I was just about to start updating all of you about how our “training” is going when it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t yet told you that we were training for anything to begin with! How could I have forgotten to do that?!?!
Any of my close friends likely wouldn’t hesitate to call me a runner if given the opportunity. I’ve been running for almost seven years now. It started as a physical outlet for a rather sad time in my life and turned into a great passion that I can’t imagine living without. I’ve had some of the greatest experiences and met some of the most wonderful people thanks to this sport and when all else fails, the world truly does feel a bit lighter after a few kilometers in my running shoes.
I ran my first half marathon two days after first meeting Steve, completed my first full marathon the year before we got married and decided then and there (at the finish line) that I would never run again! I was wrong! A month later, once my legs had recovered (yes, it took that long!), I was up and going again! I tried three more times to train for a marathon and each time, I was forced to reluctantly call it quits for a variety of reasons (all of which made me cry!). I can say with utmost certainty now that the hardest part of any race isn’t getting to the finish line…it’s getting to the start line.
After the heart break of too many attempts at another marathon, I decided to use my joy of running for a different purpose; to help other runners reach the finish line. On my “list of 100 things to do before I die” was to be a pace bunny for the National Capital Race Weekend; a feat that I thought would still be many years away. Pace “rabbits” are hired by races to finish in a pre-determined time so that other runners around you can set their own pace to yours in order to reach a goal time depending on how they hope to finish. Pacing is not an easy thing to do. Most runners’ pace is dependent on the weather, the terrain, their physical condition at the time and a number of other factors. Some runners however, can run nearly every kilometer in the same amount of time regardless of these factors (or at least make up the differences throughout the race without a significant change in pace). In Toronto, there is a waiting list of hundreds of runners hoping to be pace bunnies for their varying races. Runners don’t take pacing lightly. While at the end of the day, pace bunnies are just like anyone else (they have their bad days too), they are expected to represent the race by finishing within three minutes of their pace time.
Now, I’m not really sure what compelled me to do this but, I walked into the office of one of the organizers of the race weekend and said, “It’s on my list of 100 things to do before I die to pace the half marathon. Can you help me?” He looked at me pretty intently, gave me a slight cautious grin and said “Let me see what I can do!” By the time I got home a half hour later, I had been copied on a email from him to some of the race officials asking them to register me as the 2:30:00 pace rabbit for the half-marathon; the largest pace group for one of the largest half-marathons in the country! This is where the panic set in!
Once I calmed down a bit from the initial terror of what I had just committed myself to do, I figured that the most ideal step to take was to train for this time along with everyone else. So, I offered to be a group leader for anyone training to finish the upcoming half-marathon in two hours and thirty minutes. This way, not only could I help runners get to the finish line, but I could also help runners get to the start line…the real test. Four months later we found ourselves at the start line of the 2007 National Capital Race Weekend Half-Marathon on a cold, rainy day in late May. I was sporting a pair of bunny ears and packs of nervous runners hoping to come out of all this alive! The start gun went off and 2 hours, 29 minutes and 29 seconds later, I crossed the finish line! How’s that for punctuality?!?!
I don’t know that I’ve ever had as much fun as I did during that two and half hours except for the four months leading up to it. Deciding to be a group leader was by far, one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made as I ended up meeting some of the most amazing people that I’ve ever met and have continued to have the privilege of knowing even now. We continued to run together long after our race and have since been on the sidelines or in regrettable weather together as we all continue on with our running legacies.
There was one slight misfortune to all of this though; my husband was not a runner! He runs and he runs quite fast but he’s never enjoyed consistently running and certainly doesn’t enjoy running long distances at all! For him, the sooner it’s over, the better! This has posed a problem for me because frankly, my husband is adorable and I simply don’t like spending that much time away from him…and training takes time. Often, it takes lots of time. He would always be there supporting me along the way but it’s still always been my thing which means that there is often a choice to be made; Sleep in with the cute husband?? Go running in the cold for an hour with silly running friends?? Decisions, decisions!
This past year has been shameful for my running. Between the move into our house and our trip to Australia, I completely fell out of my routine and haven’t run consistently since. I still met up with my friends to run on the odd weekend but usually, I didn’t find myself running in between much. Honestly, the break wasn’t all that bad. I’d been running almost non-stop for nearly six years without a lot of time off in between races and I think that my body appreciated the change of pace for a little while. Eventually though, you realize that you can take the girl out of the running but you can’t take the runner out of the girl!!!!
So that’s how we got here…to what I forgot to tell you! About a month ago I was feeling restless. I’d wanted to get back in to my running routine for a while and was finding it harder and harder as more time went on. I found myself conflicted again though between the countless hours running in the cold and the cute husband back home but my body was craving running and I simply had to find my way back to it. So somehow, by the grace of someone (Patron Saint of Pounding the Pavement perhaps?!?!), Steve agreed to run with me!!!! And not just run with me…but train with me…for an actual race!
We decided on the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton Ontario on March 29th. ATB is the oldest race on the continent (older even than the Boston Marathon) and is a unique 30km race (instead of a 21km or a 42km race). This seemed to offer the potential best of both worlds…a bit more challenging than a half-marathon without the agony of a full-marathon. We’ll see…we may find 10km into it that it blows either way!!!!
Et voila…that’s where we’re at! We have become the running couple extraordinaire now! We run three days a week, cross-train twice a week and will suffer through our Ottawa winters together! So far, we’re having a great time! His speed pushes me harder on our short runs and my pacing helps him on the longer distances. Both seem to assist greatly with the countless amounts of holiday treats that we have been consuming as of late!!!! We’re only two weeks into our training so far but the beginning is almost always the hardest part (that is of course, until you get to mid-February and you would rather give yourself a root canal then go for another run!!!).
And on that note…this is what we’ve had the pleasure of running in this past week…
Jealous?!?!
Any of my close friends likely wouldn’t hesitate to call me a runner if given the opportunity. I’ve been running for almost seven years now. It started as a physical outlet for a rather sad time in my life and turned into a great passion that I can’t imagine living without. I’ve had some of the greatest experiences and met some of the most wonderful people thanks to this sport and when all else fails, the world truly does feel a bit lighter after a few kilometers in my running shoes.
I ran my first half marathon two days after first meeting Steve, completed my first full marathon the year before we got married and decided then and there (at the finish line) that I would never run again! I was wrong! A month later, once my legs had recovered (yes, it took that long!), I was up and going again! I tried three more times to train for a marathon and each time, I was forced to reluctantly call it quits for a variety of reasons (all of which made me cry!). I can say with utmost certainty now that the hardest part of any race isn’t getting to the finish line…it’s getting to the start line.
After the heart break of too many attempts at another marathon, I decided to use my joy of running for a different purpose; to help other runners reach the finish line. On my “list of 100 things to do before I die” was to be a pace bunny for the National Capital Race Weekend; a feat that I thought would still be many years away. Pace “rabbits” are hired by races to finish in a pre-determined time so that other runners around you can set their own pace to yours in order to reach a goal time depending on how they hope to finish. Pacing is not an easy thing to do. Most runners’ pace is dependent on the weather, the terrain, their physical condition at the time and a number of other factors. Some runners however, can run nearly every kilometer in the same amount of time regardless of these factors (or at least make up the differences throughout the race without a significant change in pace). In Toronto, there is a waiting list of hundreds of runners hoping to be pace bunnies for their varying races. Runners don’t take pacing lightly. While at the end of the day, pace bunnies are just like anyone else (they have their bad days too), they are expected to represent the race by finishing within three minutes of their pace time.
Now, I’m not really sure what compelled me to do this but, I walked into the office of one of the organizers of the race weekend and said, “It’s on my list of 100 things to do before I die to pace the half marathon. Can you help me?” He looked at me pretty intently, gave me a slight cautious grin and said “Let me see what I can do!” By the time I got home a half hour later, I had been copied on a email from him to some of the race officials asking them to register me as the 2:30:00 pace rabbit for the half-marathon; the largest pace group for one of the largest half-marathons in the country! This is where the panic set in!
Once I calmed down a bit from the initial terror of what I had just committed myself to do, I figured that the most ideal step to take was to train for this time along with everyone else. So, I offered to be a group leader for anyone training to finish the upcoming half-marathon in two hours and thirty minutes. This way, not only could I help runners get to the finish line, but I could also help runners get to the start line…the real test. Four months later we found ourselves at the start line of the 2007 National Capital Race Weekend Half-Marathon on a cold, rainy day in late May. I was sporting a pair of bunny ears and packs of nervous runners hoping to come out of all this alive! The start gun went off and 2 hours, 29 minutes and 29 seconds later, I crossed the finish line! How’s that for punctuality?!?!
I don’t know that I’ve ever had as much fun as I did during that two and half hours except for the four months leading up to it. Deciding to be a group leader was by far, one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made as I ended up meeting some of the most amazing people that I’ve ever met and have continued to have the privilege of knowing even now. We continued to run together long after our race and have since been on the sidelines or in regrettable weather together as we all continue on with our running legacies.
There was one slight misfortune to all of this though; my husband was not a runner! He runs and he runs quite fast but he’s never enjoyed consistently running and certainly doesn’t enjoy running long distances at all! For him, the sooner it’s over, the better! This has posed a problem for me because frankly, my husband is adorable and I simply don’t like spending that much time away from him…and training takes time. Often, it takes lots of time. He would always be there supporting me along the way but it’s still always been my thing which means that there is often a choice to be made; Sleep in with the cute husband?? Go running in the cold for an hour with silly running friends?? Decisions, decisions!
This past year has been shameful for my running. Between the move into our house and our trip to Australia, I completely fell out of my routine and haven’t run consistently since. I still met up with my friends to run on the odd weekend but usually, I didn’t find myself running in between much. Honestly, the break wasn’t all that bad. I’d been running almost non-stop for nearly six years without a lot of time off in between races and I think that my body appreciated the change of pace for a little while. Eventually though, you realize that you can take the girl out of the running but you can’t take the runner out of the girl!!!!
So that’s how we got here…to what I forgot to tell you! About a month ago I was feeling restless. I’d wanted to get back in to my running routine for a while and was finding it harder and harder as more time went on. I found myself conflicted again though between the countless hours running in the cold and the cute husband back home but my body was craving running and I simply had to find my way back to it. So somehow, by the grace of someone (Patron Saint of Pounding the Pavement perhaps?!?!), Steve agreed to run with me!!!! And not just run with me…but train with me…for an actual race!
We decided on the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton Ontario on March 29th. ATB is the oldest race on the continent (older even than the Boston Marathon) and is a unique 30km race (instead of a 21km or a 42km race). This seemed to offer the potential best of both worlds…a bit more challenging than a half-marathon without the agony of a full-marathon. We’ll see…we may find 10km into it that it blows either way!!!!
Et voila…that’s where we’re at! We have become the running couple extraordinaire now! We run three days a week, cross-train twice a week and will suffer through our Ottawa winters together! So far, we’re having a great time! His speed pushes me harder on our short runs and my pacing helps him on the longer distances. Both seem to assist greatly with the countless amounts of holiday treats that we have been consuming as of late!!!! We’re only two weeks into our training so far but the beginning is almost always the hardest part (that is of course, until you get to mid-February and you would rather give yourself a root canal then go for another run!!!).
And on that note…this is what we’ve had the pleasure of running in this past week…
Jealous?!?!
3 comments:
Good job Gen and Steve!! I look forward to your training updates. You may have a runner on your hands before it is over! Jim
Merry Xmas and Happy running, Gen.
P.S. Love the song on your blog!
(Thanks for popping by mine)
Thanks for the holiday wishes Holly and for being the little voice sitting on my shoulder whispering "bum glue" when I'm feeling restless with my book!!
And Jim...wish me luck...I'm determined to make running a family affair soon enough ;)
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