It's Spring. Did Anyone Notice?

Since Spring arrived on March 20th, the New England has been clear, cold and windy. VERY windy. On Thursday, even my stoic training partner Terry, who is usually eager to leave the 200m oval behind, was willing to head inside out of the wind for yet another (the last?) indoor track workout.

Running on my own, I don't much mind this cold snap. Since I have mostly been running in the late afternoons, the extra hour of daylight has been a godsend. If I'm tried of anything, it's the asphalt. A winter of running on Commonwealth Ave in Newton always ears on me, and being away from the woods and trails makes running seem tedious, indeed by the end of March. In this year, the quirky pattern of rain in February has meant an early return to the Battle Road Trail, among other off-road routes. If April is relatively dry, we'll be running at Walden much earlier than usual.

But if I, as a lone runner, am enjoying this weather, I know that outdoor track teams are suffering -- especially the coaches. When it's barely above freezing and you're standing outside watching other people run, you chill right to the bone. Early meets are even worse than practices. After a few hours, indoor track seems pretty pleasant by comparison.

This Spring, the Newton coaches have the additional problem of being without a track of their own. It's strange to look at the schedule and see a slate of 7 away meets. It must be even stranger to try to hold the team together and deal with the logistics of getting to other facilities.

The poet T. S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, but for me, it is March that is the cruel month because it seems so in-between every season. It took forever for the indoor track season to finish - oh, wait, there's still one more meet at Reggie the weekend of March 28-30. On the world scene, it's time for the world cross country championships, which makes sense if you have been following the European/African schedule of running cross-country in the winter, but is completely weird for Americans who run cross in the fall.

In the United States, April is track season, but in March it's just hard to adjust to the idea of outdoor track, especially after coming down from the excitement of indoors. The idea of immediately getting slower as you battle gusty winds frigid warm-ups, and general hypothermia is discouraging.

These days, the only runners who really seem to be locked in to a plan are the marathoners. Anyone who is running the Boston Marathon is (or should be) on a very detailed flight path leading up to the big race. You can see them out on Commonwealth Avenue every Sunday. Hordes of runners, from the elite (who glide up the Newton hills at six minute mile pace) to the vast number of lesser mortals who chug along more slowly, weighed down by sports drinks, energy gels, and plenty of warm clothing. If you go out today, for example, you'll see hundred and hundreds of runners getting in their last or next to last long run.

But for the rest of us, March is an annoying transitional time.

Mr Eliot, bring on April!