Revenge

“Revenge is a dish best served cold”

This email, was a good thing of course, absolutely beautiful! But it brings back memories of Boston 2012, a race I had struggled to get to for 7 years, a race that I thought would go seamless. I was so wrong!

This morning I was in Montreal running up Mont Royal, going through the events of last year in my head. It reminded me that there has only been 2 other races that have bothered me this much (Bear Mountain 10K-Victoria, Spartan Race 20+k-Mont Ste. Marie.) Races that take everything from you, and force you to go back to the drawing board. It culminates into this feeling that I can’t seem to get rid of, this is what I call “race revenge.”

It was the weekend before Boston, I had an interview on the Team 1200 with my favourite radio host: Mark Sutcliffe. We were going to talk about how I “knocked off 18 minutes in my marathon” to finally qualify for the renowned Boston Marathon. It was a fun interview, I was extremely nervous, and put expectations on myself by telling him I was so well trained, and ready to finish at “3:10ish.” When race day arrived, I’m sure you know that it was extraordinary hot! I was over-hydrated on Gatorade from the day before (uh-oh), and to put it simply: I blew up. I learned a lot from it, but I’ve been licking my lips ever since for a chance to prove to to that race that I am worthy.

It’s funny, because it was my first Boston and therefore things were very organized and exciting. From hotels, the drive to Boston, family flying in, friends coming to the race, the interview with Mark, it really made me hold my breath before that start line. Coming into this year, the illogical part of me wants to drive up the day before, get my kit, sleep in the car, do the race, and drive back. That first Boston is massive, it’s a spectacle. The amount of struggle I went through to come back from it, makes me want to know that I can handle it, and exceed my expectations – without the pressure of having to over exceed my expectations.  Of course I’ll devise an entirely new training plan, and come into Monday, April 15th,2013, stronger than I’ve ever been. It will definitely be a nice monkey off of my back.

Back to this morning’s run on Mont Royal: extraordinary place, beautiful smells of fall, great views of the city. It calms me, and I’m able to look back with a smile, and know that without last year’s struggle in Boston, I wouldn’t have worked so hard to qualify again in May. A little race revenge, is a good thing. I’m looking forward to it.

Here’s to you and a little Revenge,

D