I Heart Boston.

I feel compelled to write about the horrific events at the finish of yesterday’s Boston marathon.  It’s been a while since I laced up the old joggers and pounded out the 26.2 from Hopkinton to Boston proper…5 years a while to be exact.  However, as most runners and marathoners will tell, there is something so sacred and so honourable about the Boston marathon.  That city, that race, the amazing runners, volunteers and spectators (a million strong J), they do hold a special place in my heart.  And my heart is broken for them after the senseless violence at the finish line yesterday.

In the wake of the horrific tragedy that ended the Boston marathon 2013, my heart is heavy.  I am so sorry for the families who lost loved ones.   My heart aches for those who are injured, for runners who lost limbs and for parents who lost children in this senseless act of violence.  I am so sad for the runners, many of whom have had their Boston moment (which many have trained their entire lives to earn the privilege to have) end in tragedy rather than in celebration.  To cross the finish line in Boston, amongst the supporters, families and volunteers in a marathon so steeped in tradition is a feeling of elation that is not easily put into words.  For me, it was life changing.  It was in those moments where I simply could not imagine doing anything differently or being anywhere else.  It was the truest and most simple form of being in and appreciating the moment.  I remember clearly running up Boylston Street in the last kilometer and hearing my parents and sister cheering for me before I saw them.  I witnessed tears of joy, cries of victory and strangers hugging as runners from all over the world accomplished something that was once a seemingly impossible goal; to run in and cross the finish line in the Boston marathon.  A simple, beautiful vision and goal made  real in those 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. 

Today, I did what most other runners also did today…I went running.  But today, more than any other day,  I was so filled with gratitude that I am fortunate enough to be a part of the running community that my run simply took on a whole other meaning.  It wasn’t for training and it wasn’t for race preparation and it wasn’t for exercise.  It was because I could.  It was to stand in community with other runners and to do what runners always do when it’s hard and when it hurts and when there is nothing else to do- we get our feet into shoes and our shoes onto pavement.  One foot in front of the other.  We run.  And we just keep running.

WANTED

WANTED: SEXY, SINGLE, MALE RUNNER

With really great stamina.  Since I need you to keep up...on the path that is.

Couch potatoes need not apply.  Unless you give a mean foot and leg massage.  And then maybe we can talk.

Gym rats?  Maybe.  But only if it compliments your run training.  Or Ironman training.  Or other endurance sport training.  If you wear Ed Hardy clothing of any kind or a toque in the gym, we can definitely be friends, but I like to eat bread far too much to date you, especially since you're likely to give me a dirty look and offer me a protein supplement every time I eat some peanut butter toast.  Sometimes with butter under the peanut butter.  Butter...my favourite food group.  Right after bread, of course.

Do you wear Vibram 5 fingers shoes?  This is a definite problem.  Those will have to go.  Unless you've read Born to Run and have tested every other kind of minimalist shoe determining that you cannot live without the 5 fingers.  If you going to run with those, you should likely go au naturale and kick it barefoot for reals.  Just saying.

If you get your downward dog on and are at least a semi-regular yogi, you probably understand just how amazingly a regular yoga practice compliments your fitness pursuits.  This makes you quite possibly the dreamiest of the dreamy.  Imagine if we could hit up a hot class after miles and miles and miles of running.  Nothing says recovery like pigeon pose in the hot room, yes?  With little clothing and a lot of sweat.  Sigh.   A gal can dream...

Are you a marathoner?  Ultra-marathoner?  Triathlete?  I hope so.  I'm super attracted to you if you commit to a goal and get after it.  Which is exactly what you need to do if you're going to train for an endurance event of any kind.  This usually means that you are goal oriented, determined and dedicated.  Qualities I love and admire.  And although ideally you love to get out there in a long race or two, its equally awesome if you just run for the sake of running.  This is something I understand completely. 

Not a runner?  This may be OK.  But I need to know:
1. Do you accept that I get out of bed before the sun on Sunday for Sunday RundayLongrunday Funday? 
2. Can you cook a mean zucchini, basil, tomato omelette that will be waiting for me post long run?
3. Can you deal with my toenails turning black and falling off (gross, yes, but honest nonetheless)?
4. Are you willing to massage my legs, glutes and low back on a regular basis?
5. Are you game to book holidays in places where some of the best marathons in the world are run so I can run them?
6. If we're going to have little runners, are you willing to purchase me the most amazing treadmill so I can get a few miles in here and there?

If the answer was yes to all of the above, let's chat.  Over coffee or tea, I suppose, since you don't run...and we can't chat while running...

And just so you know a little about me:
I love running, in case that hasn't been made quite clear.  It brings clarity, peace and stillness to my mind.  It allows me to feel a level of freedom that I don't quite experience doing any other activity.  Pure happiness, pure joy, pure energy when my feet are in shoes and my shoes are on the pavement!  It is an important part of my life.  It is moving meditation.  Simple, yes? 

So hopefully, Mr. Right, you're out there and you're reading this.  Likely after you've just finished a quick Thursday morning 10k.  Next time you run by me on the path, do us both a favour, turn around and at least TRY and catch me. 

Who knows.  Lightning may strike!

#runnersunite

So many things.  SO MANY!  Where to start?

Its been a busy, busy month.  Starting a new career adventure brings about highs and lows, laughter and (a few) tears, but most of all, a ton of learning and a whole new lesson in time management! 

True fact.  Very true.  There is ALWAYS time.  You make it because you just do.  Because you have to, want to, need to.  You just do, and it's worth it every time!

This morning, I did a long run on the track.  Second long run second week in a row that I had to make the choice: -33 plus windchill OR around and around on the track.  And since I'm learning to love winter, I chose to go around and around on the track.  Winter may be beautiful, but its damn cold here in the city that rhymes with fun!

Beautiful.  Sunny.  Damn cold!

On that note, I should add that my run on the track today, it was fabulous.  Yep, it sure was.  Why?  I had a buddy!  My first Regina running buddy!  Running is awesome on so many levels in its own right, but add in a new friend with great conversation, and suddenly going around and around on the track for an hour and forty minutes passes in the blink of an eye.  I should also mention that my Regina running buddy is an inspirational rockstar.  Seriously.  This woman is up to some pretty amazing things.  In a nutshell: full time mother (wee CS is just over a year), full time lawyer, full time wife (which is really like having 2 kids or so I'm told by my married friends), AND full time runner.  Boston bound in April, which to those who know running, will understand that to earn a spot in this coveted marathon is feat in its own right.  A tricky schedule to juggle no doubt, but she does it none the less.  While she's the first to admit it isn't always perfect, she manages to get it all in. Authentic  Inspirational.  And just plain awesome.  She is going to rock those Newton hills in Boston like no ones business.

If you're wondering how I met such a rockstar runner, I should tell you its a funny story.  I actually e-stalked her.  Found her name in some race results, a quick google search and several Sunday runs later, we have had the best conversations and I look forward to each and every run- track or outside in the freezing cold- because I just love hearing what she's up to.  Training for an endurance event is an amazing experience.  Having someone to share it with?  It's just the sprinkles on the (vanilla) icing on top of the (chocolate) cupcake.

And on that note, I must stretch.  And shower.  But maybe not in that order. #runnersunite.  Happy.

Running Scared

It's NYEve ya'll!  What a fabulous year its been, yes?  This has been a big year for me.  A huge year, in fact.  I've changed my job.  I've changed my life.  I've completely let go of some things that were holding me back and embraced others that have allowed me be authentic and true to myself.  And while that is a seemingly simple sentence to type,the truth is that it was a tumultuous journey that included laughter, tears, truth and love, culminating in some pretty damn amazing things.

2012 was I year that I didn't just achieve some goals.  I crushed them.

All but one.  And truthfully, it's the one goal that if you had asked me one calendar year ago, I would have said that I would achieve that goal with no problem, worry or a second thought.

Marathon.  2:59:59. Sub 3.  You still elude me.

I've reflected a lot lately on why it is that for me, the goal that should likely have been the easiest to achieve has suddenly become the most difficult I'm facing.  My Everest, if you will.  My Achilles heel.  The devil on my shoulder...in Asics and a lulu running outfit whispering "you can't do it..."

And.

Here it goes.

Massive Confession.

I haven't given this goal EVERYTHING I have.  I've held back.  Sometimes consciously.  Sometimes subconsciously.  But it is the truth, and one that's really, really hard for me to admit when I pride myself on encouraging other to commit 100% to getting after what they want.  I wanted it, but I didn't want it enough to give it what it deserved.

Allow me to elaborate.  In the past year I had the opportunity to train with a fantastic coach named Janice McCaffrey and a fantastic group of fast and furious (a fun and smiley and encouraging kind of furious) runners called Adrenalin Rush.  I ran speed intervals with this group once a week and sometimes met people for long runs on Saturdays or Sundays and was emailed weekly training plans that were structured around a goal crushing sub 3 hour marathon.  I was provided with unlimited access to the fountain of running knowledge in the form of a coach who knows her shit and a group of incredibly experienced runners who combined, have run in more races and won more awards than I could begin to list here.  And the truth?  I didn't take advantage of it.  In a nutshell, I half participated in the training program.  I did the runs I felt like doing, or the runs that fit into my schedule.  And the rest of the time I did exactly what I felt like doing- which could have been yoga.  Could have been training at the gym.  It also may have been running, but was likely not the running I was given to do in the training plan.

Why? 

I've thought about it and when I throw away that story that seems to attach to it, the answer is fear.  Plain and simple.  I was scared of failure.  2:59 is a huge benchmark in the world of marathons and I have questioned whether I am a good enough runner to get there.  Which, in reality, is a contradiction in itself since the advice I would give anyone else is that it IS possible if you think it is.  In my head, if I didn't run the 2:59 of my dreams, I knew I would have an excuse.  It would seem less frustrating and less of a mystery to me because deep down in my soul, I would know exactly why I didn't have the race of my life, even if no one else did.  And so there was a part of me that held back.  That didn't commit to the process.  That did not allow the universe to create the magic it does when I have allowed it to.  And the result?  No spring marathon and a disappointing (albeit awesomely disappointing if that makes sense) 3:13 in DC. 

If I've learned anything in this past year, it is that for me, running is a metaphor and a parallel for life.  And this was the year that in life, I really, really went for it.  And amazing things happened.  Moving forward, I am making the promise to myself that in ALL THINGS (running and otherwise) that I will not hold back.  Because, truthfully, working my ass off, committing to the process and not hitting a 2:59 is so much better than half committing and not getting there.  I owe it to myself.  I deserve to give myself my best.  Simple.

And so 2:59 it STILL is.  100% commitment.  Nothing held back.  Nothing to lose.  The result will be fantastic.  No doubt. 

Guess What

Guess what I JUST did?   Moments ago. 

I bought myself a special present.  I signed up for the Saskatchewan marathon.  Eeeeeeeeek!  Registration opened yesterday.  I am the 4th person to sign up.  THE 4th!  Come on, Sask-y!  Let's get feet into shoes, shoes onto pavement I mean ice and GET RUNNING!

Saskatoon, May 27th, here I come! 

This is like a Christmas present, a moving present and a present for no special reason present all wrapped up into one big present with sparkly paper and a shiny bow that I am giving to MYSELF.  It's been a tough week.  A busy week.  And I find myself struggling to get it all in.  I can't think of a better way to bring some focus and clarity to it all than to set a goal that will support my life with some structure.

I know the next few months will bring stress, joy, laughter, tears, wonder, amazement, question and everything in between.  I can't think of a better way than to BE in each and every moment of all of these feelings than to run.  To run and to breathe and to savour it all and to realize that it might be hard, but that doesn't mean its bad.  It just means it just is.  Running and training will be a time for me to take it all in, meditate on it and appreciate the moment. 

After all...























So?  Do tell, peeps!  Whose got races coming?  I want to know!

The #sweatlife

I'm livin' #thesweatlife.  Big time.

Not only am I in a self-imposed 21 day sweat challenge (simple: sweat each and every day for 21 days), a part of my new job involves #thesweatlife.

How?

Simple.

I'm learning all about how people get sweaty, get fit, get trained, and get limber in my new community.  There is no better way to do this research than to just get out there and do it.  To sweat it out in gyms.  And yoga studios.  And the great out of doors with runners.  And the track.  And spin classes.

I am having so much fun.  Have I mentioned I love my job? 

And because this is a running blog, I best be getting to some running nuggets.

And so...

Two marathons planned.  So very exciting.  One in May, one in September, BOTH in Saskatchewan.  Both taking care of letters in my alphabet challenge.  Training has already started.  Not the running type of training, although I am running a fair bit, the type of training that prepares the bod for the running training.  Strength, fitness, yoga, fun!  All in the name of planning to pound out a speedy 26.6 in Saskatoon and one in Regina.

New races, new training, same running love.  Can. Not. Wait.

Through the Eyes (and Heart) of a Runner

I've been absent.  From the blogging world that is!  Reason?  I moved.  I wish I could tell you that I moved to a beautiful tropical paradise which is, at this moment in time, high on the list of places I'd really, really like to be.  You see, where I am at this moment in time is Regina.  Saskatchewan.  Canada.  And it is cold.

Hella cold.  Like -30C cold.  For my American friends who measure temps in F's instead of C's...trust me.  This is extremely and incredibly wintry and frosty!  However, it is also just so very beautiful.  I can say this with conviction and certainty, because as I've promised those of you who know me well, this is the winter that it happens.  I go from hating winter, to embracing and loving the frosty loveliness that is Canada in November, December and January.  And so, I've been venturing out into my new habitat bundled in layers and mittens and a toque for several runs.  True story!

So.  New city.  New job.  New temporary until I find one home.  New, new new.  And most importantly, new running routes!  Exciting!  One of the things I relish most about being a runner is the opportunity to explore the world on foot.  I feel like I get into my surroundings and truly notice whats around me when I'm on a run.  I notice things I would never notice if I was driving.  Names on streets,  Inscriptions on the sides of building.  People coming and going.  Since I'm in an entirely new environment, I find myself making even more observations than I normally would.  What follows are some observations I've made while I've been out pounding the pavement in the city that rhymes with fun.

I notice the trees.  So massive.  So beautiful at this time of year, covered in snow and Christmas lights and frost.  I love the way they canopy over the streets, protection from the elements for anyone who is crazy enough to be out in elements such as these.

I notice the flat.  Or shall I say lack of hills.  For as far as I can see, just straight and flat.  Which is awesome when I'm running intervals, but I'm wondering how this lack of hills will affect my training and fitness.  I do love running hills, after all!

I notice the beautiful, old, classically designed buildings and architecture.  I love the presence it creates.  Huge wooden doors.  Beautiful stone columns.  Newer doesn't necessarily mean better.  This is proof.

I notice that for a small city, that there are fabulous running paths here.  And that despite the snow and the cold, the sidewalks are (mainly) cleared and the pathways are (mainly) plowed so a runner can hit a full stride without much worry about slipping on the ice.  So grateful!

I notice how the downtown is so different here.  I have run early in the morning and I have run late at night.  And it is quiet.  Deserted, in fact.  Not like the seemingly endless hustle and bustle that is Calgary.  All I can hear is the sound of the crunch of my shoes on the hard packed snow and ice.  Nothing else. 

I notice how running in Regina is so much like running in Winnipeg, epecially the flat and the trees!  And this makes me smile. It reminds me that I am just that much closer to my family who I miss so much that a day doesn't go by that I don't wish I could hug them all. I notice how running in Regina is not a thing like running in Calgary. No rolling hills. No river pathway.  No familiar faces running the other way.  No friends to meet for yoga or sushi when training is done. And this makes my heart ache for the familiar. 

And even though its cold, and even though its winter, and even though its flat...there is something beautiful and special about this place.  It doesn't feel like home, yet, but I know that in time, the path around the lake, the route around the oldest neighbourhood and the trek in front of the parliament buildings will become MY route.



And I can't wait for that.