Race day is always a little different than any other day, the adrenaline, the crowds, timers, support crew and volunteers, and last Sunday’s race was no exception, even the weather was different than what we’ve been training in this year…quite a bit different. It was a mild enough day, but for the first time in weeks, there was actually snow on the ground, wet, sloppy, slippery snow. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair-weather runner, far from it, but this season that’s all we’ve had is fair weather, so the ol’ legs just weren’t accustomed to the lack of traction.
Finishing my first ½ marathon would have been a lot more difficult without all the rooting from my Virtual Team iN Training (VTNT) teammates (Janice, Jane, Jenn and Nicole) and fellow purple people you gals really kept me going when I was lagging behind and I truly appreciate your words of encouragement, cheers and smiles along the course. I was fortunate enough to have my incredibly supportive family (my wife, my daughter and my brother-in-law/coach) all there to root me on too, and I sure needed it those last couple of laps, oh yeah did I mention that the race course was 4 laps of an out and back loop and a 5th lap of 1.1 km to finish it off, somehow I kept track of the laps and didn't get too dizzy!
Right from the beginning of my very short (so far) running career, it was easy to understand the physical value of a recovery week after a race, and never was that so true as this past week, I’m not sure if it was the hilly terrain, or the lack of traction, but by the end of the race, my calves were bunched up in knots and my quads were tighter than guitar strings, good thing for me the training plan called for two recovery days before hitting the gym on Wednesday. I still sneaked in an evening of PLAYing volleyball, strangely, my legs felt better after the volleyball. What I did not realize about the importance of Recovery in a training plan was the psychological side, after the ½ I was really beginning to wonder what I had got myself into, I was just so mentally exhausted, I literally had nothing left in the think tank, as much as the race had taken out of me physically, it had taken a much greater toll mentally, I truly did not feel like running for the first time since I started this journey, something that was very unsettling for me and I began to wonder if I had it in me to do a full marathon. In the same way that volleyball had helped my legs to shake off some of the lactic acid and begin to feel better, the PLAY in playing volleyball helped me to shake the negative thinking and get my focus back and I am happy to report that by Thursday (my scheduled Brick workout) I was looking forward to running again and felt fantastic after completing the short run and bike workout..phew!!! By this weekend's long run (1.5 hrs), the end goal seemed once again attainable.
With last weekend’s race complete, I am ½ way to my distance goal, and with the generous support of family, friends and even some unknown contributors, I am happy to report that I am nearly ¾ of the way to my fundraising goal.
To help me reach the goal, I will be hosting “Comedy for a Cure" at Absolute Comedy club (412 Preston Street, Ottawa, ON) on April 14. Tickets to the event must be purchased in advance from me or one of my wonderful volunteers and are priced at $10, ticket price includes an entry into the door prize draw (I will post a list with some samples on this bold in the near future).
If you’re interested in attending, please send me an e-mail and we can make arrangements. I look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it and to sharing some great laughs and raising money to help find a cure.
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