Was it just pure blind luck that smiled on me last Sunday? Just the day before, half marathoners were subject to abject misery - with the wind and rain pelleting the runners in sub zero temperatures. Post race, I hear about how the runners were shivering in the cold and rain, and how they never warmed up at all. Sunday was still sub zero, windy but absent the rain. In fact, it was sunny, and the sun was a key factor. Put differently, all it required was rain to turn a good race into a miserable one.
I couldn't help but wonder at how tenuous any race could turn out to be. Just as HW noted in his blog, to perform at one's absolute best, the stars must be in alignment. Many times, the stars (and weather) are beyond our control. We merely do the best we can at the things we can control, such as training, nutrition, strategy, equipment, etc. Necessary but not sufficient conditions to a good race.
Which leads me to do some research on what is the ideal temperature to run. Some time ago, I read that it was 15 to 18C. A recent RW article puts it at 50F (or 10C). What I couldn't determine from these research is whether this is wind-adjusted temperature or otherwise.
The wind was 12 mph (20 kph) on Sunday, which would have put the effective temperature to about -5C(?). Certainly not ideal for me.
The lesson here is to accept the situation as it is and do the best under the circumstances; prepare for the worse and hope for the best. Such is life, isn't it?
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