Global Warming (April 12, 2009)

By Ross Forman

Would someone please, PLEASE, explain this whole Global Warming thing to me.

I mean, seriously, what the heck is going on weather-wise?!

I umpired a high school baseball game in Chicago on Saturday,
March 21, and it was gorgeous. Sure, I was wearing a jacket, but was comfortable, actually sweating a bit.

It snowed about a week ago in Chicago. The White Sox re-scheduled their home opener due to the weather.

I ran 9 miles in Houston on Sunday, April 5, at Memorial Park, which has a nice near-3-mile loop. It was in the low-60s, what was quite comfortable for running, yet quite surprising for Houston.

Now it brings me to Saturday, April 12, a gorgeous-looking day in Chicago. Not a cloud in the sky, which I thought was perfect because I was doing an 18-mile training run in preparation for the San Diego Marathon on May 31.

I parked along the lakefront, not far from Irving Park Road, and as soon as I got out of my car, I knew it was cool, if only because I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and my Sugoi jacket from the 2008 Nashville Marathon.

I was set to run, though a bit chilly, with the temperature probably about 40 degrees.

The first six miles were pretty uneventful, though I did see a runner wearing shorts and, well, just a training bra, or whatever the heck it was, and that was quite a site, and surprising. I saw other runners in shorts too, though not many. Others along the lakefront this Saturday were in sweatpants, some had hats and gloves on; some even wore Ugg boots with cheerleader-like pom poms. (Seriously).

As I coasted into mile 7, I realized that my Garmin watch had lived up to its billing: over-priced, over-rated and under-performing. The thing was dead; the screen was blank. I had to assume it was a battery-charging issue, but who knows.

Maybe these Garmin watches are good for some, but I certainly am not sold on them. At least not the one I have, which I’ve been using all year. I wish I was still using my $75 Timex; I never had such problems, as I do with this Garmin beauty.

Good thing I of course knew the route and the mileage, so I wasn’t relying on the Garmin for that. But I sure could have used it for the time, my interval-training, etc. Oh well.

As I reached the 10-mile mark, my left hand was cold, really cold. Like my fingers felt number. The iPod played The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin and when he counts to three in Spanish (un, dos, tres), I actually used my fingers to count – just to move my fingers.

As I said, it was frickin’ cold out there.

How cold, you ask? Well, when I got back into my car, the temperature said: 37 degrees.

Thankfully, though, the iPod survived. Here were some of my favorite songs from the 18-mile journey, in no particular order:
- Smack That by Akon.
- Amazing by Seal
- Bang The Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren, especially since this song puts me in a Hawaiian state-of-mind since the singer has ties to our 50th State.
- Dance Into the Light by Phil Collins
- Rollout by Ludacris
- The World’s Greatest by R Kelly, which actually was my go-to song for motivation with that Nike running gimmick I previously used.

Here’s hoping summer – or at least warmer weather – arrives soon, very soon.

And yes, that was me moaning how hot it was running last month in Orlando.

Must be Global Warming,

Ross.

On The Road To San Diego (April 3, 2009)

By Ross Forman

I am officially On The Road To … San Diego, for the 12th annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on May 31. Start time is 6:30 a.m. that Sunday, and this will be my fifth-ever marathon over a 554-day span; that’s one year, six months and seven days, to be exact. This will be my first marathon of 2009 and my second-ever from Elite Racing, the group that produces the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, including such festive events as the Country Music Marathon, held annually through the streets of Nashville. I ran the Nashville Marathon with Coach Katie and Coach Dan in 2008, and that was one of the reasons I chose to kick off my ’09 marathon season in San Diego.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series marathons are … fun, or at least as much fun as the 26.2-mile grind can be. With bands, cheerleaders, thousands of cheering fans, these races truly are events, happenings, spectacles. Though I enjoyed running the Florence and Amsterdam Marathons in 2007 and 2008, respectively, these European races are nothing compared to the Rock ‘n’ Roll runs. It’s always great to hear and see marathon supporters, if only to help eliminate the boredom and pain along the multi-hour journey.

The San Diego Marathon also will be my first-ever all by myself, on race-day and during the five-months of training. Heck, I might not even know anyone along the streets on race-day or at the finish-line. But that’s on purpose. My last race was the Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 14, 2008, which I ran – and prepared for in the final days – with others from the National AIDS Marathon Training Program and a veteran local runner, Dell.

Now I want to see how I do all by myself, as scary and as boring that can be.

I’ve done all of the training so far by myself, though Coach Katie has offered suggestions of mileage.

I’ve trained for San Diego while on the road in Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Orlando, among other places.

Ah, yes, Orlando, where I spent countless nights for TNA Wrestling and other work-related projects. I’ve been to Orlando more often over the past five years than any other city in America, yet I still haven’t completely adjusted to its weather just yet.

We’re talking hot and humid. And unfortunately, I haven’t listened to my gut instinct on the Orlando weather, or my former colleague from WCW and TNA, Darryl, who lives there. In March, I had training runs in Orlando of 14- and 16-miles. Neither was exceptional, mainly because of the heat. It was just too damn hot while running. Still, I finished each run and followed each with strong runs in the days and weeks after.

I only have two, potentially three, long training runs before San Diego. One will be 18-miles; another will be 20. And I’ll also have a bunch of 8- and 10-mile runs before boarding my United Airlines flight to San Diego.

Also on the schedule for 2009 will be the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which should be the complete opposite for me from San Diego. I expect to see, and know, literally hundreds of friends, family and fellow marathoners along the course, which starts and finishes at Grant Park.

And I’m thinking of returning to Honolulu in December for its marathon.

Here’s hoping San Diego delivers a Grammy-like Rock ‘n’ Roll race, as I’m expecting.

Ross.