Another Day. Another Run

Forgot to post this on THIS blog last Sunday, so I'll repost it now.

I haven't really explained the format of our training with the TEAM. TEAM in Training is organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. There is a group of dedicated full time staff that help in collecting donations from participants that will in turn help the Society.

The training portion of TEAM in Training is organized by a team of volunteer Coaches and Mentors. There are coaches for 3 main teams. The Run team, the Walk team and the Tri(athlon) team. As I plan to Run the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, my run coach is Coach Mike. Coach Mike is SUPER fast. I think he's ran over 5 marathons and he's a pretty seasoned runner. It's really great having such a seasoned coach because he understands what it's like for us when we first start out. Coach Mike and his wife Amy actually came from Ontario. Amy has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a form of Leukemia that requires taking a single pill called Gleevec that inhibits the leukemia. Gleevec is the result of the hard work of thousands and thousands of fundraisers and donations. The fundraising and donations of these people has made Gleevec possible for people like Amy and many more.

We train every Sunday at 8:30 (yes that's A.M. for you sleepyheads) at Granville Island. We call those runs GTS (or group training sessions). It usually starts by meeting behind Cat's Social House in the little area that is covered. Sometimes we have workshops where experts come in to talk to us about strength training, nutritions, and equipment, but most times, we warm up, yell a quick "GO TEAM" and we're off!

The distances usually vary. Now for those of you that really know me from way back in high school (well not that way back) we used to have "run days" where we run about 3km around the school twice. Even in high school, I wasn't much of a sporty kid, I couldn't run that 3km without walking half of it. Imagine my surprise when we started one fine December day last year and Coach Mike told us our first run was 4km!!!! We maintain a set distance usually two weeks in a row and go up by 1 to 2km on the next run.

I still remember our first 4km run like it was yesterday. Coach Mike maps out a route for us:
1. Start off going west at Granville Island.
2. Run along the seawall below both the Granville St. Bridge and Burrard St. Bridge
3. Run past the Planetarium at Vanier Park
4. Run to the washrooms by the Totem Pole and Museum.
5. Turn around and run back.

I looked at that distance and thought.....NO...WAY.

Here's a look at our run route yesterday:
1. Start off going west at Granville Island
2. Run along the seawall past Vanier Park
3. Continue along the seawall past Kits beach
4. Turn up along the hill when you hit the pool at Kits beach. Right at Balsam
5. Run along Point Grey Rd. until you hit Jericho Beach
6. Turn up along the path to W. 4th Ave.
7. Turn right down NW Marine Drive
8. Continue along Marine Drive until you hit the concession stand.
9. Turn around and head back to Granville Island along the same route.

Now. Yesterday was also Daylight Savings Time. I'm currently busy organizing our Bowling Fundraiser next Sunday, so of course I didn't sleep until 11:30 PRE-daylight savings time. Which meant, after I set the clock an hour faster, it was 12:30! Yesterday's run I felt fatigue from the very beginning. My feet were slowly dragging along. The cold weather made it hard for my muscles to warm up. And my head just wasn't that into it.

The route you just saw above is our 16km route yesterday. It's the first step up from the 14km we've been doing for the last two weeks. When I started the run, I was sure I could only do 14km today. But when I thought of Jessica, I also thought, "Well, it's only really a km more, because it's a km there and when we turn back, it's an extra km back." Besides, I don't want to be the only person to not complete our 16km run! It'll be THAT much harder next week!

So I pushed on and conquered it!!!!

The best part? 1h 47mins which was only 4 mins slower than my 14km run the last week. But then I think this run wasn't a full 16km, which would explain why I'm only 4 mins slower for an extra 2km. I still felt great about myself.

Every time I think it's too hard to push on, I think of Jessica. She's brave, she's strong, and if she can battle cancer, a run should be nothing.

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.