Week 4 started out with a novel twist. Due to the fact that I was traveling for business, I had the opportunity to enjoy some new scenery during my training. I had heard that Madison was a beautiful place but the reputation of its intolerable winter weather had prevented me from visiting until now. What I discovered was that Madison, Wisconsin is a running wonderland (at least for a couple months of the year). The lakes are encircled by biking AND running lanes. The elevators there even accommodate bikes. How cool is that? But back to running. I loved my cool morning run around Lake Monona so much that I got up at 5:45 to do again the next morning. There's nothing like doing some post race stretching on a dock that is lightly bobbing in the water.
Not that there wasn't a challenge or two to running while I was in Madison. First, there was the un-Godly hour at which I had to run in order to get to the conference in time for the first workshop. It was dark when I started. Yeah - that kinda sucked. Secondly, Madison has a certain unusual geographical feature that caused a small challenge during my time up north.
Geography lesson time. Madison, Wisconsin is an isthmus. According to Merriam-Webster, an isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas. While this makes for beautiful views, it also tends to exaggerate any sort of wind situation. Madison was experiencing a pretty serious wind situation during my trip. Running upright for any distance is an accomplishment in that sort of situation. So yay me.
The pleasant surprises didn't end there. When I got home from my trip, I found a hand-addressed note in my mailbox. It turned out to be a "You Go Girl" note from my friend Erin. She had sent the coolest encouragement note to keep me motivated furing my training. As training weeks go, this one is definitely turning out to be a good one!
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