Well this is what we have been hoping for all through the winter… warm weather… now we have to wait for the snow to melt and the paths to dry… But the sun is shining even if our shoes and socks are soaking wet…

For those that have been waiting to start your running until spring, please be careful with the the wet paths that will be freezing up… it is almost a more difficult time of the year with so much warming and freezing… go slow, take your time, and stand back from the curbs that have water pooling around the corners…

TOTB: if you have not invested in the shoe grips for winter, it might not be a bad idea to use them now because there will be a lot of ice off and on while the snow is melting and freezing. There are different kinds and different prices. The coil ones are better for walking and not running because they start to irritate the bottoms of your feet if you are going very far. and don’t get them too small because they really pull on your shoes and your feet will hurt after a while…

BOTB: Sometimes the grippers fall off of your shoes depending on the terrain… in deep snow you might even lose it completely…  like lets say someone you know hits the trees for a pit stop and has grippers on when they went in, but one is missing when they come out… check the tree branches in case it happened to get tangled up on the way to your pit stop… really, the strangest things happens on some of your runs!!

BOTB: this one is for the last entry about laundry… if you put anything into the laundry that has velcro, like your hats… be sure it is done up completely so it does not stick to your FAVOURITE running shirt… maybe put it in the dish washer, or in the shower when you hop in after a run…

In running sometimes the greatest opponent you face is yourself. Your brain telling you that you will be hurt if you run 20 feet further. That its ok to take a bit of a break. That it won’t hurt to run 4 km instead of the planned 26.2 km.

I think it was watching Run Fatboy Run that started this whole thing.

I decided to watch the movie for several reasons.  One being that running movies are few and far between.  The other reason is that I am going to England on holiday and wanted to watch the movie so I could see the sights.  And possibly to scout out places to go run while I’m there.  That in itself is a whole other blog.

My favourite scene is the one in which  “Fatboy” is running the marathon.  And he hits the wall.  Both the Gazelle and I howled with laughter.  I don’t know about you, but I have seen that wall.  And I have hit that wall.

It happened to me when I ran the first Road2Hope.  I signed up and trained to do the 10 km race.  I trained for it all summer long.  When Esther said we  could actually train on the Red Hill Expressway, we did.  Several times.

I made it to the bottom of the hill to the turn around point.  I started back toward the hill.  I knew that I had to run back UP that hill.  And that’s where the wall dropped.  Gently, floating on the breeze like a feather.

I stopped.  No matter which way I looked, the wall stretched for miles either way.  I looked up and it stretched miles into the sky.  I knew that the wall was very thick.

And just like Fatboy, reached into a part of me I didn’t even know existed and I smashed that wall to bits. I still hit that same wall on occasion, but it isn’t as bad as I think.

I had battled me and won.

You get to meet some pretty neat people running. I have made a few friends through running.  Runners that I think will stick with me running or not.  And I have met some people that I wish I could call my friends.

A couple years ago, Esther put together a quick run for the runners at the Runners Den.  The purpose of the race was to raise money for a young triathelete whose mother Esther knew well.  The young man, we all found out was on the short list to represent Canada at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

I ran the race on a cold wintry night.  And ran in a PB of 31 minutes.  But what made the night special was meeting  that young man, Colin Jenkins.  He ran the race with us that cold night.  And finished the 5 km race in about 15 minutes.

He greeted each runner as they crossed the finish line.  He made everyone of us feel like we had just run an Olympic race ourselves.

I tried to keep track of his Olympic efforts and was pretty proud when I heard he had actually made the Olympic team and was going to represent Canada in the triathlon.

I watched him when he made sure that Simon  Whitfield made it to the Olympic podium.  And shed a tear or two at that moment.

But that moment paled in comparison to running in the Road2Hope last year.  The Gazelle and I both signed up to do the 5 km race.  Esther promised that the Marathon weekend would be one to remember and she delivered.

On the day of our race, the Gazelle and I seeded ourselves accordingly.  He in the front and me in the back.  My parents also walked in the race that day.  But just before the gun went off, Gord announced that Colin Jenkins would be handing out finishing medals to the finishers.

I ran my race and had a good run.  But when I crossed the finish line, I looked for Colin.  I wanted the finishing medal from him and found him.

“Congratulations.  You did great,” he said to me.

“Thanks, but you deserve the congratulations,” I said to him.  He looked at me in surprise.

“You represented Canada wonderfully at the Olympics.  I was so proud.  The next time, there will be a medal for you,” I said to him.

And both he and I believed it.

Our first and actually to date only official run was the Halifax resolution run. It was on New Years Eve. For the months preceding that day it was our inspiration and our goal. When the day arrived not only were we both very nervous but also there was a blizzard warning in effect to start around 5pm that day…..the run also started at 5pm. It was going to take more than that to stop us. So we went into the city early, we packed a bag in case we got stuck in the car in the snow, and an overnight bag in case we decided it was too bad to drive home. We were both so nervous on the way in, we felt sick, but the good thing was no snow so far. By the time we collected our jackets and waited at the ‘Y’ we were both really nervous. We pinned on our numbers and waited. The other runners were amazingly nice to us. Especially to India, my daughter. The atmosphere was great, very upbeat. We began to calm down somewhat. We walked across the street to the beginning of the race and after the guy organizing it explained the route and traffic rules we were off. That is not totally true, the fast, professional folk were off, followed by the quite fast, then we went with the slower crowd. It was great running in a group, the weather was not too cold, the people stationed at various places around the route were funny and made us laugh and kept us going. At the end a few people were hanging around to clap everyone in as they finished. We did it! It felt great! We were so excited to have made it, and we did not walk a step! There was still no snow so that too was a bonus! In fact we were half way home before we saw a flake of the white stuff, so all in all it was a great success!

Yesssssiiiiiirrrryyyyyy, i love laundry…. 🙁

One thing about winter running is you have so many layers that you end up doing laundry every 2 or 3 days… and when you have two runners in the house hold, you have large loads as well… i am in a condo so no basement to spread out the clothes and they end up scattered over my chairs, table and couch… btw it is for sale because we need a house with a basement to spread out our running clothes… have you ever tried to put a kayak in an elevator? luckily mine is small so it actually fits… i really do need a house…

TOTB:  enter numerous marathons so you get some great technical long sleeve shirts which come in handy when you need many layers and many changes of clothes during your winter runs… Not a great tip, but it is serving me well this winter… my wonderful and insightful sister says i should either not run in winter or use some of the newspaper I previously talked about so as to reuse before i recycle, and then of course cut down on laundry…. everyone needs a little sister!!!

BOTB: i have many blunders but not all have to do with running… when you go camping, make a list and check things off as you put them in the vehicle… don’t go over the list in your head as you are driving down the highway and it is too late to go back when you realize you didn’t pack your tent… i slept in my hammock for a week…

My purple shoed friend had to leave work early today.  She is a co-op student who decided to accept a co-op term with my employer.  I kind of feel like a surrogate mother.  I keep telling her that it will all be ok.  And that it really was a good idea to sign up for her very first Around the Bay Road Race.

In any case, I was first introduced to her when a fellow co-worker over heard me bemoaning the fact that I couldn’t find anyone to talk to about 24.  As it turns out, she also watches 24.  But we really hit it off, when she told me she runs.

Except, as I often raz her, she runs on a treadmill. 

“Bet the scenery is great on your treadmill,” I tease her.  “Now you know what it feels like to be a rabbit on a treadmill.”

Or her personal favourite, “Are you part hamster?”

I am trying to convince her to run outside in the real running world.  But soon after we met, she has been plagued by an ongoing thigh injury.

Despite what I previously said about self diagnosis, diagnosing other runners is fair game.  So I offered her my opinion.

“Has it hurt for more than two days?” I asked with a serious doctor face.  “Cuz you know, I read somewhere, probably in this really great magazine called iRun Canada, that if something hurts for more than two days, you really need to see a doctor.”

So after much whining and carrying on, mostly on my part, I convinced my purple shoed friend to go and see a sports injury expert. 

She went to see him tonight.  I told her it would be ok.  That with Around the Bay so close,  Dr. Levy would let her run in her very first Bay.

I can’t wait to see her cross the finish line.  I will be waiting in the wings, with my camera in hand.  Snapping pictures like any proud surrogate mother would.