Christmas 2011

'Tis the season, again. Time to run around from crowded mall to crowded mall. Time to jump in the car and race down the highway, trying to beat the traffic to get to your dinner party. Time to spend money on gifts that you have no real idea as to whether the recipient has or wants. Time to celebrate the season! (if that is what you call Christmas).

If you read my post from last year, you will know that by and large, I am no real fan of Christmas. In my last post, I did say I would try harder to find Christmas, and I have been looking.

We were recently at a friend’s house for a Christmas party. There were lots of people, lots of food, lots of Christmas carolling and lots of fun. There was no pressure, no gifts to buy, no headaches. People just enjoyed each other’s company and having the chance to make new friends and catch up with old friends. That was a great Christmas party! Thank you, Roseanna and Derek.

I guess one of the things that really bugs me about Christmas is the gifts, the money we feel obligated to spend or you’re a Grinch. I think the closest thing I have seen to what I would consider an ideal Christmas is how I see the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. There is no big need to buy expensive gifts, no panics at the mall, it is just families and friends getting together to share a meal and to be thankful for their many blessings.

Imagine how far it would go if we were to take just one-tenth of the money we spend on gifts and put it toward our favorite charity. A few years ago at Christmas time I set up a weekly donation that I make to a charity. I continue to do this. I felt really good about that. I felt it was a gift that mattered.

I don’t consider myself a Scrooge. I very much enjoy a Christmas party. I also like those little gift exchanges where you can’t spend more that 10 or 15 dollars and the gift is supposed to make the recipient smile or even laugh out loud or a small token to show how much you appreciate someone. You don’t have to go broke doing this. It is even a good feeling.

What about the kids? Christmas is supposed to be for the kids, or so I am told. I don’t argue that at all, but I do suggest that maybe this is where we have laid the groundwork for the money-focused holiday we have now. Yes, I want my kids to have good things, and yes, I did then, and continue now, to spend money on them every Christmas. But I have also tried to share with them my feelings about the commercialism of Christmas.

My daughter is almost finished her post-graduate degree and my son is working hard to advance himself in his career. This take lots of effort, lots of time and lots of money. I have asked both of them not to spend any money at all on Christmas presents for us. We will get together and enjoy the opportunity to spend some time together as a family.

One of the nicest and most thoughtful Christmas gifts I have every gotten was given to me last year by my daughter when she took the time and effort to MAKE me a Christmas card. I keep it on my desk and it makes me feel good every time I look at it. What more could you possibly ask for from a gift?

I don't consider myself a Grinch. I enjoy getting together with friends and family and Christmas can be a great time for that. I just don't think it needs to be based on what you managed to spend money on at the mall, or what someone else has gotten for you. I just think it should be about the time spent together.

So here's hoping you have a safe and happy Christmas!!

Setbacks

For last little while I have been struggling a bit with keeping my momentum. I really  don't know why. I have come so far in the last three years. I have lost almost 100 pounds, I have a resting pulse of 54 and my blood pressure is 96/58. I haven't been this healthy in I don't know how long. But, ever since early fall, I have had to work really hard at continuing to move forward.

This is different for me. I have always seen my role as the cheerleader, helping to motivate people to do something good for themselves. Yet here I am, feeling a lack of motivation. As I have been thinking about it, there have been a number of setbacks. A big one has been my sore knees. I have been fretting about that a fair bit. Have I made the mistake of leaving things for so long that I have done permanent damage to myself? I don't know. Quite frankly, I am a afraid of finding out. The last thing I want to hear is, "You just can't do that anymore." I just started!

Most recently I have been sick. Some kind of cold or sinus thing. Two weeks of dragging myself into work then going home and collapsing. Every morning I have woken up with a migraine that felt like it would kill an elephant. I have drugs for that so I would take them but I couldn't take anything for the sinus thing. It has been awful.

At work, everyone is concerned about their job, about the viability of the plant and the company. You hear things like they want you to bring back any pens and that kind of thing you may have gone home with. They say we need to cut back everywhere. But pens? Are you serious? Do you really want to scare the heck out of people that badly?

And of course, there is Christmas. If you read my blog last year about Christmas, you know what I think about that holiday.

These things one at a time? No problem. I can deal with that. Pile it all on in one very short time and even the cheerleaders can get a bit overwhelmed. So what do I do? How do I get myself back in gear? I need to fix this! I HATE setbacks.

It is my job as I see it to try and encourage people to reach just a bit, to try just a little harder, to just put that next foot forward. Yet here I have been feeling pushed down. I feel almost guilty for it. How can I do my job if I can't do this simple thing for myself? So I need to go back a couple of steps and practice what I preach. One foot in front of the other. Look at what it is that is pulling me back.

Could it have something to do with the change in the weather? Maybe, I'm not sure. The cooler temperatures have made it harder for me to keep up my running. I have been forced to get the house ready for winter. I never have liked this job. It has always felt like I am putting part of myself away for the winter. I love being outside. I aways have. I would so much prefer working out in the back of our property, cutting new trails, cleaning up fallen trees, helping the forest grow. I don't know why. Practically no one else sees it. There is just something about being out there that makes me feel good. So why does this have to stop just because it is getting cooler? It doesn't. I have completed the main path around the outside of our property. We have cross-country skis, we just got snowshoes and I am stronger and healthier. I can get out there and enjoy this kind of activity. I can make use of the paths I have been working so hard on. Winter does not have to stop me anymore.

Work. Mine and my family's financial security. I need my job, just like everybody else. I make fun of it sometimes, I ridicule it other times, but I do need it. I need 5 more years before I can breathe easy about it. Then, I would be thrilled to death to be offered a buyout. But is there anything I can do about the state of the business? Not really. I can do my job to the best of my ability, I can take some pens back in, I can encourage the people I work with. Past that, not much else I can do. If I stop and think about it, that is something. Maybe not a huge thing in the overall picture, but who says it won't help? Not me.

My knees. Now this is a big one for me. I need to find out what is going on here. I need to get things working properly. But, should this stop me from continuing on my fitness program? No, of course not. I can work so hard at karate, to the point that I almost drop and that doesn't bother my knees so much. I can do my weight training without stressing my knees, there are all kinds of things I can do. But I really want to be able to do all of this and to run as well. Still scared about it, but I have find out what needs to be done.

Christmas. Well, I can't very well stop it from happening. It looks like this year is going to involve the usual running around, spending too much money and eating too much. So what can I do about that? Well maybe I can share more about how I would like to see Christmas spent. Do we really need to spend all that money? Do we really need to eat that much? Do we really need an excuse to get together with friends and family? No. Maybe I will try to express that a bit by just showing how happy it can make us just to get together and share the day.

Sickness. Not much to do there. Except maybe be a little more careful about some of the basics like washing my hands more often, using hand sanitizer. I think I let my guard down a bit on this front. I haven't really been sick like this ever since I started my health kick. I think maybe I got the mentality of, "It can't happen to me. It happens to the other guy, not me." Well I was wrong, big time. It can happen to anyone. I know I make a very bad sick person. My wife can vouch for that. I just want to crawl into bed and stay there.

Looking back on all of this, there is nothing here that can't be dealt with. I just need to do it. This is one of the reasons I blog. It is kind of therapy for me. Just break it down, take it apart and find out what needs to be done to fix it. I do the same thing at my job every day. I fix things. Now, I need to apply that to me and get going again. Make my adjustments if needed but just get going. Today I did my first run in almost two weeks! It felt good. Step number one.

What's Next

It has been three weeks now since my first half marathon in the Ottawa Army Run. Because I put everything I had into completing that run, I have been dealing with injuries (again). I read that I should expect about a three week recovery period from a half marathon. It has been a long three weeks but I am finally getting back out there and starting to build up my long runs again. I got out to 12K today.

Now that I am running again, I have been planning for my next big race. My plan is to do the half marathon in May at the Ottawa Race Weekend, the 8K Perth Kilt Run in June, the 15K Glen Tay Block race in August, the half marathon Ottawa Army Run in September along with a number of other 5K races. I am also hoping to be ready for a full marathon at some point next year. I haven't really figured out just what race that will be.

As look over this list, at least to me, it looks like a pretty ambitious plan. But the reality of it is I have about six months of training before the Ottawa Race Weekend. (I am even playing with the idea of doing the full marathon then.) This should be lots of time to bring my training along and get myself into a better condition. I hope to cut way down on the number of injuries I have been dealing with this year.

Being forced to slow down has given me the opportunity to look at running from a different perspective. So far for me, running has been a battle, maybe even more like a war. Every time I have gone out for a run, even on what is supposed to be my gentle runs, I have focused only on the running and on myself. I am either concentrating on trying to improve my form or I am battling with my electronic running partner on my Garmin Forerunner. I am not saying that this is bad. For me, I need this. It’s all part of the challenge. To strive to get better. But I keep reading about another side of running.

This is when people go out just for the pleasure of it. Just to be out in the great outdoors and enjoy the day and their surroundings. I have tried this a couple of times but I have always very quickly slipped back into warrior mode. I just couldn’t relax into the idea of running for pleasure. The whole thing seems kind of weird to me anyway. Now however, I have once again been forced to scale back. My challenge is to not push too hard.

I think because I’m so late in life getting into a fitness frame of mind, I’ve been trying to make up for lost time. This feeling of being late is always in the back of my mind. This also goes not just for my running but my karate as well. One of the things I hear fairly often is that I need to relax, move more smoothly and breathe.

On my last 12K run, I decided that this was what I was going to do. I could only run for a half kilometer and then walk the next half during this run, so why not just try and relax into it and be more aware of my surroundings. Give the warrior a day off.

I started off fairly early in the morning. I had my iPod set to play a collection of soothing New Age type of music. The morning air was cool. The sun was up but the shadows were still long. As I started down the gravel road it wasn’t long until I found myself slipping into that warrior mode. I needed to change things up a bit more so I turned off the music. Now, all I could hear was the crunch of the gravel under my shoes. I listened to this for a bit and then I noticed the songbirds singing away. The whole thing was starting to feel quite pleasant.

The timer on my Garmin went off telling me it was time for my next running interval. I had to struggle a bit with the warrior again, trying not to lose that bit of peacefulness I was just starting to feel. I came down hill and made my turn onto the paved road. The sun was still partly below the tree tops and the road was still damp from the morning dew. It looked like a long, twisting black ribbon stretching out across the countryside. The sun would wink through the gaps in the trees as I progressed down the road. As I looked up the road, I could see a deer casually crossing from one side to the other. It stopped for moment to watch my approach and then continued on its way. The whole thing seemed like it was out of a painting. I really did begin to feel a bit more comfortable with just being out there. No racing, nothing to prove, just enjoying the day. How foreign that was.

Yes, I am late to realizing the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Yes, I am a bit driven because of this. And yes, I do need to sometimes slow down in order to realize all of the benefits of this new way of living. And I think I can do it. Or at least I think I have an idea as to how to do it.

But right now, I have a heavy bag I need to see if I can kick a hole in and a race to train for!

The Ottawa Army Run

Well I did it! I can hardly believe I got through it. It was an incredible experience both physically and mentally. Sitting here now, back at home, I realize just how emotional the whole thing was for me. The are a number of very different but all very important feelings and experiences I have come away with.

First, let me tell you a bit about my experience with the race itself. Me standing there looking around, in among 7,000 plus runners. That in itself felt quite unreal. When the howitzer went off (and I mean a HOWITZER) I could see the start of the line begin to move out. It took what seemed like an hour before I finally started walking toward the starting line. Then, there it was. I hit the start button on my Garmin Forerunner and I was off.

At the 1K mark, a funny thought popped into my head. "What the heck are you doing! Quit now while you still can." That was the old me peeking through. I very quickly put this guy back to bed and went on.

3K and things were starting to spread out a bit. I checked my watch and was a bit surprised at my pace. I felt strong and eager and it was showing. I decided that this was going to be too much. I had a race plan that I knew was a very ambitious one so I dropped my pace back to my plan and went on.

Everything was going very nicely up to the 10K mark. It was here that I started to feel the strain on my hips. I started to concentrate on my form. Keep smooth, don't reach out too far, keep your feet under you, mid-foot landing. I kept going knowing I was going to be feeling more of that. I needed to do something to keep my mind distracted and yet focused.

What I came up with was that I started to run this run like I was running at home. At the 12K mark I'm well on my way on the return trip home. 13K, there goes the old cemetery. Here I am, making the turn onto Zealand Road.

At 14K I have to go to a walk. Just for a minute. My knees are now burning. Got to keep going! Back up to running pace. I check my Garmin and I am still ahead of my plan! I can do this! 5K to go. In my mind's eye I can see the horses running across the field to my right. At this pace, maybe 32 minutes to go.

Less than 2K, my knees and hips have all but locked up. I have to go to a walk. I am almost there. On my run at home I would be climbing the last big hill on my route that I nicknamed Heartbreak Hill. I think of a soldier who gave a pep talk to the crowd at the Army Run dinner the night before. He was an amputee. He had lost one of his legs just below the knee. I can see this young man so clearly in my mind. I could see that he was a bit nervous as he shared his experiences with us. He was going to be running the half marathon. Yes, running. At the end of his short talk he said something like, "So if you get a blister or have a bit of a hurt, just think of me." With everything I had left, I dragged myself back up one more time to running pace.

My pace was slow but I was running. I was going to drive through this and do what I came here to do. That was to crossed that finish line, running!

I had set a target time for myself of 2 hours 30 minutes. As I crossed the finish line, I hit the stop button on my Garmin and saw a time of 2 hours 18 minutes 16 seconds. I felt like I didn't just beat my target, I smashed it! I stumbled down to a walk as I approached a line of solders that were passing out our finishing medals. Dog tags. Now, after finally achieving this goal, now, I thought to myself, I can call myself a Runner.

So that is what the run itself was like for me. At the completion of the run, just after the finish line, I and some other runners were walking toward the line of soldiers presenting the dog tags. I walked up to one soldier who held out this dog tag toward me to put it over my head. I removed my hat and as he placed the chain over my head he said, "Thank you for your support." I was bit overwhelmed by this. Here was this young man, a soldier in our army, thanking me! I went to each one of those fine individuals and shook their hands and thanked them for doing what they do.

I now started walking toward the recovery area. An officer walked up to me. He noticed that I was limping badly and that I was wearing a knee support. He smiled at me and said, "You went through the whole race like that? You look like you are hurting quite a bit." I told him that it was worth it in more ways than one. I then patted him on the shoulder with one hand and shook his hand with the other and thanked him.

Yes, I was hurting, but I was smiling. I had done it and in the process I have helped support the brave men and women of our Armed Forces. Nothing could have made me feel and better. Nothing could have made me feel more proud to be a Canadian right there and then. What a small thing to do for such an amazing group of people. THANK YOU!!

I slowly worked my way through the recovery area and started to head toward the spot Sara and I had picked that we would meet. It was just outside of the recovery area. I saw her there standing on a stone wall, camera in hand and a big smile. We made our way over to a grassy spot where I could spread out the towel she had brought for me and try to stretch out my aching hips and knees.

She look very concerned because of how I was moving. I assured her I was okay and I very slowly lowered myself down onto the towel. I spent a few minutes trying to stretch out my legs as best as I could. I was thinking, now what? I'm a runner. What am I going to do next?

I noticed Sara almost staring at me. She said she was so proud of me and that I was a real inspiration to her. Next year she hopes to be ready to run in the annual 8K Kilt Run in Perth, near our home town.

The fact that she finds what I have been doing inspirational really means a lot to me. I think that is what I want to do. I want to inspire people to reach out and do more, to be better than what they are. To do that is simple really. All you have to do is try. Sometimes it my take a few tries, but just the act of trying will help fill you with a new sense of self-worth. And when you make it to that goal, it will feel so good, you just are going to want more.

I know it can be hard. When I think back to where I was just 3 short years ago. Almost 100 pounds heavier, depressed, struggling with work, struggling just to get through the day so I could go home and hide in front of the TV and just turn my mind off. Now here I am, a green belt in karate, and a runner. Sometimes I just can't believe it.

I had many false starts. Many times I would go out and try to run, only to limp back home thinking, this is pointless. Even when I finally got going on a treadmill at home and started getting rid of some of that weight, I came so close to quitting. Then for some strange reason, I started taking karate and I met a person who has been so inspirational to me. Someone who has fought her own battles. Yet here she was, teaching karate. Thank you Sensei Laurie for being who you are, for inspiring me to reach out and do more, for being my cheering section not just when I succeed but when I just try.

So what about the racing part? Is that it? I have reached my goal so I have done it. Now all I have to do is go out for a run every once in awhile. No, I don't think that will do. I am going to need some time to recover but then I need to get right back into training. It is going to take a lot of training if I am going to run the Army Run again next year and hopefully run a full marathon but I can do this. After all, I am Karateka and a RUNNER.

Wish me luck.

A Rock in the Path (Training for the Army Run)

The day of the Army Run is getting closer. I have been spending all kinds of time training and training hard. I have just completed my first 20K run. When I reached my turnaround point, I was initially jumping for joy, then of course, I realized that I now had to run 10 more kilometers to complete this run. So, off I went.

At the end of the run, I had the feeling that I had just slayed the dragon. Three weeks to go and I now have the proof that I can do this. Three more weeks. Now all I have to do is think about getting stronger.

It took me about 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete this run. That time just disappeared. I spent the first half of my run going through katas in my head. I imagined myself going through each kata move by move, first on my own, then with an opponent. The movements were perfect, liker a dance. Move and countermove, we went through rensuku kumite. The next thing I realized, I was approaching my 10K turnaround point. The return run was same kind of thing. I was lost in thought as the kilometers clicked by.

Completing this 20K run has given me great confidence. I now know I can do this. I don't feel quite so naked. I know I have pushed myself hard to get to this point. My body keeps reminding me of this. When I finished this run, I felt good. I had not pushed too hard, I had no real aches and pains. I was very pleased. I took the next two days off to give my body a chance to recover and then went out for what was supposed to be a gentle 8K run.

I was very surprised to find that after about 6K my legs and hips suddenly started to get quite sore. I decided the best thing to do was to walk the remaining 2K rather than risk injury. Two days later at karate, we were doing something called shrimping. It is a very tough exercise where you move sideways along the floor propelling yourself with nothing more than your shoulders and hips. I find this very tough on the abs. It is an exercise I have always found almost impossible.

Well, this time I was feeling strong and ready to prove to myself that I could do this. I threw myself into it with everything I had. I made it all the way across the floor for the first time and quickly jumped up and headed back into the line for the second run at it. I hit the mat knowing I could do this. Away I went.

I got about halfway across the floor when I got this shooting pain in my right hip. I stopped and the pain stopped. I thought for a second that I had just twisted funny causing a one-time hurt. Away I went again, and again this shooting pain penetrated deep into my hip joint. It felt like I just got stabbed. Sensei saw me drag myself to my feet in pain and she told me that training was over for me tonight.

She was right. Here I was again, injured. But this time, it was different. I was injured but I knew enough to stop (with Sensei's help). Sensei is aware of my upcoming run and she was very concerned that this was going to interfere with the run. I reassured her that it wouldn't and I knew this was the case. But I also knew it would slow my training down again.

So there I was, TWO WEEKS TO GO and not able to train. I found myself quickly getting frustrated and a bit depressed. There always seems to be something that comes along that gets in the way of my progress. I began to think that maybe I was just asking too much of this old, out-of-shape body. Why am I doing this anyway? Why is there always something in my path that blocks my way?

Two more days went by. For the first day, I was limping quite badly. The second day, not so bad. By the end of the day, the limp was gone. I still felt a bit stiff in the hip but not bad. Maybe, just maybe this old body is not so old. Maybe it is not so out of shape. Maybe, I have to stop being so hard on myself.

Two weeks to go as of today. I had booked this week off from work to work on cutting a walking/snowshoeing path around the outer edges of our property. I also thought that this would be a good cross-training exercise. The bush is thick and it would be hard.

I was around a half kilometer into the trail when I came across this big rock sticking out of the ground right where I wanted my path to go. I stood there for a minute, looking at this thing in my path. Here we are again. Another rock in my path. It then kind of clicked. I can do this. A couple of years ago, I would have quit. There was no real other way around. The rock had to go and I would not have been able to do anything about it.

Now, things are different. I got out the shovel and crowbar and went at it. It wasn't insurmountable. After about a half-hour of digging and prying, the rock came loose. I then had to dig a ramp up out of the hole. Then, with a strap around the rock, I slowly worked it back and forth, pulling it up and out of the hole and off to the side of my new path. My way was clear.

I left it right there where I could see it every time I went by. A reminder to me that there are often going to be things in my path, but if I work at it, I can find a way through. Like my training, two steps forward, one step back. Overall, progress is being made. I can do this!

Summer

It has been a very busy but very enjoyable summer so far this year. Things have been going at quite a pace at work which is a good thing; I have been really getting into and enjoying my running. It has been a challenge to step up my level of training to get ready for the Army Run half marathon this September; and I have a new kata I am working on for my karate. Besides all of this, there is vacation time.

Right now we are in Calgary visiting with my brother and sister-in-law. This has been a real treat. They are truly spoiling us and I have to admit, I love it! I am still keeping up with my training and kata practice. This morning I did an 8K interval run and then spent some time in a small park across from my brother's house doing my kata practice with a view of the Rockies. OH MY! It is hard to imagine feeling more at peace.

Still, there are challenges to meet and obstacles to overcome. Life would be too boring if there wasn't a bit of acid in the mix. My last long run was up to 17K. It felt good to be able to get that far but I ended up with a VERY sore knee. I-T band issues, I believe. This means I have to back off on my long runs a bit until my knees are ready for it. Not a big issue, and if this is as bad as it gets, who can complain.

The other issue or acid in the mix is having to go back to work after a vacation. It has been just over a week now since we came back from Calgary and from when I started writing this post. The re-entry back to working for a living was, as usual, a bit of a challenge for the first few days. I find that I am easily frustrated and a bit overwhelmed until I can get back into the swing of things. Oh, I do so look forward to retirement. For now, weekends will just have to do. So today I did my long run and now, I sit out on the deck with a cup of tea, keeping an eye on the hot sausages that are on the barbecue and writing. Not really too bad in the scheme of things.

One of my most recent interests is hiking and trail running. I've always enjoyed getting outside. I did do some hiking in the past, but it was always done with the kids or when I was a kid myself. Now we are going to get back into it ourselves, for ourselves. We are going to be going to a place just outside of Calgary called Drumheller. This town refers to itself as the dinosaur capital of the world. The trails around Drumheller don't sound like they would be anything extreme but it does look like it would be interesting and fun for beginning (or re-beginning).

It never ceases to amaze me just how many more things are possible with a body that is willing to at least try. So far this year, I have run over 520 kilometers. I can hardly believe it. This is one of the bigger pluses to our more active lifestyle these days. Life is just more interesting and more fun, and isn't that what it is supposed to be?

Kilt Run 3rd Stage

It has been a few weeks now since the Kilt Run so I have had a chance to think about my feelings and plans, post-Kilt Run.

I have to say that I was a bit surprised to find myself feeling let down for couple of days after the run. I think I was focused so intently on preparing myself for this one event that once it was over, I felt a loss of purpose set in. It was the “now what” feeling that I was not expecting.

As I think about it now, I can see that I briefly allowed myself to feel that I had accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. This was short-sighted of me. I had missed the point of what this run should have been all about. It was about getting healthy and fit both physically and mentally. It was about rising to the challenge. Not just the challenge of this particular event but the challenges we face every day as part of our normal lives. It was about being able to feel good about myself and moving forward.

With this now clear to me, I find that I am less prone to backing away from something that looks hard. I have even stepped right in a couple of times on some tough jobs rather than putting them off, secretly hoping they will magically go away. There is no magic. The nasty things in life don’t too often just go away. Sometimes, you just have to step up and do it.

The other big thing for me is knowing I am never in this alone. I always have the support of Sara. Where would we be if we didn’t have support from family and friends when there are difficulties in life to face down. It is always reassuring to know that no matter what, I have that support and encouragement there to help drive me on or dig me out.

I have decided that my next physical challenge will be completing a half marathon this year. For me, this is not just climbing a hill, it’s going to be like scaling a mountain (naked...in the winter...during a storm...). This is something that does scare me a bit and certainly makes me step back and think hard about just how big of a task this is going to be. But if it wasn’t a bit scary, I don’t think it would really be a challenge. I am smart about this kind of thing. I am not going to push myself to the point of no return. So what is the very worst thing that could happen? I might have to stop part way through the run. That’s it. And even then I can still be happy about giving it my best. So here we go. I am all signed up and will be running my first half marathon September 18 with the goal of crossing the finish line. Wish me luck.

The Army Run

This run is for a truly great cause. The run raises money to help support sick or injured soldiers and to help support the families of our military. These are very special people that deserve our help and support. Here is a group of Canadians going out there, willing to put everything on the line in support of their country. To me, it is a great honour to have the opportunity to participate in this run with these very special people. I am very much looking forward to meeting them and being able to say thank you!

The Three Stages of the Kilt Run

It was suggested to me by one of my friends that I should write a post on my experience with the Kilt Run. At first I really didn't think there was enough to write about focusing on a single event. After giving this some though I came to realize just how much has been going on in my life around this run. So thanks for the suggestion and here it is.

The Three Stages of the Kilt Run

Stage 1: Preparation

I started think that I would be able to do this 8K run very early this spring and started preparing for it. It really gave me something to focus my interest in running on. I did a quite a bit of reading on different running techniques, I sought out advice on the proper type of shoe and clothing and I began to put together my own training program. I participated in two other 5K races to help prepare myself for what it would be like to start in a crowd.

When I started back at running this spring, most of my training was done alone, running the back roads of our neighbourhood. I use the term "neighbourhood" loosely. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we live in a secluded rural setting. My neighbours have gotten used to seeing me out running as much as five times a week. Days that I was not actually out running, I was working out at home. Preparing for this race was taking up quite a lot of my time and focus. Between karate and running evenings were full. And quite frankly I was really enjoying myself.

Now I had the mental demands of karate and the added physical demand of training for the Kilt Run. The big race was quickly approaching and I felt ready and eager.

Stage 2: The Day of the Race

Here it was, July 2, 2011. The big day had finally arrived. I was excited but calm. This in itself surprised me a bit. I the not very distant past, something as big as this in my life would have had me sleepless for a number of days and unable to focus on or even think about anything else. This often resulted in my wish to just get it over with so I could go back to normal life. But instead, here I was, sleeping well, focused on life and moving forward.

This new-found calmness I attribute first and foremost to my training at Sakura Martial Arts followed closely by my running. I learned how to train for running largely by what I was taught in karate, which gave me the ability and discipline to stay focused and work hard. Both disciplines combined have brought a strengthening of resolve and a clarity of purpose to my life. Now here it was, race day. I got up on the morning of the 2nd, well rested and ready to go. Now all I had to do was keep it together until the start of the race scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

My wife and I decided to go into town in the early afternoon to pick up my race number and kilt and to have a look around at some of the activities that were going on. This would allow us to beat any kind of rush and to be able to go back home for a late lunch and a bit of time to relax before the race.

We came back into town around 4:00 to watch the tug-of-war competition. It was quite fun to look around and see more and more people showing up in kilts. I have never seen that many men wearing a dress, gathered in one location before.

Around 5:00 we went to the dojo, which is located right across from the Start/Finish line, to meet up with the other seven people from the club that were participating in the race. At this point I have to admit that I was starting to feel some nerves. But I was still feeling together and ready. I kept telling myself that it was just 8K. By this time in my training, I had run this distance more than a dozen times and on much hillier terrain. I can do this, but O MY it was HOT. We donned our kilts and went out into the gathering crowd.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing! The couple of previous races I entered in had no more than 100 participants. Now, here I was being led to the starting line by a pipe-and-drum band with just under 1,100 other runners. It was amazing! The atmosphere among the runners was like a huge party. Everybody was upbeat, happy and ready to go.

The start was a shotgun start. I didn't know the significance of that until a few days after the race. The shotgun went off and the runners began filing throughout the starting gate. I had decided to place myself back from the start toward the back of the crowd, just to avoid getting trampled. As it turned out, all the runners filed through the starting gate in a very orderly fashion. As I got up to the start, I noticed a big timer that showed 1:30. It had taken me that long just to cross the starting line. Off I went, adrenaline pumping,  pacer running in my hand and my iPod playing my music track that I had set up for the race.

At first I was concerned that I was doing something wrong. I was passing people at a very quick pace. I had practiced running at this pace. How could it be wrong? I decided not to worry about it, run my plan and just go for it, so that was what I did. Deep breathing, keeping my pace, watching my form and passing people at every opportunity.

After about 2K I saw Sensei Laurie. She was on the other side of a group I had just gone around. Later, she told me that at this stage of the race, I was her "rabbit". She was just going to keep me in sight and match my pace.

At 3K we hit the golf course part of the run. No trees, no shade, just lots of heat and man it was hot. I started to feel like I was running on top of a hotplate. 2K into the golf course part of the run Sensei decided to pass me. I was hot and felt like I was slowing down. Very little passing going on now. There were probably more people passing me than I was passing. But when I watched Sensei go by I thought, "No way am I slowing now. I can do this! It is just time to dig down and go!" So that is what I did. Sensei became my rabbit. I kept pace with her staying behind by not more than 10 feet.

We finally came to the end of the golf course part of the run and were approaching a water station. Very unexpectedly, a few runners right in front of Sensei stopped at the water station forcing her to come to a sudden stop. I was concentrating so hard on staying behind her that I had to just about jump to avoid crashing right into the bunch of them. I went by at what seemed a very fast pace. I looked behind me to see Sensei coming up even with me.

Less than 2K to go. Sensei and I were running side by side. I was feeling burned out and I know she could tell I was starting to struggle. She stayed right there beside me encouraging me to keep going just by being there. I can do this!! DIG!

We turned the corner onto Gore Street. The finish line was in sight! Two runners suddenly came right up on us. Sensei looked over at me and said, "Come on Brian, LET'S GO!!" And go we did! We sprinted in lockstep to the finish line. No one was going to pass us now!

We crossed the finish line practically side by side. It felt GREAT! To make this run in this heat and cross the finish line with Sensei. What a rush! I was excited, I was gasping for breath, I was pumped, I was ALIVE!!!!!! There couldn't have been a better feeling of accomplishment.

Sensei Laurie and I made our way off to the side and started to watch for the other Sakura runners. I found myself standing beside the finish line, yelling and cheering every runner that came across. I knew what it took because I put it out there and did it myself. We cheered and yelled for every runner and ran around to meet each of the Sakura runners as they came across. What a rush!

After the last of the Sakura runners crossed the finish line, the adrenaline stated to drop off and I headed up to the dojo to change out of my very wet running shirt. Sara and I decided to hang around for a bit to catch some of the awards ceremony. I had cooled down and come back down to earth but I was still filled with a huge feeling of accomplishment. We saw that the times had been posted so I made my way up to the list and found my time. Out of  1098 runners I had placed 324 with a time of 47:58. The target time I had set for myself was 48 minutes so I had beat that and was quite pleased about it. But I really thought I had done a bit better than that. It was a few days later that I found out about the significance of the shotgun start. 47:58 minus 1:30 equals an actual time of 46:28. My best time ever for 8K.

The run was over. All the training I had been doing had paid off. I made it through my first big race. It was a truly great experience. One problem...

Stage 3: Now What!!??