Now what?

It’s been 2 weeks since I ran the Maritime Race Weekend Half-Marathon. What have I done since then?….. almost nothing! A friend came over last Friday so that we could run together. It didn’t go well. My hip hurt, my foot hurt and I was out of breath almost before we started. We lasted 2 km, with some walking in there, before we threw in the towel and went for a 40 minute walk instead. The walk was great and really helped to stretch things out.

And that is my problem. I haven’t been stretching things out. I haven’t even been walking, let alone running. Sure, I have some pretty great reasons excuses that have kept me pretty sedentary. Hilary is going through daily radiation and weekly chemo appointments. We are at the hospital anywhere from 1 to 6 hours each day. My work has been great and lets me be flexible with my time so that I can drive her and stay with her for the appointments, but it means that I’m logging into work at 6:30 most mornings and sometimes I’m still online till bedtime. We also have the back to school and homework routine that we are trying to get used to. Mostly, I’m just too tired to even consider heading outside. If I have 30 minutes that I could use, I’d rather be sitting on the couch or surfing the web for some mindless down time. And I wouldn’t change any of it right now. My priority is my family. Yes, I need to take care of me, and I do, just not by running.

And yet in less than 10 days I’m signed up to run not one, but TWO 5k races. One Saturday and one Sunday. They are 2 of my favorite 5ks – the CIBC Run for the Cure and the NS Lung Run out at the airport. I have no expectations of setting any PBs for these races. Heck, if I run more then I walk I’ll be happy.

We have no plans this weekend. No appointments, no specific times that we have to be somewhere, no work and the weather is perfect. So I WILL get out this weekend and run. I will do my best to stretch things out and limber up so that I don’t end up injured next weekend.

After that? I have a virtual run on Halloween and then no other running plans. I’m going to have my gallbladder removed at the beginning of November on top of everything else. It’s a simply day surgery procedure with a pretty quick recovery time, but I’m not sure when/how I’ll get back to running once that is done. There is also the possibility of going back to TaeKwon-Do at some point. For now, I’m not making any concrete plans, but just taking life one day at a time.

And when I think I can’t do it, I’m going to look at this picture of me from the marathon and remind myself that I CAN do it.

Maritime Race Weekend - Half Marathon

18 weeks

118 days

56 training sessions

321.5 km

55 hours

That is what it took to get me ready to run my first half marathon. Many bloggers are able to recap their race kilometer by kilometer.  For me, it's not quite all a blur, but there is no way that I can remember what happened at km 2 vs. km 12.  

What I do remember is that the locals from Eastern Passage were amazing.  Nearly 3000 people over took them for 2 days and all they did is offer their support.  With cheering, impromptu water stops and and amazing signs.

I also remember the hills.  OMG the hills.  Hilary and I had gone out and driven the course the week before, but the perspective of a hill is much different when you approach it on foot after having already run for 2 hours, then it is when you drive up it in a car.  One water station was strategically placed half way up a hill and had bunches of kids who ran down to meet me and "helped" me up the hill.  And yes, having a 4 year old run circles around me really did help.

The weather turned out to be perfect.  During the night we had a huge rain storm, and they had been calling for rain all day Saturday.  The rain finished up by 6:00 AM, but the day stayed cloudy and overcast with some fog along the coast.  It was cool, with a great breeze coming off the water.  Perfect conditions, especially after the past few weeks of heat and humidity.

What I remember most is finishing.  As I came around the corner and into the village, the very first person I saw was Hilary.  And with less then 500 feet to go, I burst out crying. Ugly, sobbing, bone wracking crying.  Except that I still had to keep running.  Luckily the end of the course snaked through the village and I had a few seconds to pull myself together before I rounded the final bend and was met with the crowds at the finish line.  I wasn't actually "together" but I was able to breath enough to keep going.  The next thing I knew, with 100 feet left to go and barely any strength left, a running friend came out of the crowd and ran with me to the finish line, shouting and cheering the whole way.  Add to that the race announcer telling everyone that this was my first half and seeing Hilary in front of me..... well, the ugly crying was back pretty quick. I was barely able to hold it together long enough for my friend Mickie (Cap'n Shin Splints) to give me my medal.

After getting my medals (yes two - one for finishing on Saturday, and one because I completed the "Tartan-Twosome" which is running the 5k Friday night and then running again on Saturday), I got to ring the Captain's Bell.  Which of of course brought on more crying.

My goal had been a) to finish and b) to try and finish in under 4 hours.  And I was able to.  My final time was 03:47:00, which is a pace of 10:49/km.

I am a half-marathoner!

My first running award

A lot of races offer running awards.  They might be for the fastest male/female finisher, top 3 overall, or the fastest in each age category.

I run for me, not to be first or the fastest.  I have no expectation of ever being first and winning any type of award.  In fact, my experience is that I'm more likely to come in last.

Shortly after that blog post went up, I got this email:

 Hi Andy
 
Thanks for joining us at the Natal Day race on Monday. I really enjoyed you Blog post and I think we'll make it a regular practice to recognize the last finisher with an award. I've set aside an Award Mug for you. Will you be at any upcoming races? I'm at many of them myself.
 
Regards,
 
Dave Nevitt
Race Director

That was such an amazing email to get.  The running community is so supportive, no matter what your level of running.  Things like this is what keeps people like me, the slow ones who don't win the races, going back to race after race.


I was able to meet up with Dave today and now I have a new favorite mug that means more to me than any award I could ever win.

August Running Review

August 2015 
Ran 4 times for 11.5 km. Longest run 3.75 km

August 2014
Ran 13 times for 104 km. Longest run 18.5 km

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August Review

August was HOT.  I'm glad I got most of my mileage in, having lost some running time to vacation and weather.  I had 1 race in August, where I came in last and it was okay. I also dealt with heat exhaustion for the first time, so overall August was a pretty interesting month.  I'm very happy that the cooler fall weather is starting.


September  Goals

Run and finish my first half-marathon on September 12th


September plans

My plans for September are pretty simple.  Some short runs over the next 10 days, run the Sunset 5k on September 11th and then run the Sunrise half-Marathon on September 12th.  We'll see how I feel after that!

11 days till the Maritime Race Weekend Half Marathon!