Help, someone please help me before it’s too late. 

Isn’t that the first step to getting help.  Admitting it?  You see I do need help.  And quickly.  The Bay is coming up in a few short days and am I in trouble.  I have rewritten this blog so many times, I can’t quite face making this public.

But here goes, I can’t drink out of a water bottle and run at the same time.  There I’ve said it.  It doesn’t matter what type of water bottle it is, I can’t run and drink.   I can’t say I haven’t tried.  I have used several different types of water bottles and it just doesn’t matter. 

I try to run and drink water at the same time  and it ends up one of two ways. 

I was doing the Downtown Run and Dash in Burlington and they picked one of the hottest days of the year.  So I am crusing along Maple Avenue and I am sweating like you wouldn’t believe.   I take a drink out of my sippy water bottle.  And decide that breathing at the same time is a good thing. 

The race organizers almost had to stop the race.    Water spewed out my nose.  I was coughing so hard.  And let’s not forget the water that splashed down my shirt.  It looked like I had spilled the entire water bottle on myself.  it was only half, but who’s counting?

 The other way for it to end is that no water ends up in my mouth.  But the result is still the same.  The water bottle ends up spilled down the front of my shirt.  And I still end up with a wet chest.

And when I hit the water stations?  I have to stop running completely.  Otherwise I end up scaring other runners and the organizers.

So if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to pass them on.  Otherwise keep away from the lady who looks like she stuck her chest in a tub of water and lost.  That will be me.

Just a reminder to come and see me Friday when you come to pick up your race packet.  I’ll be at the Road2Hope booth.

Dear Runner;

In the distance, hear me laughing

        I’m neither ahead nor behind 

In the shadows, see me beckoning

        Spurring on your open mind

On the wind, feel me calling

        Urging you along

Just like the trees, I stand near

        Assuring that you belong

More determined than your alarm

        I poke and prod you awake

Unlike your snooze button

        No excuse will I take

I am full of pride

        I contain no fear

I love adventure

        The new frontier

I’m as loving and kind

As a mother’s embrace

I’m as thoughtful and provoking

As your knotted shoelace

I am your hopes

        Your running inspiration

I cling to your dreams

        To your perspiration

If you should seek to hold me

        Soon you will know

Just how fast and quick

        I can set your heart aglow

Sincerely;

Your inspiration….

No one quite knows what possesses the morning runner to brave the day much before any rooster has even considered peeking out to see the sun.  So while our loved ones scoff at the idea of even leaving their warm, cozy sheets, we put on whatever running clothes we can find in the dark and somehow, miraculously, force ourselves out the door. 

 

I admit, waking up at the butt-crack of dawn isn’t on every runner’s to-do list, but when it comes down to it – for one reason or another – many of us tie up our shoes, pick the sleep out of our eyes and hope that we remembered our house keys …

Cheers to the morning runners – the unsung heroes of the dawn!

It is nice (kind of) to be back to Canada.  From a running point of view during the week we were away there was lots of ice melted making the edges of the road much less hazzardous underfoot, the smaller roads are accessible again, giving us more choice of running routes, and the trails are ice free but muddy.   As we ran along today I could smell the wet tarmac underneath our feet, the sleet was stinging our faces like needles, the cold air burning our lungs on the first hill, I had to remind myself that running is good, not just health wise but good for the soul.  I do like it, sometimes I love it…just today I am just somewhat shell shocked.  The holiday blues will pass but in the meantime I realise that I miss my shadow and the lizards and the dust, roll on summer running…

Maybe it is a little too early, but I believe in being prepared.  I just wish it would extend to my non-running life.  I see the commercials on tv about emergency preparedness and I keep meaning to get prepared, but it hasn’t happened so far. 

But I digress.  I usually try to be prepared for races that I am in.  So I spent this morning trying to figure out what I am going to wear for Around the Bay – a week from today!  I have been watching the local weather and the weatherman is predicting by Friday it will be 15 degrees.  And now, the confusion begins.

If it is going to be 15 degrees on Sunday, I should probably wear something like shorts.  I tend to get overheated and then my ugly gait gets even worse.  Not only do I stomp when I run, but I have the added bonus of really sweating.

But what if the weather is like it is right now.  it is warm, but overcast.  I think it might rain today.  Or it might even snow if the temperature drops.  Will I wear shorts or the capri’s?

What if as the weatherman says, winter isn’t quite done with us.  My dad talks about the winter of ’77.  When it snowed in April!  I remember celebrating my birthday digging out the sidewalk from under a ton of snow.

How do I decide where to put the relay bib.  If it is too hot and I dress wrongly I will have to stop, take off clothing and try to put the bib on again.  But if it cold and I dress for summer, I will be using the bib to keep my legs from freezing.

I guess I’ll just have to wait until race day to decide.  In the meantime, the house will have running clothes all over the place.  I just hope I can keep the dog from dragging the special socks off before the race.

We were out for our run last night and we were slowly gaining on a couple in front of us. They were dodging all the water spots as we were and at one point they moved to the left, and the lady saw us coming so she mentioned this to her partner and as we went by he said, “what was that… oh, here comes some REAL runners…” and my immediate thought was sadness that they would not have regarded themselves as REAL runners… I wondered why they would have thought that and I decided that is something i needed to write about.

A secondary thought came to mind and that was surprise that they thought we were actually REAL runners… if you saw my shuffle you would wonder what i was, i don’t look fast or slow, just very shuffly… so i was kinda excited to be thought of as a REAL runner… 

So what is a REAL runner? i believe that once you lace up your shoes and head out the door with the mind set to start running, you are a REAL runner… I don’t want to get caught up in the semantics of who is a jogger and who is a runner, when all we want to do is get outside and get active for what ever reason, at what ever speed, in what ever fashion… We are what we believe and if we believe we are out running, we are REAL RUNNERS!!!

What i sometimes find is that we judge the people we encounter along the trails and instantly compare them to where we are or where we think we are… For example, we pass some runners so we must be faster… but we don’t know their story… have they just run 49km and are on their last km…. have they just completed 10 x 1km tempos and are heading home… have they just broken up with a partner and they just needed to get out and move to stay sane…

We need to remember that when we pass people along the trails, we don’t know their story, we don’t know where they have come from, but they are out there, their shoes are tied and they are REAL RUNNERS…

TOTB: Don’t  compare yourself to others… this is YOUR journey, your training, your goal and your run… do it for you and enjoy every step of the way… there will always be others faster and there will always be others slower so just be THERE, where ever you are…

BOTB: Don’t compare yourself to others… i remember my first Half Ironman and seeing all the different shapes and sizes and ages and thinking that i should be able to do this if everyone else could… so i see this woman, twice my size, SOLID and i think wow, I wonder how she will do on the run… well i came almost last in the swim, and she tore up the water, i came slightly faster in the bike, and she again tore up the road, so when i finally got to run, i had no chance what so ever to catch her amazing lead… don’t compare yourself to others because this is YOUR journey, YOUR training, YOUR goal and YOUR run…

I did a Google search for superstitions today.   I was looking to see if there are any surrounding sports.  It was really kind of cool to read through the various articles.

Who knew there were so many floating around out there?  And in so  many different sports.

For example, it’s a bad thing to wear yellow in tennis.  And who knew that when I walked barefoot on a dock past a fisher person the fish wouldn’t bite.

What prompted all this searching for superstitions you ask?   I have my own superstition.    My running life won’t end if I don’t do the one thing I do before a race.  I know, because a couple times I haven’t been able to and I haven’t gotten stress fractures before the race.  Or at least I don’t think so.

You see the one thing I try to do is buy a new pair of socks.  I don’t really care what kind they are.    As long as they are new.  And the colour doesn’t matter either.

I think it started  when I bought a pair of socks before my very first Around the Bay road race.  And it just continued from there.  I bought a pair when I did the Double Crown and Road2Hope and Jingle Bell Run.

I had to buy new shoes as you know from  previous blogs, and Esther was kind enough to throw in a pair of socks with the shoes.  Maybe that is her superstition, I’ll have to ask.  I don’t have to  buy a pair of socks now.  I could if I really wanted to.  They are waiting in a special  spot for next Sunday.  When I will get up  bright and early and slide those new socks on.

If I am lucky enough, my good luck shirt won’t smell too bad from not being washed since the last race I was in.  And I’ll have to tap someone’s goalie pads on  my way to the race.  But I’m not superstitious.

        If there was a time for a theme song or a personal jingle – this would be it.  My first year of college is five weeks from completion, exams are creeping near, my husband is triathlon training, my toddler has nearly weaned, and Ottawa’s race is drawing closer.  When my older children were younger and I was lost in the midst of obtaining a degree – people would ask me how I managed. 
        “That’s easy,” I’d reply. “I’m supermom.”  You know; Faster than the loaded dishwasher, smarter than the average teddy bear, diaper pins up my sleeve and nary a runny nose in sight!

        This was repeated so often in fact that the standard joke was my university graduation gown was suppose to be the supermom costume.  Fate twisted that likelihood and I found myself rather obviously pregnant for my ceremony and try as I might, the tights wouldn’t fit.

        Upon my return to school I searched the back of my metaphorical closet looking once again for my trusty supermom cape.  It amazes me how much stubborn determination you can sap from a simple mindset.  Running added fuel to that fire and still carries me through the chaos and clutter.  Now when I feel the pre-test jitters, I hit the pavement; answering its call and seeking comfort in its grace. 

        Recently however, I seem to have lost my cape.  The extra push that used to permit my all night studying or immaculately spotless house has dissipated into acceptance.  I loved having my cake and eating it too.  And although the cake is still in my possession, now instead of devouring it whole, I only take the occasional nibble.  I have to say licking icing off my fingers is much more entertaining than suffering indigestion from eating the entire cake, candles and all.

        Running has empowered me with the strength to let go, to realise that not all factors are intrinsic, or controllable.  In a runners mind there is no perfect – there is only better, there is only next.  Constant improvement as a goal buffers you against change; it carries you through ignorance.  After all even a step taken towards your goal in which you tripped (on say a speed bump, lamppost, garbage bin, child’s forgotten toy, or EMPTY TIM HORTONS cup!) is still a step in the right direction.  I remember reading once that it is important to be passionately aware that you could be completely wrong.  This doesn’t make me feel like a failure, it just allows me the chance to appreciate my opportunity to try again – to be better. 

        For a few weeks before all of the above made sense in my mind, I went around my classes asking friends if they had seen my cape.  After a number of contemplative runs, just me and my shoes and the banter of guides around me; I realised this too was part of growing up.  I was seeking determination and strength from stubbornness – now my sources of inspiration stem from quiet moments lacing my shoes, from looks of pride in my children’s eyes and of course, from the love and support of my husband.

        In my final stage of this superhero envy equation there was a moment the other day when I was asked if I’d located my cape yet.  I explained that in my opinion, superheroes tended to be too destructive to their clothes (particularly those worn on top of their costumes, which always seem to be buttoned shirts).  So in my efforts to save the button industry, I’ve halted all rescue attempts for my cape and tights; and instead I’m rescuing myself.  As the cheesy saying goes, in order to make a dream come true, you must first have a dream.  I’m living my dream one step at a time.