is always, i don't know, just look outside and take a guess...

Katie A. said...

LOL! You are too cute! Yes, the weather can be a big giant pain in the you know what on race day, but you can't control it. Not to say your worries are valid, but you are a strong runner and there are others things you can focus on right now. Maybe, during taper crazy, you can come up with some plans for the different weather situ's for that day...if anything, the proactive feeling will help :)
Good luck buddy, you're doing great!

Tricia said...

I'll be crossing my fingers for no rain.

Lisa said...

It's been my experience with TWC that usually the opposite of what is forecasted happens. So if that's true, pray for rain.

Gracey said...

I am wishing for no rain on February 7th. Try to worry as less as possible.

Zoë said...

Oh no! Don't listen to the forecast QUITE yet...you never know what can happen. But, either way, you are SO READY for this!

What's a little rain anyway. ;)
You're right, the Cedar River run was definitely not a drizzle!

Angie Eats Peace said...

I hope it does not rain : /

Tattoos and Teething Rings said...

I'm gonna do my No Rain Dance ((shaking)) There, you'll be fine!