Like much of the country, Philadelphia is experiencing some unseasonably warm weather. It makes me itch to be outside because soon I will want warm blankets, hot tea and a good book. I know that I will curse at my first step outside the building. Cold air will freeze my nostrils and make my skin ache. Snow will drift down and get plowed into the curb cuts so it takes twice as long to get to work.
But not yet…I was particularly grateful for the temperatures in the high 60s because Saturday was my last long ride before Dopey. I was up early and on the path long before my usual time. The lingering fog made familiar sights look strange and forbidding. The fog dampens sound so I felt oddly isolated…strangely melancholy. There were other early morning people out, doing what early morning people do. They get up, get out and get productive*. I’m sure some of them had had coffee and a healthy breakfast.
The sun rose higher and burned off the fog (and my melancholy). The hour grew later and more people appeared on the path. There could be no more of the smug camaraderie of the early riser, because it wasn’t early any more. Achilles had met for their usual 9:00 a.m. start time so I started looking for those bright green shirts.
Lo and behold, they appeared! One group, two groups…and I had timed it well. I joined one of the groups as they headed back to 16th & Chestnut because it was our monthly social. There was pizza. It was delicious…and I earned my piece(s) with 20 miles done.
The next few weeks I will be tapering. I’ll be doing less mileage each week leading up to the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend so I’ll be in tiptop shape. (This is science. Trust the experts.) I feel good. I feel ready. I’m sure I’ll have a moment of panic between then and now, but right now it feels good.
*I’m not sure they are to be trusted.