I've been noticing and not running my trail much lately...my poor, poor trail; it must be so lonely. A lot of trees on my trail are already missing their leaves, although some trees are still green. I suppose this is the one difference between Southwestern and Eastern Ontario. My hometown's trees are always a blazing red by now, and no tree is untouched. Here in Southwestern Ontario however, some trees are just stubborn - like me.
It's true, I am still waiting for the weather guy to say "Okay, cold spat is over, now summer is finally starting". Maybe that's why it took me until the end of September to finally invest in a long sleeve running shirt. Or why it was just yesterday that I finally purchased a microfibre running jacket. And yes, both were still budget friendly (which may have played a role in the delay of the purchase) - the shirt I bought from a 50% off rack at Sportchek, and the jacket was featured in this week's flyer, also at 50% off ($29.99! Heck yes!).
Needless to say, I bought these great 'cold weather' pieces, dug out my gloves, stocked up on GU Chews, and was very excited to burst out the door and finally hit my trail again for the first time since the weather has gotten ugly.
It was still cold.
I didn't waver in the face of frigidity however, I pushed on. My new top and jacket worked pretty well - initially you don't feel very warm because of those darned wicking materials feeling so light against the wind. Once you start sweating though, they take the sweat away from your body so you stay warmer - and I did - on my top half.
You may have noticed the lack of mention of running pants. This is because I have yet to find a pair for less than $60. I have 2 pairs of long 'active' pants from years past, but they drag on the ground and aren't technically built for real physical activity - you know the ones I'm talking about. So, my options are limited to shorts or my running capris that I wore all summer.
See now, Jeff runs in shorts in this weather, so I figure this will work for me as well and didn't think much of my capris. Plus, our trainer keeps reminding us to train in what you will race in (so you don't have any chaffing surprises on race day).
Let me put it this way - the plus side of wearing my running capris instead of long pants is that I won't struggle with shin splints anymore since I am icing my shins throughout the entirety of my run! We won't even get in to the point where my buttocks actually froze in place and I had to cup them on my walking breaks to try to heat them up.
This brings me to the point of today's entry - look at all that I go through in my training.
Now, think back to the goals that Jeff and I had set for ourselves when we started out on this thing:
1) Challenge ourselves - well, I do that practically every week. Not only is getting out on the run a challenge, but usually each week I am running farther than last week, which means, each day is a new challenge
2) Raise $12,000 for the Canadian Diabetes Association - that's a given
3) Complete the marathon - again, a given
4) Inspire others - I think I may have mentioned 'to live a healthier lifestyle' or something as well, but any inspiration will suffice for me. The fact is, this is the one thing I don't know that we have accomplished yet, and yet it is the most important one of them all to me.
What is the point of all that I am doing if I'm not inspiring anyone with my story? I mean, seriously people
Now, not only have I braved frozen buttocks and frigid running temperatures, but you know I have fought the sweaty sports bra war, low blood sugars on the trail, attack chiuhuahuas, grumpy garage salers, high velocity winds, bastard hills and mini bastard hills, shin splints, blisters, and every injury in between.
This can't be in vain - why am I putting myself through this?
In truth, Jeff and I keep inspiring each other and ourselves, which is great, but slightly lame when our goal is to inspire you.
So, here is my plea -
Help me keep running. Challenge yourself. Get off the couch or go do something you are afraid of doing. Bottom line, if we have inspired you in any way since the end of June until now, please tell us.
We need to hear it!
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"Today I ran 2.5km farther than I did yesterday".
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