There was certainly nothing ordinary about last week.

Monday:

• 5k run, high heat and humidity
• 45 minutes deep water pool running

Tuesday:

• 5.5 k trail running with the boys, high heat and humidity
• orienteering 5.5k – think of this as fartleks with a map

Wednesday: off

Thursday:

• 1 cycle of “Standard Core Routine”
• 15 minutes rowing – my husband pulled out this old machine and I had an instant outdoor gym with awesome views:

Friday:

• 3.5k trail run, half of planned run thanks to me falling, heading to the hospital, getting a cast, blah, blah, blah.  For all the gory details check out the previous two posts. 

Saturday:

• lots of sleep and Advil

Sunday:

• 6k (that was really 6.9k) MEC trail race and a 5.3k road run

Thoughts:

Well, what can I say?  I am incredibly thankful that my injuries have not left me unable to run.  I can barely tie my shoes or get my running bra off, but I can run!  I am also pleased that I managed to complete my mileage for the week.  I am not sure I will be able to return to the deep water running class, which I was considering a major part of my race training.  I will be begging for a waterproof cast when I go see the specialist on Thursday.  With my current cast I definitely can’t use the rowing machine, which is a little disappointing as I quite enjoyed the workout.  Planks are currently out as well.  But I have to keep coming back to the fact that I can run and marathon training will continue, maybe just not quite the way I planned.  There will definitely have to be some flexibility required on my part for the next several weeks.

I’ll be keeping this post short because quite honestly typing with only my left hand is tedious at best, frustrating at worst.  At least I have a valid excuse for typos.

When I took a trail running clinic it was noted that the risk of traumatic injury increased, but the risk of chronic overuse injuries decreased.  I am now walking proof of that statement.  I have noticed fewer of my regular aches since I started adding trail running into my training.  Of course I am also now sporting a cast, black eye, fat lip and glued together chin.  I also now have my all-time favourite running picture, even though I am not actually running:

Couldn’t resist showing this photo again!  The emails and comments I have had about this photo have been hilarious.  There must be a million worse things you can do to the human body, and yet a dislocated finger is almost guaranteed to make stomachs turn.  In case you want another:

Sorry for the lack of focus – a left handed photo in a moving car is tougher than you might think.

One friend wanted to know if this would affect my new found love of trail running.  Definitely not!  I really do love the trails and couldn’t wait to get out there again.  That was why this morning we headed out bright and early in already soaring temperatures to run MEC race #5 in the Gatineau hills.  The boys and I took to the trails of Camp Fortune, a local ski hill which of course means some hill work.  I wanted so badly to run but also knew a fall could cause even more damage to the broken bone in my hand, despite the support of a cast.  I decided to compromise: do the 6k race instead of the 15k and then add a road run where I would hopefully be less likely to fall.

Short version, I had a great time going very easy on the trails and by the time I crossed the finish line my Garmin showed that the 6k race was actually 6.9 km.  The worst part was that in the almost 40 degree humidex I couldn’t be fully sprayed by the lovely volunteer with a hose – my cast can get sweaty but not wet.  I then did some stretching, had a drink, changed my trail shoes to road shoes and headed out again for almost 5 and a half kms.  I was never fast but I was so damn happy to be running!  How lucky am I that my complete wipeout did not result in injuries that would prevent me from running?  My only regret is that I probably limit my “trail” running to fairly even surfaces right now.  My guess is that the hand surgeon I have an appointment with this week would lose his mind if he saw me running down narrow, rocky trails today.  I can tell you though that there will be more trail races in my future.  I will particularly be looking forward to more of the “no frills” MEC races.  I am getting past the point of needing more medals and t-shirts, so these local, $15 races are perfect.

That’s it, no more typing.  Instead, a few pics:

Before picture

After – do we look a little hot?

Out of the woods and heading to the finish line.

And finally, my morning at the Almonte Hospital “Spa”:

I’m writing this guest blog for reasons that some of you may already know, and for the others it will become clear.  Something Kristi will completely agree with is that I’m not the most sociable of people.  I can be, but, it might not be too far from the truth to say that my second choice of lifestyle (in comparison to my current, and by far, first choice) would be to live in a cave in the woods and ride into town once a month (on my ATV – I’m not a Luddite) to get supplies and then disappear again.  SO, perhaps I’m not the most objective person on this topic but I will propose the argument that running should not be a social sport.  Sure you can meet a few people before or after a run or race, have a beer or two (and let’s not forget the great brownies at the end of each Mad Trapper event), but during the actual run you should be focussing on what you are doing.  Running should not be a social event!

Here are a few examples of why running should not be a social occasion:

If you go out for a training run with others, someone will get hurt, either emotionally or training wise.  Someone in the group will need to either hold the group up or run too fast for their own training plan.  Someone else will need to slow down and lose out on all the planned training benefit.  Either way, you are messing up your own training plan or another person’s plan.  Second example:  Assuming you are training to race, races are not sociable events and, besides,  they always say “train as you race”.  You are not going to spend a bunch of time during the race chatting away with other runners (unless you are our younger son – Luke).  If you can chat away then you are not running hard enough anyway.  Consider how you make someone feel if you run with them for a bit, talking about whatever you talk about, and then they pull away and beat you across the line.  I have lots of practical experience racing with Luke and the only time he stops talking is the last 100m when he suddenly sprints ahead and beats me.  If you’re the person pulling away, think about how cruel that is to the poor person who just spent 10 minutes telling you about their bunion problems.  The last example of why running should not be a social event  (a practical example) I’ll get to shortly.

A short detour then it will all come together.  Bravery!  I have told my boys many times that being brave is not the same as ‘not being afraid’.  In my time (especially considering what I did for a large portion of my career), I have had many opportunities to be afraid, and, generally I was also able to be brave.  On the other hand, I have often told the boys about that grey area between bravery and foolishness.  This line I’m sure I have crossed on way too many occasions.  Why do I bring up bravery?  One of the many reasons I was attracted to Kristi when we met and became “Horse Friends” was that she bravely stretched her riding experiences well out of her comfort zone, often with me being at least partly the perpetrator of whatever the new challenge was.   I’m not sure I have ever told her this so don’t say anything to her (keep in mind that we were only friends through this period as she was foolishly dating someone else – but that’s another story).  I’ve always considered her far braver than she gave herself credit.  I would certainly say that is changing now (the credit part, not getting less brave).  You just need to read her recent post about being in her 40’s  Life in my Forties.

Now to bring these two threads together.  Kristi is slowly going over to the dark side of running; trails, off-trail races, snowshoeing, orienteering etc (and Rod, I meant what I said a while back that if she starts talking about Ultras, I’m coming after you).  Yesterday, she called me at my office and started with the question “did you get my text and picture I sent?”  I had not and the disappointment in her voice was clear.  She then went on to casually add  “Oh, by the way, I’m in the hospital with a dislocated finger, broken hand, glued up chin and the odd scrape or two – the picture is great”.  What happened you ask?  While trail running with some friends (who I thank very much for taking care of her and getting her to the hospital) she turned around to talk and tripped over something.  What did I say earlier on?  “Running should not be a social event”.   What about the ‘Bravery’ aspect?  Kristi is planning to still do the MEC trail race she and the boys are signed up for tomorrow (I’m resting a knee currently).  Her main concern is that she wanted to do the 15km one, but ended up registered for the 6km only.  Her other concerns all revolve around things like “can I still do my water running with a cast on” or “if I only do 6km on Sunday, can you wait while I do an extra 4 km just to keep my mileage up”.  Actually now that I write this part (and having a lot of experience spending a disproportionate number of months in my life in various casts), perhaps the message here fits more into the ‘grey area between bravery and foolishness’ than ‘bravery vs being afraid’!  Whichever – I love you!

-Michael

Couple of photos – sorry about the ohhhh ughhh factor.

Two weeks done and feeling good so far.  I know, I am nowhere near the tough stuff yet but I am pleased that I am enjoying my running and making some improvements.  I started really focusing on form, in part because I finally used my SoleFit gait and footwear analysis gift certificate that I bid on way back at a MadTrapper snowshoe race.  There are definitely things I do right (no heel striking, consistent 180 cadence, no overstriding) but I also walked away with some things to work on.  I am very tight in my hips, which has been the cause of my piriformis and occasional sciatica pain.  I am also quite stiff in my ankles. I don’t quite complete my stride, bringing my foot up and forward a little early.  My feet fall to the centre of my body rather than landing under my hips.  My left heel doesn’t touch the ground at all and my left foot turns out rather than pointing forward.  It was quite fascinating to watch myself on the computer screen doing things I had no idea I did!  All of my runs since Thursday have been about concentrating on these areas that need work.

I was also given stretches to do, which I believe are already making a difference.  In particular, the bridge stretch and lunges seem to be loosening up my hips.  As for shoes, my Salomon trail shoes and my Nike Lunar Tempos are fine.  My Asic Nimbus, as I thought, are more shoe than I need.  While I have a footfall that would work fine with a very minimalist drop, my tight ankles and calves mean I am not ready yet to go below a 6mm drop, but I definitely don’t need more than 8.  I was given a list of shoes to try, including the Mizuno Hitogami.  I have yet to find them in my size but I did try a size down and it is quite possible that they could be a good shoe for me.  They have a little more cushioning than my Nikes but have the same light feel.  My challenge for the marathon is going to be to find the perfect shoes for me – lightweight but enough cushioning to help me through 42 km.

Here is how the week of July 6-12 looked:

Monday:

• 7k, 41:25 high humidity but felt good.
• deep water pool running, 45 minutes

Tuesday: off

Wednesday:

• 11k, LSD, 6:20 pace including water break.

Thursday:

• Gait analysis at SoleFit

Friday:

• 5k, 30 minutes

Saturday:

• 5k, easy pace with a friend, rolling hills
• Kayaking, relaxed, 20 or 30 minutes, then out again later working a little harder for about 30 minutes (but once again had to stop to watch the loons and their babies!)

Sunday:

• 3k progression run, rolling hills
• “Swimming” 30 minutes in the lake.  Not really swimming but lots of slow kicking, treading water, etc.

Thoughts:

I am still not running quickly but I am reminding myself that I don’t need to be right now.  At this moment my priority is to do whatever I can to avoid injury and that means getting a strong base without pushing too much or too quickly.  One thing I plan on doing differently this training session is really slowing my long runs down.  I still struggle with that idea because I panic that I won’t be able to pick up the pace on race day.  I know the science is there confirming that slow long runs work, I just have to get my head and body to believe it.  Patience is also a factor… sometimes I just want to get those long runs done!  As for any speed work, I will wait a little longer.  I will start adding strides in next week but that will be the extent of my speed work for now.  Hills are happening naturally every time I do a run in cottage country, though soon I will need to find some very long downhills to help prepare for the 5 or 6 kms of decline at the Road2Hope Marathon.  Piece by piece, the training plan is coming together!

(shoe photo from www.salomon.com)

Recently I had the chance to try a pair of these trail shoes – I’m not writing the name out again, I’m sure they have the longest name of any shoe I have tried and honestly I can’t keep it straight in my head.  But don’t let the long name deter you from these shoes; if you like trails, if you are happy to go through mud and  your runs tend to make your feet wet, these are shoes you are going to want to put on.  Luckily I don’t have to just trust that these trail shoes will get you through soft ground (that is what the SG stands for), I know from experience even though I don’t own a pair…yet.

Recently my whole family took part in the Mad Trapper Natural Obstacle Off-Trail Race.  You can read about our adventures here.  Suffice it to say, the race required us to go through lots of mud, plenty of water, and climb over rocky outcroppings.  I went to the race prepared, wearing my Salomon Speedcross 3’s.

I love my Speedcross shoes.  They have been perfect for trails, orienteering, and running in the snow.  I love them so much that I have two pairs; the other pair are the Climate Shield version, which I use most often for snowshoeing.  They fit my feet nicely and are remarkably light for a trail shoe.  My only complaint is I find them just a little too loose at the heel, but not enough to cause problems.

At the Mad Trapper race, Salomon had several demo shoes, including the shoes with the neverending name.  Now by demo. I assumed they meant you could put them on and run around on the grass a bit.  Bonus, I thought, at least we can try on shoes outside rather than in a store.  But Salomon really wanted you to demo these shoes.  If you dropped off your driver’s license, the shoes were yours for the race.  Sold!

I spent an hour and twenty minutes doing all the things you really shouldn’t do when wearing shoes you don’t own.  And here is probably the highest praise I can give a shoe:  I put on the shoes, started the race and promptly forgot about them!  These shoes were so light, fit so nicely (including holding on to my heel perfectly) and gave me such good grip, I just didn’t need to focus on them.  Instead I could think about things like how I was going get through a thigh deep mud pit without face-planting.  When the race was finished I admit I kept the shoes on for as long as possible, and considering they were muddy and soaking wet, that should say something about their comfort level.  My husband also wore a pair for the race and was equally impressed.  We both walked away trying to figure out how we could justify buying new shoes in the very near future.

I have to give a shout out to Salomon for having demo shoes at a race site.  Just that alone makes me want to be a customer.  I’m looking forward to adding some S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra SG’s  into my shoe rotation soon.  Just don’t expect me to remember the name.

Three of the four of us got to try a new pair of Solomon’s at the race. Luke got to try the Speedcross 3’s and gave them thumbs up.

Following in the footsteps of Rebecca over at RunningFoodBaby, I am going to start recapping my training weeks each Monday as I prepare for my fall marathon on November 1st.

It might be a little premature to start posting training weeks.  I have picked a 16 week training schedule, which will officially start next Monday.  But I picked that schedule knowing full well that I needed two weeks of base training to start with, given my lack of training in June.  O.K, I really needed a good four weeks of base training but that wasn’t going to happen.

For my two weeks of base training my goal is no speed work, no worrying about pace (I found that hard), no stressing about how slow I am and the fact that 42 kms is a freaking long way to run (that one was really hard).  Here is what the week looked like:

Monday:

• 6.5 km, flat dirt road, a 6:06 pace.  It felt reasonably good, I went farther than the intended 5k, but I certainly had no desire to run faster.
• 45 minutes of pool running.  I am taking a class once a week and I really enjoyed my first attempt at deep water running.  Helps that the pool is really warm – thank you Dovercourt!

Tuesday: off, travelled up to our cabin in Quebec.

Wednesday:

• 10 km.  I found this run pretty tough.  The day wasn’t hot but I found the humidity overwhelming.  Combine that with the fact that when I run at the cabin there are NO flat roads, well I was panicking a bit about how I will ever run 4 times the distance.  It was very nice though to do the run with my husband, something we don’t get to do often.
• Swimming (sort of).  This is practically a first for me, but after the run I jumped in the lake.  I hate, really hate, cold water.  I hate it enough that in the past five years I only remember jumping in the lake once.  The turning point this time was the fact that in the last 2k of the run it poured rain.  I figured if I was soaking wet anyways, I might as well just pull off my socks and shoes and jump in.  Sounds simple but I think it took me 10 minutes of standing on the dock contemplating the whole process before I finally made the leap.  I didn’t really swim per se, but I did kick around and tread water for about 15 minutes.  Baby steps…

I’m actually in the lake!

Thursday:

• 4 km of hills on dirt roads at a 6:12 pace
• Swimming – I jumped in again!  I think it was only a couple of minutes of standing on the dock this time!  More kicking and treading for 15 minutes.  I convinced myself that moving in the cold water would be good for run recovery.

Friday:

• 30 minute or more of kayaking.  To be honest though, there was a lot of peaceful floating going on.  This was particularly true when I came across the lake’s pair of loons catching fish for their babies.  What is it about loons that are so fascinating, almost magical to watch?  I’ll call it mental relaxation training rather than marathon training 🙂
• 3 km run.  Too many hills jammed into a very short run!
• Swimming.  Made it in the lake again!

Saturday:

• Maybe I kayaked again?  Hard to keep track of days when relaxing at the lake!
• Swimming.  Tried out a cheap shorty wetsuit that I bought a couple of months ago and headed into the lake again.  I admit I was hoping the wetsuit would instantly warm me up, but of course that didn’t happen.  I did notice that I started warming up as time went by and as a result I stayed in longer and practiced backstroke and breaststroke.

Sunday:

•  5.5 km.  Feeling pretty good, but still slowish.  Of course more hills.
• Kayak.  I decided to make myself work on this one so I did spend most of my time paddling rather than drifting.  I didn’t wear my watch but I think I did somewhere between 2 and 3 kms.

Smiling and shivering!

Thoughts.

I found this week to be a bit of a roller coaster.  I am really happy to be back on a schedule and building up my mileage but I also loved having the month of June to just run when I wanted and to step out of my comfort zone, participating in a trail running clinic and the Mad Trapper Natural Obstacle Off-Trail Race.  Those fun events are not going to stop as I have decided to make trail running a part of my marathon training schedule.  More on that to come, but I will say that there are at least 2, maybe 3 trail races in my near future.

Mentally this past week was a bit tough.  On the one hand those endorphin releases were wonderful.  On the other hand I constantly had to engage in self talk, reminding myself that of course 42.2k seems beyond impossible right now.  On a couple of runs I could actually feel my breathing change and my chest tighten every time I thought about the marathon.  One of my goals though is to focus on the now – no thought about how hard this whole training session will be.  No saying, either to myself or to others, that I am not a marathoner, that the half marathon is really my distance.  I’m hoping that in the next 17 weeks I will develop a stronger mind, not just a stronger body.

All that said, today was a little bit of a boost.  Despite the heat, my 7 km run felt pretty good and for the first time in a while my body just naturally wanted to slip below the 6 minute pace, even as I made a conscious effort to stay steady and slow.  Mentally, that was a nice little bonus 🙂

***Note, I still haven’t managed to write a Salomon S Lab shoe review but it is coming… (spoiler, it is positive!)

More mental relaxation.

First of all, if you haven’t already, sound out the acronym for this race.  Yes, this is the “neuter” race.  My kids still can’t stop giggling over that one.  What the title actually stands for is “Natural Obstacle Off-Trail Race”.  The premise of the race is anything you would normally go around when running through Mike Caldwell’s woods, you instead go through, over, under, up or down.  You don’t run this race; you crawl it, slop through it, slide down it and climb up it.  And believe it or not, you have a great time!

I had three goals for this race:

1. Not get injured
2. Have fun
3. Not get injured

One scratch, one bruise and a big smile later…mission accomplished!

Finishing the race, being greeted by my kids, who finished long before me!

I was heading into this race with a mixture of excitement and, well, fear.  I had seen the video of last year’s race on the Mad Trapper Facebook page, so I had some idea of what I was getting myself into.  I was quite aware that this was well out of what I consider my comfort zone.  But in my last post, Orienteering, ,Trail Running and Life in My Forties, I wrote about how I am spending less time being self conscious and more time trying new things.  This event certainly qualified as something new for me.  Besides, given the fact that my husband and sons were going to do it, I really couldn’t back out.  I have a lot of testosterone in this family to keep up with.

I’ve been to lots of small races where the organizer gives pre-race advice and instructions.  These talks, however, have never said things like, “Go too fast in the creek and you WILL break your leg,” or, “If this sounds like you have signed up for more than you bargained for you can skip it and ask for a refund.”  Actually, I might not mind hearing that last statement when I line up for the Road2Hope Marathon in November!  The fact is, while the course certainly had the potential to be dangerous, it truly was completely manageable if you were smart about your approach.  This was not a course to go all out, though I’m not entirely sure my kids got that message.  Yes, they finished well before me as did my husband.  As for me, I just took it slow and steady and to be honest, was slightly disappointed when I turned a corner and realized I was heading down the hill to the finish line and the race was almost over.  I may pay for this next year, but I think I would be happy if the course was even longer!  (Upon reading this, Mike Caldwell will be  plotting an extra loop for me to complete next year.)  The course was a little under 4 km but it took me an hour and 20 minutes to finish it!

This course had virtually no flat spots.  We were only on trails briefly, most of the time we were just working our way through the hilly forest.  Up, down, up, down, up down.  Forget what you are picturing in your head – I don’t mean running up a 5% grade.  I mean dig your hands in the dirt and try to haul your butt up a hill, using anything you can grab – saplings, roots, rocks, thistle plants (still pulling out splinters).  As for downhills, my quads got quite a break – largely because I did most of the descents on my behind (almost always on purpose).  There were two big mud pits to get through, one of which I did manage to stay upright in, the other not so much.  There were also big rocks to climb over, trees to go under and a creekbed to stumble along.  Often you couldn’t see what you would be doing next, but you know something major was coming by the groans or cursing you heard up ahead.  This was not a serious race though.  We were all told that if you hit any obstacle you weren’t comfortable with, simply go around it.  Using the honour code, you could even tack on a couple of minutes to your final time if you felt appropriate.

Hmmm, am I selling this race yet?  Honestly, from start to finish it was hard work but pure fun.  We grown ups need more of this in our lives; it is so completely opposite of the ordered, safe lives we lead.  We need to get dirty, we need to fall, we need to scare ourselves just a little.  Kids inherently know this, though our current society is doing a lousy job of encouraging it.  While it is going to become tiresome finishing everything last in this family, I was so proud that my kids headed out ahead of me, ready for the challenge.  Shouldn’t all kids be doing things like this?

If I haven’t sold this yet, just a reminder that Mad Trapper races have real food at the end thanks to Mike and his wife Monique.  In this case we had hot dogs, hamburgers, salad, chips and of course homemade brownies.  Seriously.  all races need to have brownies at the finish line.  I don’t care if bananas are full of potassium, brownies make me happy.

As with all Mad Trapper Races, prizes were for the most part random.  The winning male and female each got first choice from the prize table, and quite surprisingly I discovered I was the first woman to cross the finish line.  Actually it was such a surprise that when Mike started saying the first place prize winner was a running blogger, all I thought was, “Hey, there’s another blogger here, I’ll have to meet her and exchange blogs.”  I picked out a Salomon running backpack which I will be testing on a trail run soon.

Picking up my Salomon backpack.

Mad Trapper races seem to be the best kept secret in the Ottawa/Gatineau area, but now that you are in on the secret you need to check them out.  I love the fact that they provide my family and I a completely different racing experience.  Personally I can’t wait for their next race, a women’s only trail run called Power in Pink on August 29.  Be forewarned, if you know me, and I know that you are capable of hiking a 3k or running a 5 or 10k trail (that should be everyone I know), I am going to be hounding you to join this race.  I just have to decide if I am doing the 5k or if I am mad enough to do the 10!

BTW, in an upcoming post I will review the Salomon S Lab  Ultra SG trail shoes that I had a chance to demo during – yes during –  the mud-fill, rock climbing, creek crossing NOOTR race.

Three of the four of us got to try a new pair of Salomon’s at the race.

June is a bit of a write off in terms of running for me.  As a teacher it is my busiest month and my most exhausting.  There are report cards to write, a graduation to plan, year end field trips to attend, and lots of organization and clean-up to complete.  I am certainly not complaining, since I am now heading into what I hope will be a wonderful, relaxing summer holiday.  It won’t all be rest and relaxation though, since in a week I should be starting marathon training in preparation for the Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon on November 1st.  For the last four weeks I have only run when I wanted too and haven’t even bothered recording times or distances.  I know I have lost much of my endurance over the month but past experience has told me that with work it comes back.  Most of my running was done in orienteering events or on a couple of trail runs.  The fact is I quite enjoyed this more relaxed version of running but I think I am ready to start getting serious again.  This week I will start making a training schedule, which I already know is going to contain 2 very different runs for me each week, but more on that in another post.

One thing I will need to organize is my running playlist.  I have barely used my ipod this month so it will be nice to get back to listening to my favourite music.  One artist who is always on my playlist is Canadian singer David Usher.  Whether singing solo or with the band Moist, his music somehow always manages to evoke emotions in me that sometimes I can’t even name.  I do know that now, however, his song St. Lawrence River, one of my favourite songs of any artist, will most likely bring tears to my eyes.  Yesterday my grade six class, knowing how much I loved the song, rewrote the lyrics for me.  At the beginning of the school year we spent time studying poetry.  It was a subject I had only meant to touch upon until I discovered that my class – all boys – had a passion for poetry.  They were entranced with the work of Edgar Allen Poe and they passionately wrote their own poetry.  They decided to bring the school year full circle by putting words to the tune of St. Lawrence River.  I am copying their words here, mostly for selfish reasons; I will know where to find them when I need to remind myself that in teaching we have the opportunity to open our kids up to endless possibilities and hopefully have at least a tiny influence on the young adults they will become.

Lyrics by my 2015 Graduating Class, inspired by David Usher’s St. Lawrence River:

Poetry aplenty

Your mind can roam boundless.

A picture is formed from the verses on paper

where words harmonize,

unearth all the words that rhyme all together

you make it so fun to learn here.

Caught in the confusion and doubt of the math

you helped it make sense,

I was fumbling through class

like a child in the dark

when our problems all come

I devour your kindness

and the wisdom and knowledge you teach us

in our class.

And I never thought a test could be so fun.

It’s so nice,

to know there’s someone there to help us out

when it’s hard

So we all want to thank you.

So if you happen to see me out on the roads or trails with tears streaming down my cheeks, you know what song I will be listening to, hearing it with words meant for me.

The other day I heard someone say she was feeling nervous about entering her forties. As someone who has been there for six years I can honestly say there is nothing to be afraid of, as long as you choose to make the most of it.   What I have found in my forties is that I care less about what other people think and more about what makes me happy.  I’m less self conscious and more adventurous.  I think less of what I can’t do and focus more on what I can do.

The proof is in what I am choosing to do with my time. It started when I was 42 and I took up running, having never run before. Then I started entering races, despite being someone who has always dreaded the nerves that go along with competition. Last year I took swimming lessons when I had barely been in the water for decades. Last fall, as my kids grew more and more enthusiastic about orienteering I decided to give it a try too. I kept going with it this spring and now the entire family will be heading to the Maritimes to take part in the Canadian Orienteering Championships. (By the way, there are no qualifications to enter the Championships, hence the reason I can take part!). When registering I had a choice between the Open classes and the Competitive classes. My instinct said go Open. My 20 year old or 30 year old self certainly would have registered for Open. In an Open class I would be less likely to get lost, have a DNF, finish last or just generally make a fool of myself.

The 46 year old me signed up for Competitive. There is a very, very strong chance I will come in last in all three of my events. I’m not saying that to be modest. It is just reality. And I’m not saying I won’t be pissed off with myself if/when I end up in that bottom spot. But it won’t be the end of my world. It will, I hope, be an amazing experience. Hell, it’s not like I will be competing in National Championships in any other sport!

Yesterday was further proof of why my forties are different.  Months ago I signed up for a women’s trail running clinic sponsored by MEC.  I couldn’t get anyone else I know to sign up so off I went on my own.  I’m sure in my younger days heading off to a sports clinic not knowing anyone would have filled me with a nervous dread.  But I approached this day excited to learn about trail running. More than anything I wanted to learn a few tricks to help me avoid falling on my face when straying off the pavement!

When I think about how much fun I had at the clinic, I can’t help but think of how much I would have missed if, because of worry over not being good enough or not wanting to go alone, I had just skipped the whole thing.  The fact is it didn’t matter if I was a bit of a newbie on trails or that I came alone. I spent time with a group of women who all want the same things. We want to learn, we want to be fit, we want to be outdoors, we want to have fun and we want to make ourselves be the best we can possibly be.

The clinic started with a warm up run and then we were split into groups with leaders.  We then spent some time working on technique on some rocky, tree branch laden trails, up and down the ski hill. I learned to stay low, choose a path and get my feet off the ground quickly to avoid roll overs and tripping. When we were asked if any of us wanted to have our awesome guide Annie watch our technique down a rocky, steep path I jumped at the chance. Sure I could fall on my face in front of the other 22 members of our group but remember that less self conscious part of being in my forties?  The pay off was finding out my technique and form were spot on.  Between the jumping over rocks, having fun on the trails and getting a compliment, I was feeling like a kid again!

If that wasn’t enough, it soon became time to go through mud!  After several informative and inspirational speakers in the lodge, it was time for a 40 minute group trail run. We were told there would be no cheating by going around the mud. There was even a camera there, so there would be proof if you didn’t slop your way through. This was no ordinary camera though. Dave McMahon of Natural Fitness Labs was filming us for his soon to be released IMAX film about women in sport. Nor was this a common mud puddle. This was shoe sucking, over your ankles, remarkably stinky, black mud. I was quite happy to run through it but also quickly realized that my shoes were perhaps not tied tightly enough to resist the suction. I was more than relieved to come out with my Salomons still on my feet.

Two of my fellow runners with the mud to prove they were trail running!

A great clinic and great food? How’s that for a perfect day!

There is lots of running advice out there but if I could add one thing it would be to step out of your comfort zone and step into a lifestyle that makes you smile.  Getting older has its perks; you see things from a slightly different perspective allowing you to embrace that which might have scared you away.  Once you do so, there is no looking back.

I am (slowly) entering the world of twitter.  Help me out on this social media journey and follow me at @averagerunnerK

This blog has led me to new running friends, let’s see if twitter does the same.  I’m also open to suggestions of good ones to follow!