It’s the first Wednesday in June and the internet is all abuzz because it is National Running Day in the U.S.  As polite Canadians often do, many are sending best wishes to their American friends.  Some are even announcing it to other Canadians on Facebook, Twitter and running forums, adding that, yes, they know it is an American day, but that they love running and wish to participate as well.

A bunch of us here at iRun were talking about it this morning, and the discussion went like this:  someone said, “Do we have National Running Day in Canada?” Then someone else said, “No. There’s an international version called World Run Day, but no National Running Day in Canada. Maybe we should start one….”

You can probably guess what happened then.

We’ve decided iRunNation deserves a uniquely Canadian National Running Day. Our question to you: When should we celebrate National Running Day?  Should it coincide with National Running Day in the U.S.A., or should it stand alone?  In what season should we have it, and on what day?

Where do I start ? What do I say about my first marathon?

What an emotional, exhilarating, terrifying, inspiring and fantastic experience!!!

This is how it happened from my standpoint:

I woke up at 5:00 AM after not having slept well at all – only dozing off and on… such nerves and tenseness! Wow! I have never been this nervous in my life before…. get dressed, stuff a sandwich down my throat, put my hat on and leave my sunglasses off as it’s cloudy and raining outside and head out to the start line.

I find the 4:00 hr pace bunny – who happened by wonderful coincidence – to be a Flight

Centre co-worker of mine who was one of many people to inspire me to start running in the first place. Dave – you are the energizer pace bunny machine! Exacting, constant and right on time.

Tania finds me at the start line and pumps me up with last minute strategies and positive reinforcement and then we are off.

I settle in at the 5:30 – 5:50 pace (adjusted for water/ Gatorade stations and the kilometres fly by …..7, 10, 15, 19, and suddenly, I am half way through – WOW – I’ve just run a half marathon and I feel great ! This used to be the end in three previous races that I’ve done! Ok…onward I go, keep going strong ….24, 27 and 30 Kilometres come and go and I realize that my legs are starting to feel a bit weak and that my pace is slowing.

I am still behind Dave the 4:00 HR pace bunny by about 2 or 3 minutes ….no sweat I tell myself that I can make that up…that is just a good surge on the last 3 kilometres.

Now I am rounding up on to 33 and 34 kilometres and I realize that this is going to be harder than I thought. Surprisingly, it’s not my lungs or my heart (I naively thought that this would be the problem) but I am shocked to realize that what hurts so much is my legs – all of my legs!! My calves, my hamstrings, my glutes, my ankles – everything! Wow! I realize that I this is not going to go away and that I have another 8 kilometres or so to go and that the pain is getting worse.

Running a marathon is truly a “mind over matter” challenge! All of those stories, all of the people that I had talked to, they talked about “hitting the wall”, running through the pain, putting the pain aside in another part of your brain and willing your body to keep moving but, honestly, I thought that some of those people might be exaggerating or complaining too much ! I had never experienced anything like that in two years of constant running and training so I didn’t believe it necessarily (a bit arrogant, aren’t I?). hahahhah

Well, a marathon will humble you and me and everybody else!

So, I realize that this is the way that it is: I won’t quit (God forbid even the thought!),

I could walk the rest of the way but walking hurts just as much as running, I could walk and run interspersed together ….what should I do?

I grit my teeth together and concentrate on the crowd and the beautiful scenery along the route and run. Just run …try as hard as you can…go as hard as you can.

Now it’s 39 Kilometres and the end is in sight, only 3 more to go…come on I know that I can do it….I pass 41 K and I can smell the finish line….I make a beeline for it and will my legs to move as fast as they can….I push harder and harder….I pass many people who were ahead of me for many kilometres and I smile in satisfaction – I have more fuel in the engine than they do and I can go hard at the end…I finish strong with my head up high.

I’ve done it.

Time – 4:13.

I am a marathoner.

I am a woman that worked hard to get to the finish line who sacrificed a lot of her private life and work life to run for the last 4 months and I am damn proud.

If I can do it, you can do it – anybody can do it.

Then, I started to cry; the tide of emotion overcame me – all of the discipline, the training runs, the pressure to excel, to execute one more run, to eat the right foods in the right portion at the right time, the stress from co-workers and loved ones having to pick up my slack,…it all came crashing down on me at that moment.

But I would not change a second of it because I am a marathoner.

I run.

In the video below, you can hear commentator and Speed River Track and Field Club coach Dave Scott-Thomas tell the crowd that Taylor Milne would have to pick up the pace to break the record, and Milne did not disappoint.

Exactly 2 seconds were knocked off of the previous 2,000 metre Canadian record at the Speed River Inferno on Saturday night.  Milne finished the race in 5:01.57, beating the record of 5:03.57 set by Steve Agar in 1997.

For a full recap of the meet, check out this article in the Guelph Mercury.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUgJyvN_VEw&feature=player_embedded

Well, it’s a bit more than two days to the start of my very first marathon!!!!

Right now, it’s Friday and I run at 07:00 AM on Sunday – that makes it about 60 hrs before the race!!! Can you tell that I am VERY excited?? Also, to confess, very terrified and nervous too!! I know what to expect during the race and I know that I am well prepared and I know that I can for sure finish it but what I doubt is my time (doesn’t everybody?).

I know that I will finish in a good time but the big question is : will I manage to qualify for Boston in 2012 ? That is the million dollar question.
I have been watching the weather forecast for Ottawa and it seems to be promising hot weather on race day – that’s not good BUT I have to say, the heat does not bother me nearly as much as other runners as I actually really love the heat.

What are my thoughts about this experience? First and foremost, I want to profusely thank iRun Magazine, Adidas Canada and Tania Jones of Goalspeed Coaching for the opportunity to be on this wonderful journey to my first marathon.

I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!

Adidas was very generous all throughout the process with my running gear and iRun Magazine has been very supportive with their suggestions of help and their advice.
However, the very best is Tania Jones ! What a dedicated, supportive, insightful, intelligent, warm, talented runner and woman!!!

I was very blessed to have her train me for the last four months. This woman knows her stuff – running is her passion and her obsession, I think. Even though I was difficult to train (by my own admission !) she persisted and found a way to effectively communicate with me to help me along during the training process. She probably thought “who is this woman ?!” LOL ….who doesn’t have a cell phone, who doesn’t have a computer at home, who can’t use the Adidas miCoach because her work computer cannot be used for non-work related uses….well, you get the idea …a definite challenge. But – this is the best part – I trained and I ran (a lot) and I got really strong and fast with Tania’s coaching and if I can do it, anybody can do it !! That is for sure !! There is only one aspect of the goal that is a non-negotiable and that is putting in the time. You gotta run and you gotta run a lot for many months to get to the point at which you can break some fitness boundaries.

I am no different from anyone else – I was reasonably fit to begin with (only about two years of running under my belt), I am 47 years old and I am a woman. How many other women are out there in the general population that fit into this statistical group? Hundreds of thousands …..and my message to them all would be that they can do it too!!!

IF you want something bad enough, you can get it if you work hard enough for it. I believe that and that is why I am going to run the race of my life on Sunday!!
Now is my time and your time could be next!
So, are you still sitting on the couch?? Are you going to bike/ swim/ run this weekend?
It’s up to you to do.

We leave tonight. Pile the kids into a plane and meet my mom and younger brother who are already in Ottawa.

Tomorrow is race kit pick up and buzz and excitement and probably some sightseeing (any suggestions for a group including two pre-schoolers?).

I’m excited and nervous and maybe even a little scared and doubtful about this whole thing. Trying to stay positive and drinking lots of water and eating my weight in veggies and fresh fruit.

I’ll be home Monday and will update then about my results. So, until Monday my friends. Have a happy weekend and wish me luck!

Can’t make it to Ottawa this weekend?  If you’re in the Guelph area, you might want to check out the Speed River Inferno at St. James High School.  That’s what Taylor Milne and Reid Coolsaet will be doing while teammate Eric Gillis is running the Ottawa 10K with fellow Canadians Simon Bairu and Dylan Wykes. The Inferno is the third meet in the 401 West Distance Series, designed to provide international level races in South Western Ontario.  According to the website:

The 401 Distance Series will enter its second year this spring with three meets once again being contested in Windsor, London and Guelph. The series will once again kick off at the Windsor Open, which this year will be hosted May 21st. The Windsor Open will feature men’s and women’s 800, 1500 and 3000 metre steeplechase races. The second meet of the series will be London Distance Classic which will be hosted Tuesday May 24th and will feature men’s and women’s 800 and 5000 metre races. The series will conclude with the Speed River Inferno which will feature a men’s 2000 as well as men’s and women’s 1500 and 800 metre races.

The headline events all take place in the span of 45 minutes, with a pre-program that includes several track and field events.  The final event, the men’s 2,000 metres, is scheduled for 7:35 pm and will include an attempt to break the current 2,000m Canadian record.

The best part? There is no charge to attend – it’s a great chance to just go out and watch some really fast running.