The joys of running

Today was a great day in the running world. Many of my friends were running the Ottawa Marathon, some did the half, one did the Toronto Women's Half, one ran in Calgary and a few took part in the Cabot Trail. One even did an 80k race on Saturday. Yes, racing season is truly well under way.

I remember well how I felt last year when I had to deal with my first DNS. It was hard. At times it was more than I could bear. I made plans to still go, walk the thing if I had to but it was so hard to have to give up the chance to be with a bunch of runners who shared my love of running. Of course, all these plans couldn't happen because there was no way I could have done it and really, why would I want to put myself through the agony?

But this year is different. I could have gone to Ottawa and do the half marathon. I had a place to stay, people I could have run with. But I couldn't really do it, I have to keep my eyes on the big prize, the marathon in September.

One of my FB/DM friend, a guy I met once and didn't really talk to, did the Ottawa Half Marathon. His time was amazing 1:44 this was a HUGE PB for him. He was over the moon and for some strange reason, I was so freaking happy for him. This guy trained hard and well to go where he is not. He made sacrifices, he learned so many things during his training, he never took anything for granted and most certainly not his ability to run. He posted something on his status that he feels alive when he runs. And we all feel this way. Some feel it naturally, some discover it because they started later in life. So well done Stephane. We are all so proud of you.


So once all this emotional following ended, I went out to do my lsd run. A bit later than I wanted and I ended up being very warm at the end. The GPS took forever to kick in. No matter what I did, it just wouldn't work! I was a bit tired, took me a while to get my groove but eventually all settled down pretty nicely. I also made intimate contact with a puddle of mud. Most of my shoe was covered in mud. Oh I was mad. This pissed me off to no end. Many choice swear words could be heard on the trail... But eventually the show must go on. I ended up looking at it like a badge of honour, a very dirty one of course and now the right shoe looks pretty white compared to the brownish white of the left shoe. I don't know how long it will take them to dry after the cold bath :)

Regardless, I am feeling more than ready to start marathon training, after what I encountered today, I'm ready to tackle whatever challenge gets thrown my way. Albeit in less than perfect looking shoes... Edit: I used a friend's suggestion of simply washing them and am happy to report that they now look sort of back to normal :)

I think I have found my tattoo for when I complete my marathon. I think this one is really nice. There is another one that I"m considering and I will post it later.