Do you know the hardest thing about about running for me?  It’s the fact that I am suppose to compete against myself and forget the rest of the world.  Now, that approach seems like a big excuse for not being as good as everyone else.   Many a self help book (and people with a  lot of common sense) remind us that we all have limitiations and that it is a good thing to try and exceed them.   However it is difficult to not be frustrated when my individual limitation is not due to something in particular, like an illness, but rather is just a general “you suck at this” limitation.  I am trying to suck less, true.  But, as I read over my previous posts, I see clearly that I just don’t buy the whole ” your only competition is you” approach.

However, with that said, I have evolved in my thinking in a number of ways:

1. I believe my body can adapt to additional stressors and get a bit faster and much fitter.

2. I understand what good training looks like.  It involves rest, and then pushing yourself.  It also involves taking care of any nagging injuries.

3. Running is a disipline and to get better at running, I just need to run more.

4. I can loose weight if I change my eating habits. I may never be my goal weight, but I can always be fit.

5. Finding a safe place to run can be challenging, but there are ways of fitting it into your day and there are lots of great trails, streets and locations if you look for them.

6. When I run, play soccer, go for a swim etc, others also feel motivated to do exercise and something supportive starts to happen.

7. Having quality gear is important.  Adidas running gear is great, particularly the sneakers.

8. Nutritionists are tough people who say terrible things about sugar, much like a straight talking best friend who telsl you your husband is cheating on you.  However, they say it because it is true and if you listen, things will change.

9.  I really like having a running coach and Tania is great.  I think its a shame we have never met, or I never met the other winners or was a part of that great photoshoot in Toronto.  However, Canada is big and budget’s are small and I am grateful for the support I have received.  I highly recommend Tania and Goalspeed Coaching.

10.  I don’t believe that my only competition is myself and I think I always will feel discouragement about running, because I like to be good at things.  Other things I can stand being not good at and I always thought of myself a physically capable in lots of ways, but I am just average or below at speed.   Another reality check.

Next week is my taper weeks and then I race and I will post to let everyone know my results.  It is going to be tough for me to hit 60 minutes for a 10K based on my training times.  I will certainly improve over my 67 minute finish last year and I will be in the neighbourhood of 6o.  I guess if I make it there will be other lessons, same if I don’t make it.  Perhaps that is a lesson to

It’s raining, still, though I pull on my sneakers and wrap my water bottle belt tightly around my waist. I’m not sure what to wear, this in-between weather, so I settle on capris and a t-shirt.

The first ten minutes are cold, but then my blood rushing warms me. I run and I run and I run. I hash out every emotion I’ve felt over the fast few months and I run through anger. I run through justification and I run through fear. My legs are tired, but I keep running.

I zone in and out, sometimes listening and half dancing to the songs, sometimes completely unaware of them. I run for 18 kilometres. And then I turn around and start running home.

These days are completely consumed by long runs. I run when I don’t think I can anymore and I run when I really don’t want to anymore and I run when I’m tired and when I’m just plain bored. I run even though my feet hurt from all this damn running. I keep running up the worst hill of all and at the end, just when you’d think I’d be happy it’s almost done, I have to fight the hardest to finish the last 1k. My legs are so tired and are burning. My feet hurt, my back is sore, my face is crusted with the salt from my sweat. I want to stop and six minutes shouldn’t feel this long, it shouldn’t conjure an epic battle of will, of self-talk.

I get home and immediately take off my sneakers and socks. My cold and clumsy hands make two peanut butter and jam sandwiches, drips of jam dropped on the counter. I don’t care. I can’t think of anything but not moving anymore. I climb up the stairs and start the tub, eat my sandwiches as quickly as my stomach will allow. I peel off my wet running clothes and sit in the tub, rinse my face, lay back. Turn the tap to hotter. Stretch my tired legs. Wash my hair and then lay cheek deep in the water, thinking nothing. Feeling nothing except my muscles.

I get out and the chill has set in from that long, damp run. I dry off quickly and wrap my housecoat around me, climb into bed. When my runs were shorter, I would relish the rest afterwards, playing on my laptop, writing out everything I had thought during my run. Now they are too long, I am too tired, and so, I sleep deeply for an hour.

I wake, but my head remains in a cloud. I am fatigued in the most primal of ways. My body is too tired to let my brain think. I dress quickly and pull my still-wet hair into a ponytail. I don’t care how tired my eyes look or how rumpled I feel. I drive to daycare and get my kids.

We eat cereal for supper, because I’m too tired to even put chicken in the oven. They are happy to do so, and then after, we cuddle on the couch.

I am so, so ready for this marathon to be over. I’m ready to go for a bike ride or a swim instead of a run. I’m ready to maybe be able to run without obsessing about my pace. I’m ready to let my body rest, to not push it to the point of extreme fatigue for a while. And yet, in my heart of hearts, I know that I’ve found something on these long runs that I can never let go.

I’ve found peace. From a million different things and demons and ghosts. From a million different voices and questions and points of doubt. I’ve found a part of me that exists for no other person but myself. A part of me that exists for no other reason than to run. And that’s a powerful discovery. Because on that long and lonely trail, I’m alone. Utterly and completely.

To appreciate being alone, to be able to find strength in your loneliness… when you get there, you’ll realize that the strength comes from within you. That it was always there and will be always there.

That’s why I know I’ll do this again, because it’s the only thing I’ve ever done that’s made me feel this way, and I can’t ever give that up.

Running the Mercedes-Benz 10K did help me to prepare for the Ottawa Marathon in a mental-state way if not necessarily in a physical way. I realized from this experience that I can run better than I thought and it has given me a whole new level of confidence than I had before.  And, as I believe that running a marathon is as much a mental game as a physical one, that should put me in a good place.

Honestly, up to the Mercedes-Benz run, I was terrified when I stopped to think too hard about the Ottawa race, but now – not so much!

I am really looking forward to it as now I just want to do it!!!  Get ‘er done!!

The essence of Chi Running is the use of the momentum of the forward fall to pull you forward rather than using the muscles in your legs and feet to push you forward.

It is important to be conscious of your center when aligning your posture and leaning it forward to create the forward fall. Your center is situated between your belly button and pubic bone where the lower abdominals and pelvis are located.

You create the forward fall by aligning your posture and leaning it forward with completely relaxed ankles. The ankles serve as the hinge point between your aligned posture whenever your feet are in contact with the ground. The forward lean moves your body weight in front of your ankles to create the forward momentum. In order to ensure relaxed ankles, you must release all tension in the lower legs (balls of foot, calves, etc.).

A common mistake made when learning to lean your posture forward, is bending at the waist. Being conscious of your center is crucial to avoid this mistake.

You must be conscious of your center to engage the lower abdominals and keep the pelvis level through the different angles of lean. The greater the angle of lean, the greater the level of effort required to maintain a level pelvis. Your lower abdominals are the only muscles in the body that you intentionally engage, all other muscles should be relaxed.

When aligning your posture imagine there is a string with one end attached to your lower abdominals and the other end running up through your chin and attached to the crown of your head. Now whenever you push up the sky with the crown of the head to lengthen your spine and straighten your neck, imagine the string also pulls up on your lower abdominals to level the pelvis. This visualization helps you to align your posture in one step and to keep you constantly aware of your center.

When you bend at the waist your center actually moves backward while your upper body moves forward. To avoid this when leaning your posture forward feel your center and just focus on moving it in front of where your feet contact the ground. This will prevent you from moving your center backwards and bending at the waist.

Be conscious of your feet and ensure they only contact the ground behind your center. Ensure the lower legs and ankles are completely relaxed at all times. Use a very short stride length and ensure your feet contact the ground with a full foot strike without any push off. Visualize you are running on a bed of hot coals and you just want to only put your foot down long enough to support your body weight then immediately lift it off.

Well, guys! We did it! Laura M and I ran the Mercedes Benz 10 K Sunday morning in Oakville after being picked up in a Mercedes Benz at 6:00 AM!! Ouch!

Great to have Laura with me! Great to have a friend to share the experience with. Laura was a real trooper as she was not feeling too well this weekend and had not run since the previous Tuesday!  Way to go, Laura!

Plus, having Tania there was an extra bonus!  She is SO supportive and positive!

We got there at about 7:00 AM or so and the race started at 8:00 AM. We were nervous and I was feeling a bit weak (despite having eaten oatmeal with blueberries that morning).

A bright and beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky.  The first 3 K were warm up for me as I was stiff and a bit sore from training; looked at my watch at exactly the 3K marker and it said “8:14 AM” …great …right on track for time…let the next 4 K slide by maintaining the same pace…stopped twice because I have a bad habit of going a bit too fast all of the time and then wanting to stop to check my pace…and drink Gatorade at the two water stations.

Passed 7 K and prepared myself mentally for going really hard from 8 K to finish…..then…I basically sprinted the last 2 K…really hard on the last 1 K…..passed lots of people that had been ahead of me the whole race and a lot of them were younger men and some boys that were about 18 – 22 years of age!

THAT made me feel really great!

Finish time: 49:07!!

hahaahhahahahahhahaahhaha………………..

(indulge me my puffing and preening…I’ve earned it !!)

Aleks’ time was better than anticipated and I believe she said “I feel like I’m on cloud nine” with an official time of 49:33.3

Just to put Aleks’ time in perspective (not that we aren’t already blown away by it!), she placed 9th out of 102 in her age category, 43rd out of 622 women overall, and 214th out of 1, 128!

Aleks told us about her fascinating journey to fitness and a healthy lifestyle in her blog.

There is more to the story, as Aleks credits a very special friend for nudging and prodding her to take the next step and continue to evolve as a runner. Here is the other side of the story from Aleks’ running mentor Judy.

I have a few stories to share, as I knew Aleks before she started running, never mind running a marathon!

You see, I used to work for Aleks. And one afternoon, I popped into the store to say hello to her, and told her that I was about to embark on a trip to San Diego to run my first marathon. She then confided that she had started to run herself and that she was considering attempting a half sometime in the future.

After I ran San Diego, I had full-on marathon fever and signed myself up to run the GoodLife Toronto Marathon that fall. Aleks and I started running together on Saturday mornings, with me convincing Aleks the whole time that she could run a full if she trained for it. I managed to convince her to sign up for the half, and I switched my entry to the half and we agreed to run it together. Due to some personal circumstances, I ended up not being able to run it and she ran on her own. I was so proud of her, and surprised at the same time, as she told me that at the starting line she still felt like an imposter somehow and that any minute these people around her would realize that she wasn’t a real runner. I think at the finish line she may have changed her mind as she hasn’t looked back.

Unfortunately, because Aleks has really taken on this challenge with vigour, and I am a busy mom of two boys, we haven’t seen each other much over the winter. I do know that she has become so much more confident about her running over the past few months and that she is going to do really well in Ottawa.

I’m super proud of her, whether she breaks 4 hours or not, although I’m pretty sure she can do that and more.

I’m sad that I won’t be in Ottawa to cheer Aleks on and see her cross the finish line of her first full marathon, but I look forward to the time when the two of us can get our schedules together to run a marathon side by side, two runners. Two friends.

About Judy:

I started running after my second child was born, about 4 years ago now, and went from recreational running and 5K races to my first marathon within a year. I ran it with Team In Training. After two successive seasons as a mentor, last year I took another leap and became a coach with the team, sending participants to the Rome International marathon, and Around the Bay this past March. I am currently working towards getting myself certified, and part of that inspiration comes from my early runs with Aleks sharing with her all that I had learned from the fabulous coaches on my first marathon training program.