As one year comes to an end and another begins, I find myself transitioning from one running challenge to the next.
Over the past 35 days I have been participating in the Runner’s World Holiday Run Streak challenge to run at least one mile every day from US Thanksgiving to New Years Day. I am happy to say that I successfully completed the challenge which for me culminated in the Brita Resolution Run 5k in Langley.
During this challenge I learned how do-able it is to run every day and I got into the habit of lacing up my shoes and just getting out there. It’s hard to say that you don’t have time for a run when it really only takes 10 minutes to get ready plus 10 minutes to run a mile. As an added benefit, I was able to have a little extra helping of holiday dinners and treats without any guilt.
I logged 159 km during my 35 runs for an average of 4.5 km per run. My goal was to average 5 km per run, which unfortunately I did not quite obtain but I am still really happy with my achievements. In December, I set a personal record for most distance ran in a month with 139 km.
All this work paid off today when I ran the Resolution Run 5k. It was a small race and I started slow, middle of the pack, got stuck at a traffic light, and then began to weave my way slowly past the other runners. About a kilometre from the finish line I passed a woman who gave me a loud cheer. I realized after I finished that she knew I was taking the lead for our gender, a fact that was unbeknownst to me at the time.
I was pretty dazed when I crossed the finish line and learned that I was the first female with a time of about 25 minutes. I hadn’t had any expectations going in as I had been at a New Years Eve party the night before where I had consumed a few drinks and stayed up until 2am. I made sure to drink a big helping of water, got about six hours of restless sleep, and to my surprise I felt surprisingly good when I woke up. Right from the starting line I enjoyed the change of scenery, the fresh crisp air, and the general excitement of the race and I knew that I could push myself. My boyfriend Jesse and my friend Becky finished a couple minutes after me, both very happy with their runs.
As of December 30, I have begun my toughest challenge yet: training for the BMO Vancouver Marathon. I have signed up for the Running Room online marathon training clinic for some extra support and am very excited to have convinced two of my friends, Becky and Ronnie, to join me in this pursuit. Although he will not be participating in the marathon, Jesse will likely tag along for some of the training runs.
