ME kindly brought these niceties home for me a month or so ago (before the Las Vegas trip) and there hasn’t been an opportunity to test drive them.  shhh… don’t jinx it. I’m certainly not complaining. I’ll gladly test them out next season :o)
hurray! spring is here! happy spring everyone!

I haven’t run since monday night soccer since I got sick with a nasty virus on tuesday. getting a bit itchy to get back out there. M-day (marathon day) is 36 days away. Around The Bay is 9 days away. those are some looming deadlines and I want to get the mileage in! hope to either spin or run tonight. if you’re lucky I might post a video of me coughing up a lung on the bike.

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the Great Tim Horton’s Roll Up The Rim Tally –  hoodie 5 : Tim Horton’s 13
(not many coffees as of late, been too sick!)
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Hello and i do believe that spring is in the air…

You know as runners we can often get a bad rap for hogging the sidewalks, running on the roads, taking over the trails…. and probably because often… we do just that…

We need to let the walkers, bikers and other runners know that although sometimes we are in a ZONE, and see nothing outside of our blinders, we are good, kind caring people and we can share the road, the trails and the sidewalks… so lets start spreading the good side of runners by doing just that… BE COURTEOUS to the people that use the same space that we use for our running excursions…

ALSO… as i was doing # 7 of 10 x 1km tempo runs, i thought to myself how lucky i am to be able to do this; i wasn’t having the time of my life, it was early, it was hard, and i was tired… but i WAS doing it and i COULD do it and it brought a smile to my face… When we meet other runners we often are met with narry a little nod, and i tell ya, nothing is more refreshing than a smile, a small hello, a gesture of the hand or even a little nod… WE are out there for the same reason, on the same day on the same turf and as we pass each other we really do need to smile and say hello… 

Even in a race, i can’t help but smile along the way, so many fellow runners, and volunteers and spectators… make the journey worth the destination and crack a smile as you go…

TOTB: Create a mantra, a slogan, a secret thought that keeps you going through the tough parts of training or especially in the race. It gets you focused, centred and mentally inspired to keep on pushing… it might even bring a smile to your face…

BOTB: I am the worst with names and most especially when i see a fellow runner pass by in a race or on a training route… so if i say hi Buddy, hey there, hello, Hey how are ya…. or even call out the wrong name… please forgive my sudden loss of memory or my jostled brain… i still really want to send you a smile and a hello even if your name is lost in the space between my ears…

Keep running and stay dry!!

I remember when I first decided to run Around the Bay, TFM sat me down and gave me several important words of wisdom

I was relieved that none of them had anything to do with clean underwear, that would have been just a bit awkward.  But what he did tell me still has meaning now, two years later.  So I thought I would share them with you.

The first Around the Bay road race that I did came a month after arthroscopic knee surgery.  If I look carefully now, I can still find two or three of the scars my surgeon was so good.  But I was still dealing with a knee that would talk back on occasion, so running a straight 5 km was out of the question.

I was going to do a run walk to get me from start to finish.  TFM said to me, when you run keep to the right side of the road.  And when you are going to stop, make sure you are as far over to the right as you can be.  It didn’t make sense at the time, but when I ran the race, people were passing all over the place. 

The other thing he said to me was it didn’t matter how many times I walked in the race, I needed to make sure that I ran across the finish line.  When I turned onto York Blvd. I knew the end was in sight, so I kept running past the time on my stop watch.  And when the camera guy caught me in his sights, I made sure I had the biggest smile my laboured breathing could muster.  Everyone in Copps Coliseum saw my silly grin,  which got even bigger when I crossed the line.

But the best thing he said to me was run my own race.  I still use that piece of advice to this day.  While others are fretting about their time, I figure any day I can put my runnings shoes on and lace them up, put one foot in front of the other is a good day.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else does, what does matter is what I do. 

So next Sunday I will keep to the right,  run across the finish line and will remember to smile the biggest smile I can when I see camera guy.  And keep true to myself.

Ok, so do what do you think happened to my legs after going out and running too fast for my own good last night???  Sure it helped my mind and cleared my head but and what cost!!  Let’s just say the old tree trunks are a little sore today!  Nothing major but I sure am glad I am not walking up a lot of stairs today!
I guess what I can take away from this is something I have known for a long time…..I am not running enough!  I am seriously hoping that this is going to improve next week.  I know what you are thinking, ‘here he goes again, making excuses and putting it off.’ It’s not true….honestly.  Yes I am going to list a few excuses here, but really they are not excuses they are reality.  I really have to be out of my house in a week.  I really have a lot of phone calls and packing to do before that time and I really can’t imagine getting up before 6:00am to run before the kids wake up. (That last one may make me seem lazy but I’m ok with that 🙂 )

Everything will be way more manageable next week as I am losing the main strain on my time, my family.  (That probably didn’t come out right and I will surely hear about it after my wife reads this…sorry Andrea 🙂 )  Anyway, we are homeless for a while after next Tuesday, my wife and kids are going away until our new home is completed and I am bunking in with a couple of very giving friends. (Thanks Jay and Tory 🙂 )

Let’s list some of the pro’s and con’s of this situation:

Con: I won’t get to see my family everyday

Con: I won’t get to read books to my son before bed

Con: No rough housing with my son

Con: There’s a chance my daughter will start crawling while they are away

Pro:  I am banking valuable sleep time

Pro:  No more kicks to the groin

Pro:  I can go for a beer with my friends whenever I want

Pro:  More time to get out and run  

I could probably go on and make a larger list but I would probably put my foot in my mouth a few times and then I may be homeless even when our house is done!

Seriously though if I am going to have to be without my family for a few weeks I am really going to make that extra effort to get out and run way more often.  That way when I need to go for a ‘speed run’ to clear my head and get out some frustrations the only thing that may be sore the next day is my back from being able to lay in bed as long as I want J  (sorry Andrea, I’ll miss you guys!)

My favourite running season is finally here!  Ice cream season.

I have run past my favourite Dairy Queen store for months now.  In the winter, they close it down.  Someone out there figured people didn’t want to eat ice cream in winter.

They obviously don’t run.  Otherwise they would know that sometimes after a particularly good run, you need to treat yourself.  Or sometimes after a bad run you need to treat yourself.  Or sometimes, you just need the motivation to get off the couch and out the door into the freezing cold.

Some of my other running friends use other methods to entice themselves out into the cold.  My friend Jim uses a nice glass of beer. 

Until I discovered ice cream, I would entice myself out into the warm and cold by telling myself, “OK, if you run for the next couple weeks in the (fill in the appropriate weather here) weather, you can go and buy yourself that really nice Brooks running jacket you have been eyeing.”

That worked until I ended up with a closet full of running stuff.  At least it wasn’t shoes I was bribing myself with.  I could be the Imelda Marcos of running shoes.

Some people might argue I already am.  My mother threatened to throw me and my shoes out if I brought anymore into the house.  I was left with sneaking them in.

I didn’t run tonight, but I figured since I was there anyway I might as well pick up an ice cream.  Make sure that the ice cream is still up to exacting standards.  I am happy to say that they are.

Besides that, I’m going running tomorrow.  Not that with Around the Bay so close, I needed the bribe.  That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.

The last run we did was at around -6 and the wet snow was slopping out from under our feet, some of it splashing up our legs and eventually our shoes sinking in an inch or two.  Today we ran at around 7am, the temperature already soaring to about 25 degrees.  As we ran the only thing was dust coming up from our footsteps.  The odd lizard scurried out of the way or stared at us lazily from a nearby wall.  My feet were small furnaces inside my socks and sneakers and the sweat was running freely everywhere!  My face was on fire.  The locals who passed us on the dusty road looked at us with pure disbelief, you could see their thoughts ‘crazy tourists!”  We ran past a beautiful cenote (water cave) which beconed us to jump in, we kept on going somehow.  The sides of the roads only offered us crispy mangroves to look at.  Finally as we reached ‘home’ we stripped of the running clothes, we were already organized with swimsuits underneath, and we ran into the sea which was pure bliss……..on this note I will store this run to one of those dreamy, hazy, memories, to spur me on when on my next run it is likely to be -6, wet sloppy snow, wet sneakers…………..this will be in my thoughts as I drink a cold corona with lime on the beach later today….

Ahh yes spring is definitely here; the snow is melting, my son saw his first Robin of the season and all I could smell on my run tonight was thawing dog crap!  What better indication of spring is there than that!  I don’t know how many people in my neighborhood have dogs but after tonight I am guessing it is close to 80%!!!

As for the run tonight, once again it almost didn’t happen. (Have I mentioned that things are a little busy lately??) On top of our busy day to day lives we are moving out of our house in a week and things aren’t exactly packing themselves!  So after my obligatory St. Paddy’s day beer and larger than necessary portion of dinner, my son decided it was time for our nightly wrestling match and proceeded to head butt me in the nose and hit me in the groin rather hard.  After the ‘I am going to barf’ feeling subsided and my wife agreed to put Connor to bed I decided I needed to run.  Have you ever had that feeling where you are tired, anxious and irritated and the only thing that will help is either alcohol or exercise??  Today I picked exercise.

I always find I run a little quicker when I am feeling like this and tonight was no exception.  The beer and dinner didn’t really appreciate the fact that I ran fast but mentally I felt great once I was done! Reenergized and rejuvenated!

It’s always nice to get out in the evening when the weather is turning, when you no longer need a toque or gloves; I even managed to run in shorts tonight without freezing!  I suppose the only downside to tonight’s run would be the lovely smell I had to contend with during the whole 5k, but hey at least I didn’t step in it 🙂

It was early Sunday morning and the city streets, content in their slumber, greeted us with a soft spoken kiss of welcome.  “Race day” it seemed to say breathing its caress of wind in my ears; filling my lungs with anticipation and determination.  The sky, still dark; the stars singing their last refrain of lullaby before the sun spikes the circadian rhythm of the general inhabitants.  We were not the only ones embracing the early morning’s cloudless sky.  Others were stirring, preparing for their own races – answering their own challenges.  If the moment wasn’t perfect in itself, it became so as I looked from the front porch back into the house.  My toddler, Izaack (18 months) was blowing kisses and waving goodbye from the window.  In the process he was smearing his snot all over the pane in helpless innocent excitement.

        The bus took us from downtown Peterborough, to downtown Toronto.  The 10^th annual Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K run/walk was our destination.  With numerous athletes in our midst, each with their own varying abilities and skill, we took to the highway with friends, guides and snacks in tow.  Joyous hushed banter sang through the bus.  Some of us chose more sleep to fight butterflies, others discussed upcoming race goals.  I was very excited to hear that one of my guides is aiming towards a marathon in the fall. 

        Once we arrived in the big city, our temporary haven; we hesitantly left the warmth of the bus to pick up race kits.  After discovering a new t-shirt and socks to glorify my wardrobe, and a box of Lucky Charms, I found myself pinning both my bibs to my coat. There was one with my number to wear on the front and one with my Achilles athlete status to wear on the back.  There is nothing like wearing the truth on your back.  “Blind Runner” coming through!  It was an interesting relief to not feel the need to explain myself.

        I inherited (or recruited) a new guide for this run, a friend from school.  This, I found, added determination to my pace.  Having never run a race alone, I can’t logically compare – but I have to say that having a personal circle of inspiration in my side view mirrors was wonderful.  Both guides preformed immaculate skill and technique, right down to knowing when I would need that tender kick in the rear to incite me on.

        My memory is filled with the day, and my heart with the courtesy that runners have for each other.  The sounds of the busy streets, the families watching and cheering and of course all those feet… so many feet.  Feet thudding, feet pounding, some feet prancing, some tapping and patting – faster and faster like the build up of a rainstorm.  The minutes before we were released to race were like the calm before the storm.  That moment where, you know it is coming, you try and time your breathing and stay calm and enjoy the ride.  What do you do when you are standing in the middle of the rain storm?  Why you get wet of course!

        In the middle of that rain storm, I found of new piece of myself.  This experience of running is like a constant jig saw that came without a box.  I’m not sure what I’ll look like when the pieces are all put together, but that adds to the excitement.  During the race, I managed to spill my water on the kind soul that handed it to me, and with my guides help we outran an oncoming fire engine (sirens and all) and swerved to avoid the scattered piles of horse droppings on the sides of the street.  We ran.  I was focused and contemplative or at least I was until my guides mentioned in passing that it was nice to see some fire fighters and military personnel running with us.  I allowed a momentary distraction and then returned to my run, my race.  One of the best aspects of being visually impaired is my impeccable imagination.

        Near the end, my seasoned guide seemed to know just what to say to encourage my sprint.  This is something I’m told not everyone does.  I know some people are of the opinion that if you have the energy to run faster at the end of a race, then you could have run faster throughout.  My thoughts are, in that moment, why wait?  I’m close, so close, so why wait?  My heart was pounding its protest, my lungs were exploding and my mind wondered ‘where is the usual reserve of energy?’  It seemed to ask me from within why I was making it do this?  I answered my screamed body; every mother knows how to save an extra two or three seconds.  I told myself I had to hurry; the snot needed wiping off the window at home.  My guide loudly asked, “We are really close, can you see it?”  I knew what she meant, can I see it in my mind.  But the spectators on the sides of the road found it funny that a runner clearly labeled ‘guide’, would ask a runner clearly labeled ‘blind runner’, such a preposterous question.

        Post race was a whole new romance.  My olfactory senses were overwhelmed, and my body (which was suffering endless stress moments before) relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere.  I was lucky enough to meet Lucky (Charm), and then enjoyed being attacked by a tree (guides apparently off duty) and of course the post race green beer.  Well if it was green I couldn’t tell!

        The bus ride home was just as wonderful as before but now we had a sense of shared experience.  This is something I’ll never forget.  I smiled and watched the CN tower fade into the horizon.  I rejoiced at the shared snacks, and then pondered how we managed to shave a full three minutes off my last 5K.

        I think in those last moments on the road home, I slipped in and out of reality.  I wonder what kind of new actuality I have made for my future by embracing this new passion.  The best part is; I get to find out…. One step at a time.