Ignore the Weather

Woke up this morning to the sound of wind howling and rain beating on the roof. Did that stop the pax of F3 Oak Park from hitting the streets at Eagles Landing? Hell No. Why? Because Fridays are for running and “the legs feed the wolf.” So it was time to put in the work.

Conditions: A bit absurd with 15 mph winds, a wind chill of 37 and rain. A far cry from the 82 degree temps YHC ran in Wednesday.

The Thang: Warm up on the soccer field with out and back…high knees, hip openers, 50% jog

Options abound for the morning run, as all pax start together, then choose their distance…

• West on Harvard
• North on East Ave
• East on Lake (3.2 mile crowd turns around at Lake)
• North on Scoville
  • 4 mile crowd turns around at Chicago Ave
  • 4.5 mile crowd turns around at Iowa
  • 5 mile crowd turns around at Division
• Return the way you came

All pax returned safely right at 6:15 am

COT

Announcements:

• Rising Sun 6:00 am Guiliani on the Respect Q
• Wreck Center 7:00 am
• Memorial Day at City Limits and Wreck Center at 7:00 am

Welcome FNG Phileas (Hospital Name Matt Niksch). Phileas is President of Noble School, friends with The Ocho and Kipling (Team Fresh Men bringing in another FNG), and has written a book about traveling (From Hostels to Kids on Camels) available for sale on amazon. An author writing about traveling led us to Jules Verne and Around the World in 80 Days, main character’s name Phileas Fogg and since we already have a Fogger, Phileas it is.

Moleskin:

Admittedly, cold rain is YHC’s kryptonite. Snow? Fine, but 35 and rainy, miserable. Had it not been for the pax at Eagles Landing and the Q on the books, YHC may have decided to stay in bed and wait for the 6:30 run club, or just not run at all, and spent the rest of the day wishing he had just gotten up and gotten the work in. Thankfully F3 provides that accountability.

I was also reminded of the 2018 Boston Marathon in which American runner Desi Linden became the first US woman to win the storied race since 1985. The conditions on that day were brutal, high winds, cold, rain. Desi out paced her competition by more than 4 minutes, not only on her athletic ability, but also on her mental strength to push through the conditions. Many of her competitors dropped out of the race due to the conditions, but Desi pushed through.

In life, the conditions are rarely ideal. There are many in our communities that are really good in excellent conditions, but wither when the conditions turn sour. F3 allows us to build our physical strength yes, but also our mental strength by persevering through the less than ideal. A lesson YHC was reminded of this morning.