Day 59 of 100 - The Run

I can't remember the first time I ran a race.  (Mom reminds me it was in grade 7 though, just before I got my hernia - guess I always pushed a little to hard ;))

Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie though, we ran everywhere - up Pim Hill, down Church St. to the river, along Queen to Bellevue park and all the way back home when the lights came on at night.  Chasing the boys around the school yard was another memory quite clear in the mind... Those poor boys...

My favourite race - the first really important accomplishment - happened in grade school at lunch hour.  I attended Alex Muir Public School in SSM and one year, a new girl arrived on the scene.  She was tall, long blond hair, great long legs and a spirit as tough as nails.  One day, she called me out. I can't remember why or even how it came about but the challenge was set. We were going to race. The best runner would be the winner of the race and the school yard would witness this event.  She was likely twice my size, as I was always tiny, and she bragged that she would beat me in a race of 100 or 200 meters - the length I don't quite remember.  It was basically from one side of the school yard to the other.

I went home first at lunch time, had something to eat, most likely a peanut butter and jam sandwich - my absolute favourite! - and I can remember jogging back to school for the big race.  I can remember thinking the jog would warm up my legs and get me ready to go.  I couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 years old! We lined up along a line drawn in the sand, and someone yelled GO!  I had to push my legs twice the speed to keep up to her lengthy stride.  She was ahead at first but by the time that end point arrived I was in front and so overwhelmingly happy, proud, satisfied and alive.  I will never forget that feeling and to this day... it's why I'm so competitive, I think.

Racing then became a life for me.  I joined into the Friendship Games, which were an annual summer track and field competition between Soo Michigan and Soo Ontario.  I ran the 400m, the 800m and did high jump.  I was never the best, but I was always a contender, and I truly loved to train and race.

High school track and field, cross country running and a few other sports thrown into the mix like basketball, volleyball, and ringette kept me busy, and entertained.  My best friends were found through my love of sports and it kept me alive.

I can remember telling myself, it didn't matter if I was pretty or not, I had my legs.  I loved my legs.  They'd carry me through anything.  I loved to run.  I could run away from all my troubles and run toward my future.

Grade 13 was the year I truly shined.  I had a male running partner in my grade 13 year at White Pines whom was a great friend.  He was a strong runner, faster than me, so he kept me pushing myself in our training.  We'd run every day after school, 5 kilometers or so, and did hill work, intervals and other track work.  I won the 3000 meters in the city track and field competition that year, and went on the place 3rd in all of Northern Ontario.

I had left home in grade 13 and lived on my own, attending a different high school. Due to being at a new high school it disqualified me from attending OFSSA.  I'll never know how I would have placed at the all Ontario competition, but it doesn't matter.  I was a runner and I now was very strong.

In the military we began longer runs upwards of 16 kilometers with a full 60lb ruck sack and a rifle in hand.

It is little surprise then, that I've made running a part of every year.

Some years were not good years - it hasn't always been rosy and easy - I gained a lot of weight when my Thyroid stopped working years ago, and my 5km races were close to 28 minutes long to complete.  I'd be in SO MUCH PAIN at the end of them... it was challenging to get through.

With perseverance though, we CAN accomplish anything physical. My 5km now is down to 22:19 and I'm hoping in two weeks, if I can get over this concussion I have, that I'll be able to run a 1:42 half marathon and qualify for New York Marathon.

The most important fact is, we must do what we love with so much passion that we become very good at it, as with this perseverance comes great reward.