I turned 30 this year but next year I plan on turning 29, then 28. My body however, will be 31 and 32… as I age, I’m finding it increasingly more important to schedule activities into my busy work day. If I don’t…well it just doesn’t get done (I also LOVE television and movies).
Chris and I have always stayed pretty active. We play coed volley-ball together twice a week and I still play soccer twice or three times a week while he plays hockey. All these activities keep us busy in the evenings and help us maintain a healthy lifestyle . Downside is that the cost of registration adds up quickly (it costs us more than a gym membership). I’ve never found “pumping iron” very stimulating, so team sports have always been my go to activity to stay healthy.
As I’m getting older, I’m finding it depressing to see generations of soccer players from my competitive team move on to grown-up things (like motherhood) while I still try to keep up with 20 year olds (I suppose a cougar has a similar dilemma). I started thinking about becoming a serious runner… something that I could sustain in my late 30s and 40s. I’ve always enjoyed running, and once I’ve established routine (the hardest part), it comes easy. I knew, however, that the key to long-time success was to find a good running partner. Last summer, I asked Chris what he thought about running a half-marathon in the Fall. He stared at me for a few minutes and said “What would we be running from?”.
We sourced a couple training bibs from Chris’s cousin and a friend (who was now going to have a baby). In order to run the Ottawa Army Run in late September, we had to condense our training into 10 weeks . Our goal was to finish the 21.1 km (13.1 m) in under 2 hours. Throughout our training, I assumed the role of personal cheerleader and coach for Chris, who was, at times, somewhat uncooperative (he’s not a morning person). Race day arrived and the longest training run we had under our belt was 14 km. Uh oh. After about 10 km, I started to feel demotivated, grumpy and tired. Chris, was on top of the world. Kept saying he could run forever, which I ignored. I made up excuses to stop, like an urgent bathroom break or cramp. By 15 km, I was staring at my feet, counting down the distance in my head. Mr. Enthusiastic (Chris) was driving me nuts. We ran by a group of people sitting along the course in their chairs, drinking beer with posters that said “Don’t you wish you were us”. I wanted to either: a. kick their a@* b. or join them. We finished the race in 1h55 minutes and it felt amazing (after being done). My experience confirmed what a number of experienced runners claimed. It’s just as mental as it is physical.
I signed us up for the Ottawa Race Weekend full Marathon in May 2013. The half-marathon was sold out. It was a sign… we’re ready, or will be!
Time to start training… em, tomorrow (probably).
Keeping up with the Fenders 