Today was the big race day at Woodbine for our annual United Way Turf Races. I entered in the 1.5 mile (or 2.5km) distance race and was going to give it my all to try for the win. The toughest competition was with Nick, our company president who has accomplished 3 marathons and has been running for many more years then I have – I’ve only been running regularily since May. Going into the race, I knew my best strategy was to keep pace with Nick and was able to keep up until about the halfway point but he was too strong and fast and blew me away so I kept myself going for a strong second. What really impressed me was I managed to finish the race in 12min 19sec – 1min 21sec FASTER then the test run on the Turf last week!!! Add to that my pace was the best ever – 4min 51sec/km!
UPDATE: The video is posted below. Its fun because we actually start out of the same horse starting gates, run the same track and our announcer even announces the race! What a great experience – next year will be even more fun! Now its time to celebrate…
There are moments in ones life where you grow and become better then who you are. Tonight I had one of those moments meeting someone whom I have, and always will, care for deeply. Some might wonder if there is animosity or hurt in learning how her life has so quickly moved on, but instead I discovered what the true meaning is behind the phrase ‘things are meant to happen for a reason’. We are not always able to choose the paths our lives will take and can only hope that what is meant to be will help to guide us down the road that best works for us. I truly am happy for the course my dear friend’s life has taken and the path she now shares with her new love.
None of this changes all the good that was had during our time and deep down I have a clearer idea of how and where things I did were not quite right and can see how my own path could not have intertwined with hers. She has found what she had always wanted and I am happy to wish her all the best – she deserves nothing less.
I now know, more confidently and wholeheartedly, that one day my own path will begin to focus more clearly and guide me to the life I know I was meant to have. I have already begun the change and look forward to the journey with a re-energized understanding deep down inside that the best really is yet to come.
Today marked the official passing of the 150 km mark for running since early May. For me, this is a milestone to mark as I continue to strive towards new goals and push my physcial limits higher and farther with each run. I’m really looking forward to the race on Wednesday and then even beyond to see how far I can go.
I also realized tonight that running has become an escape for me from the everyday and a way to almost meditate on my body and leave the world behind with every foot step. Running helps to reduce my stress, lift my mood and release my mind from any thoughts that my be bogging it down. All of this and helping to me to feel more fit makes all this work so rewarding and fun – here’s to the next 150 km!
Today I had the chance to try out a run on the turf racetrack where I work – that’s a 1.5 mile horse racing track! This is the same track I’ll be racing on one week from today and I wanted the chance to at least run it once to get a feel for it. The distance feels longer when running on the turf as the grass is relatively thick & soft and there are many divets from the horses so it takes some getting to used to. It almost felt like I was running in slow motion in some parts as you over compensate your strides and raise your feet higher but the experience was good as I now better know what to train for and a speed to beat.
I ran with Jayson, a co-worker and also running the race with me so we had a friendly competition – and yes he out sprinted me in the end – I was out of juice and exhausted! But the best part is our pace was amazing – 5m 06s/km, 13m 41s to complete the entire run!.
Of course, not satisfied enough with that, once I got home and worked out, I took another long run and bested my pace over the longer distance down to 5m 17s/km! I’m lovin’ this and thanks to the run today, I now have the time and info I need to devise a stronger strategy to get myself race ready for next Wednesday…
*bump* I’ve been participating in the Terry Fox Run (5K) every year since 2001 in support of cancer research. If you would like to support my participation please click on the ‘Donate’ button that links to my online pledge sheet. Thank you for your support.
Donations over $20 will recieve a tax deductible receipt in pdf format via email.
With Fall fast approaching, the days are unfortunately growing shorter. I have really increased my running frequency much more the past couple weeks as I prepare for this weekend’s Terry Fox Run as well as a 1.5 mile charity race at work (its one full lap around the turf racetrack and I want to look respectable or even better win!). As such, I got home late tonight and went for my 5K run around High Park just after sunset – my first night run – and the experience was almost surreal!
At first my eyes strained to adjust to the darkness once I ran off the lit path where visibility was extremely low, especially around Grenadier Pond. But then, as my senses became accustomed to the night environment I was much more aware of the light shimmering over the pond from the condo buildings, the cool crisp night air against my skin and then felt that what little twilight was left in the sky created an amazing dreamlike atmosphere throughout the entire run. The handful of other people who were out running, walking or even cycling all seemed to materialize out of the darkness like spirits before my eyes and then vanish into the darkness as I ran past. The trees where nothing more the gently swaying shilouettes against the night sky and at times the path was only visible by the barely perceptible bit of contrast between dark grass and light asphalt under my feet. I was wonderfully lost in the silence of the night and felt a sense of peace and oneness with the world around me as if this night was all mine to own and feel.
What added even more to the dreamlike state was that my mind and body had ingrained every curve, bump, hill and obstacle from all my previous daylight runs that my mind had developed a kind of visual overlay that guided me through the areas where I could barely see anything at all! In other words, my body knew exactly where to step, where to turn, where to avoid landing and what to anticipate nearly every step of the way. This was the first time in a while I truly felt completely confident in my instincts to guide me and completely enjoyed every moment of it! I only wished I could have run even farther for longer (5.86K, my longest run yet)!
I’m really happy to know that overall I seem to be in the best shape of my life and improving with every run, ride and workout AND know that not only do I have more room to improve, but alot to prove to myself and know that all I need to do is pull a Nike and Just Do It!
Once I saw the new iPod Nano with its shorter, wider shape the first thing I thought was what happens to all of us who bought Nike+ armband accessories that fit the previous tall & slim Nanos? Or even worse, was this the end of the Apple/Nike partnership? Far from it thankfully. The new Nano’s are fully Nike+ ready and use the same sensor and transmitter attachment of old, and the site shows a slightly modifed screen display, thanks to the Nano’s now wider (2x?) screen over the previous model.
So to all those I’ve told to wait – aren’t you glad you did? For more details on Nike+, clickie here.
Steve Jobs held a special Apple event at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco this morning and unveiled an entirely new and revamped iPod lineup, including the brand new iPod Touch which offers nearly all the features of the iPhone, sans the phone part.
The complete lineup, revamped include the iPod Shuffle (new colours, including a (Red) version), iPod Nano (a new, stubby shape ‘a little video for everyone’), iPod Classic (formally known as iPod video), iPod Touch (touch screen for all!) and the iPhone (8GB model price drop from $599 to $399!).
Each year the end of summer is marked by the Canadian International Air Show and being a fan of all things that fly I’ve filmed and compiled a 2007 video selection of the show on my YouTube page (click to see) – you can watch the embedded videos below:
