No Category selected Moral of the story: sometimes boring is good!

    Moral of the story: sometimes boring is good!

    By
    Karen Karnis
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    While 45,000 people from all over the world, including our own Mark Sutcliffe, took to the streets of New York for the ING New York City Marathon yesterday, I joined more than 1,000 of my closest friends in Hamilton, Ontario for the Road2Hope Marathon.

    A bit of background for you:

    Marathon #1 – fall of 2008. I had an injury and didn’t finish my training but was too stubborn to stay home – so I ran a bit, walked some, then hobbled the whole second half. It was horrible, but I finished.  Moral of the story: I can do anything I put my mind to.

    Marathon #2 – started to get dizzy and sick, still don’t know why. Not wanting a repeat of the Death March of 2008, I dropped out at 30K. Moral of the story: I don’t need to learn the same lesson twice.

    Marathon #3 – was doing fantastic until about 23K when I had a bad asthma attack.  I ended up sitting for a while, walking for a while, and finally trotting the rest of the way, and while I finished quite strong, all things considered, I never did get back on pace.  Moral of the story: do the best I can with what I have on that day, and I will have no regrets.

    Fast forward to yesterday, Marathon #4 – all I wanted was an uneventful, drama-free, downright boring day; I just wanted the gun to go off, then I would run, and then there would be the finish line and I would stop, and that would be it – please and thank you.

    Well, I am happy to say that I got my wish.  Of course there is more to say than that – the weather was outstanding and the volunteers and spectators were awesome.  I ran most of the race with a woman named Darlene whom I met for the first time less than 1K in.  We saw some fun things, we got really tired and sore – after all, it is a marathon for Pete’s sake!  But that’s it.  No body parts fell off, my lungs behaved, I wasn’t abducted by aliens part way through or attacked by rabid surrealists with brightly-coloured power tools.  All in all it was an excellent day.

    I got a shiny new Personal Best, but somehow it doesn’t feel right to compare it to my previous results.  I mean sure, I had finished two marathons, and yes, those victories were all mine.  In no way am I saying those results were somehow inferior.  But this time, it somehow feels different.  This time, I feel like I finally have a result that reflects my ability rather than the kind of day I had.

    Hamilton
    Finish line approach!

    P.S. A big thank you to my family and friends who were there with me, either physically or in spirit!  You are the best!

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    Karen Karnis
    A runner for just over four years, Karen has already completed a marathon, two half marathons and a variety of 5k and 10k races. She describes her first marathon - the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last September - as "a nightmare." However, she met a very interesting person in the process - a man named Sydney who was running his 152nd marathon! Although the race didn't go as well as planned for Karen or Sydney, he showed her that no matter how experienced a runner you are, you can still have a bad day. "Does that mean we shouldn't bother to prepare, or maybe just shouldn't bother at all? Of course not!" says Karen. "In the end, it is what we make it." We like her optimism!

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    9 COMMENTS

    1. I am so proud of you Karen…congratulations on dodging the alien abduction and the pesky surrealists…
      Soak in your victory my dear (and in Epsom salts too)…BRAVO !!!!

    2. Lots of good lessons learned over those runs! I’m glad you finally have one that you feel reflects your abilities!

      I’m jealous of how photogenic you are.

    4. Well done, Karen!! Nothing better than a boringly successful race! I felt the same way about the Army half.

    5. First off, beautiful picture, and that was at the finish line?! Congratulations! I am so glad you have a result that you are so happy with.

    6. There is no doubt that your abilities came out that day. You were absolutely without any shadow of a doubt amazing! Congrats on a race incredibly well run 🙂

    7. Karen, a HUGE congrats to you on your pb, I am so happy for you that you had such a good race. You are a great example of someone that doesn’t give up!

      p.s. Are you sure that picture was taken at the finish line and not the starting line?

    9. I am a week late in saying this but HUGE CONGRATS! You deserved an awesome run and I am glad you finally had it! Your photo looks great, you look strong, happy and fit!

      WELL DONE KAREN!

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