Making Running Part of the Routine

This last two weeks, I've established for myself a new routine. Over the summer, it had been a lot easier to find time to fit 4 or 5 solid running days into a week. It wasn't just that I had more time on my hands, but climate and more daylight hours per day meant that there were more options during the day to find desirable running opportunities. If it wasn't possible during the day, an evening or pre-bedtime run could also be filled with sunshine (or sunset) and warmth. Now, things are a bit different. 

An Inspired Superhero?

I'm still getting over this cold / flu / whatever it is that I came down with two days after my recent half marathon. Regardless of how it's made me feel low energy and kept me indoors more than I like (considering how my last 5 months have included 5 days of running per week), I'm feeling like a superhero. Feeling a slight bit of cabin fever, I got out and enjoyed the gloriously sunny autumn day we had today in Vancouver. I hiked the Grouse Grind this morning, and it was my slowest finish time of the season, needing 15 min extra than usual to reach the summit. I also had a big pile of kleenex with me, and I needed every single one of them (and then some, if I were to be honest). Disgusting. Regardless, I finished and felt amazing after. And knowing that I'm both recovering from a race where I got my PR and recovering from a cold / flu / something made me say to myself, "an extra 15 minutes is peanuts". I must indeed be a superhero.

Rest, Recover, Set New Goals

Rest, recovery, and setting new goals have been the main themes of this week. I needed two days of rest to get over the soreness in my hips after race day, and then by the third day, I caught a cold which I'm still nursing today. So while I'm itching to get out and about, go hit the road for a run, or tackle the Grouse Grind, my body has told me firmly, "NO! Stay home!" I imagined this week as being one with two days rest, and then enjoying my last week off before I start a new job next Monday. So I imagined it wrong...big deal.

Race Report: GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon - Oct 9, 2011

Two days ago, I completed my third half marathon. You know how they say that the third time's a charm? Well, "they" (whoever they are) must be right.

Sunday, October 9th, 2011 was a wonderful day. I ran my third and best half marathon of my life. It was such a special accomplishment on so many levels. I've shared previously on this blog how this particular race was my first major race since losing 120lbs and re-claiming my health. But it's also my first major race in 7 years, and I was determined to prove to myself that I haven't lost a beat in that time - that at the age of 31, I am in fact now younger and fitter than I was at 24. And so, I proved just that - I beat my previous best finish time from 2003 by 30 minutes.

The Checklist

Being that I'm Canadian-born and live in Vancouver, you'd think I'd be a little more excited about it being the first day of the NHL season. Don't get me wrong, the game is on in HD in our living room with the stereo on too, but I've got other things on my mind - that's right, race day.


I've made a list, and I've checked it more than twice, and tomorrow I'm going to start compiling all the things and stuff I need to haul along with me to Victoria for Sunday's half marathon, my first 21.1km race in over 7 years. The goal is to receive my 3rd finisher medal to display on the wall with my other two (pictured on the left) that have grown dusty with age. And of course, my hope is to also achieve my personal best finish time, given I've put so much heart, soul, and intellect into my training this time. Perhaps even to the point of obsession. What can I say - I believe in 100%.

Learn from setbacks. Celebrate milestones.

I was writing a journal entry the other day and came to a cool realization. Today, October 1st, 2011 is a milestone for me. I decided that when today came, I'd be sure to write a blog entry to remind myself of how far I've come. So here I am! One year ago today, on October 1st, 2010, I had surgery on both of my legs. My legs were wrapped tight in bandages for weeks to follow. I slowly got to remove bandages until I was bandage free by the end of November. Recovery was ongoing. At first, I joked that I had "mummy legs" as I was wrapped all the way from the groin down to the ankle on each leg. The cartoon on the left was my Facebook profile photo for a while, as it playfully depicted how I felt. Inside I felt antsy and determined to get out running again. It took a while before I was able to. I looked ahead knowing that 2011 had to be positive. All the work I put into regaining my health would pay off. The leg surgery was just the final step I needed to take to get there.