Hot, hot, heat: Krista DuChene’s summer of adversity and faith.

In my last post I shared my quote from Canada Running Series’ announcement that I would be running the 2017 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (STWM):

“I feel like this is where I am giving 100% one last time. And, I am not saying I am retiring or giving up on a chance to make a world championship team, but this is where I am going to give everything to run as fast as I can and then just take it from there.”

Those last six words, “just take it from there” now have more significance than when they were first spoken. Shortly into the beginning of my build I had an issue with my right lower leg so I cancelled my plan to race a fun 5,000 m on the track at the July 14th Speed River Twilight Meet. Just as I was returning to a walk/jog I started having some pain in my left foot.  So I decided I would pull back, stop running completely and focus on cross-training while both completely healed. I was back at my cabin—a very therapeutic place to be when yet again not being able to run. It was at this place that I was dealing with a broken foot in 2015 when I realized I was using running as my source of joy instead of God. So I returned to those statements that got me through that trial, a trial that was much more difficult than my 2014 femur fracture:

I will choose joy.

I will run again.

I will be thankful.

I will do all I can to heal and stay fit.

God’s plan is better than mine.

Repeating these truths has allowed me to grow, yet again, during a tough time. I was hoping I would have a strong build that would allow me to go out with a bang as I completed my fifteenth marathon in fifteen years (#15in15) at the 2017 STWM, but wisdom and experience has allowed me to readjust my expectations and take it for what it is, take it from here. The last thing I am about to do is be disappointed with this incredible journey, merely less than a year after becoming an Olympian and 2016 National Champion. I am able to accept that my fastest days are likely behind me and I have far too much to be thankful for.

We’re almost 12 weeks out from STWM and I’m cautiously optimistic that I will be starting another walk/jog soon. I’m completing 2-3 hours of cardio each day by using the bike, elliptical, and pool, confident that I am maintaining a decent level of fitness.

Onward.