Run #1, 2009

I did my first run of the year, just an 8K, the Harry Rosen Spring Run-off. I'd never done this one before, but my sister-in-law had and warned me of a huge hill at the end of the run.

She wasn't kidding. Part of the course lets you go down the hill so you get your high off of it, but it also marks the end of the race...in the reverse direction. I thought I was going to die. If my husband wasn't running with me, I think I would have walked, I was so defeated. He has what he lovingly calls "thunder thighs" so he's good at hills. The course itself would have been pretty nice if it was a nice day and it was a little further into spring. Everyone knows High Park turns out to be beautiful at its best.

Hands down, worst race ever. EVER. At least, in terms of me and my history. I had never run a time like this, and it was at least a whole minute over my usual training km pace. Although I could easily blame the horrid cold temperatures, the gusty winds, the damp ground, the hilliness, my misaligned left leg that had been acting up all week which I had been trying to correct with my orthotics and knee brace, a poor night of sleep, a sore back due to a mattress too soft for my taste, and who knows what else, I know it really comes down to my lack of preparation. I didn't even think to shave my legs and put lotion on them! I didn't realize until I stripped my outer layer of bottoms (my pants) -- how embarrassing.

I don't know what it was with this race. For some reason, I don't know what, I didn't do any fundraising. Part of me feels hesitant to fundraise this year given the economy and people's tendencies to save more for themselves in times like these and that I really fundraised last year and two years before that and figured my donors needed some rest. That shouldn't stop me. There are people everywhere who are still willing to give what they can and I forgot about those people. Granted, I wouldn't be asking for a lot and I don't necessarily have a huge goal as in 2008 and 2006, but I still could have done it. I should have remembered that that was the key reason I started doing these races in the first place -- to support and spread support for various causes.

The Harry Rosen Spring Run-off is organized in an effort to support research for prostate cancer. You can register for this run and other runs like this and choose not to fundraise. I get that many runners would like to just run, have their times recorded, win money or other things like that, but for me, I thought that maybe if I didn't fundraise, the run would be more for me, more for my own effort and would ease me a bit to not have to perform the "ask". I can't believe I thought this because the "ask" was never really hard to do, and I always have supporters.

I'm hitting myself over the head. I know what to do now, and I know that I really need to work on this.

I'm not a very good hill runner, so I need to hill train.
I'm not a very fast runner, so I need to do more tempo runs.
I don't have the strongest legs, so I need to make sure I work harder on building muscle.
I need to do more yoga to work on my breathing.
I need to do more core work so my form remains intact.
I get sore easily, so I need to up my lactic acid threshold.
I need to be closer to the cause, so I need to fundraise and research.
I need to train harder, longer, and be stronger and more positive that I can do it and I will do it better every time.

This race woke me up when I didn't even think I was sleeping.

To come: the Ask.