Just One Marathon

A Tale of Two Runs

It was the best of runs, it was the worst of runs. It was an autumn of running goals achieved, it was an autumn of running goals ignored. It was a season of speed, it was a … oh, you get the picture.

 

I have gotten a ton of stuff done in the last eight weeks, but unfortunately very little of it has been running-related. And the results showed in two 5K events I ran throughout the fall.

 

First of all, the distractions. I finally, finally (finally) finished my most recent university course on managing change. Finally. And I don’t mind telling you, I did myself proud. Only had to hand in my final assignment once, and then rocked the exam and ended up with an A. So that’s done. Just three more courses to go in the certificate program I’m completing, but I’m not thinking about that for the next couple of weeks.

 

Secondly, we renovated our kitchen. What an emotional rollercoaster that was. It all went pretty smoothly, but I doubted myself at every step of the way. The cupboards were delivered and I decided I hated them and they were all wrong. Then I decided they were just fine and I loved them. Then I went through the same process with the counter, sink, backsplash and just about everything else. It was, to use a term coined by a friend, a full-blown bourgeoisie crisis. Yay for patient contractors. But it’s over now and we have a very nice kitchen and our only remaining problem is how to pay for it. Here are a few pictures of the renovation process:

 

 

    
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirdly, the big hockey monster emerged from its summer hibernation and is now on the rampage, eating up our free time. This year, I’m the manager for my son’s hockey team, so I’m actually busier than he is, although he’s much faster on skates.

 

And, oh yeah, I did a little running. Very little, actually. Up until mid-September, I was training to run a half-marathon on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and had actually gotten my miles up to within spitting distance of the half. Then I came to my senses. My entire family (parents, sisters, spouses, niece, nephew) visited from Toronto on Thanksgiving weekend, and running a half mary on the same day as The Big Dinner would have been a little too much like running a full marathon. Or two. So I ran the 5K that morning and had a wonderful, relaxing run. Not too fast, but still managed to bring it home in under 30 minutes, which is pretty good for me.

 

Earlier in the fall, I ran another 5K during Ottawa’s Army Run weekend. Because I was actually running regularly back then, I was faster and completed that run in under 27 minutes. Not a PR, but close. I sprinted the last couple of hundred metres to get under 27 minutes and actually thought I might vomit after I crossed the finish line. I had to give myself a pretty stern talking-to about how pathetic it would look to vomit after a 5K race. In my book, you need to run at least 40K to earn the right to puke your guts out.

 

The Runner I Married, on the other hand, smoked in both those 5K races. At the Army Run, he ran a speedy 22:40 race, despite being hampered by the huge crowd of racers, and traumatized by cannon blast that started the race. At Fall Colours, he was even faster – ran the race in just over 21 minutes and came in second in his category. My hero.

 

My 15-year old son also ran the Army Run. We had a little bet going about who would finish first. I won’t say who won because apparently, gloating about besting your children in a foot race makes you a “bad mother”. However, he was only seconds behind me. Also, he is completely in my good books for getting up early (for a teenager) on Thanksgiving to walk the 5K with my Dad and actually enjoying himself while doing it. Here’s the evidence that he is a great kid and that my Dad is kicks butt as a walker:

 

Race times:

 

Army Run

Reluctant Runner: 26:58

The Runner I Married (TRIM): 22:40

The Truculent Teen: 27:40

 

Fall Colours

Reluctant Runner: 28:56

TRIM: 21:20

Truculent Teen and His Speedwalking Grandfather: 43:00

 

It's nice to be back blogging! I'm recommitting to writing and running over the next couple of months.

Back to Real Life

Legs: sore

Toes: blistered

Motivation: dangerously low

Yup, the post-race blues are here and I got ‘em bad. I hesitate to put this in writing because it sounds so … well … so suck-y. But I’m disappointed I didn’t achieve the time I wanted (I was off by just over two minutes), and I’m surprised how crummy I felt during the two days following the race. Head cold, digestive problems, and quads so sore that every time I walked anywhere, the thought bubble above my head read something like this: “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch” (and so on, one “ouch” for each step). 

I think – no I know – I didn’t train as hard for this half-marathon as I did for my first one last spring because I don’t remember feeling this sore afterwards. And the idea of doing double this distance at the marathon in May? Horrifying. I know I will have to prepare better.

But there’s no time for wallowing in whiny self-recriminations. Today, I get back on the horse (otherwise known as the treadmill) for a very slow and easy canter … uh, run. On Thursday, I rejoin my marathon running group, which will be very good therapy.

In the meantime, I heard the following quote on The Cranky Middle Manager podcast and it seemed aimed right at me:

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. -- Epicurus