I had planned to write this entry on Sunday night, however the day
proved a little too emotional and exhausting which meant that I had a hard time
putting my words into any sort of order.
As great as Terry Fox was (which you can read about here) this race had
a much bigger impact on me. I have
decided to do something a little different with this entry. What is going to follow is actually my
journal entry from the 24th.
As I mentioned Sunday was pretty emotional so I will add in the missing
pieces to help me create the complete picture and try to make coherent some of
the rambling. The entry was written in
three sections and large parts of it were written with tears running down my
face. I will keep the journal entry in
black with anything I’m adding in red.
Sun May 24/15 – Part 1
It is race day and of course my
body figures 5am is a good time to wake up.
I’m excited and nervous. My tummy
is full of butterflies but I’m ready and determined. I am just going to try and remember that for
every uphill there will be a downhill. As
long as I keep moving I will be kicking ass. (By the
end of the race I was arguing this point.
Logic says since we ended at the same spot we started that up and down
balanced out but it sure felt like there was a lot more up than down.)
My goal today is to have fun, do
my best and just enjoy the day. Canmore
is beautiful. I’m with friends &
doing something I enjoy. Today will be
awesome.
Sun May 24/15 – Part 2
I survived. It was way harder than even I could have
expected. There were a couple of quite
intense hills. It was really hot. I did it though.
I had one scary moment after the
race. I was eating a cookie and suddenly
felt horrible. I’m pretty sure I was
close to passing out. I got tunnel
vision and the world got hazy.
Apparently I also got quite pale.
We moved to the shade and Tracy got me water. It was pretty scary but I guess it shows I
left it all on the trail. (Well at the very least I worked hard and pushed myself
harder than I have ever pushed myself before.
I suspect it was a combination of many factors but I will never forget
that feeling or how grateful to all of my friends for making sure I was okay.)
It was an emotional run. As we were getting close to the end I started
to get choked up. Someone yelled ‘you
are almost there’ and I just had this wave of emotion. I actually had to
slow down and stop on the hill because when I start to tear up my throat gets
super tight and trying to climb a hill as you are doing that is a bit
challenging. This was the only time I
actually had to stop on the race so I could catch my breath and get my head
right so I could keep going. Then
as I came around the last corner to head towards the
finish line I saw Daisy’s (my trainer)
friends, Anna and John with a sign for me.
As I looked down towards the finish line getting ready to run to the
finish I was greeted with a huge surprise. Anne and Rose (two friends
from work and part of my theatre crew) were there with signs and hats
and I started crying. I felt so loved it
was amazing. As
previously noted I can’t cry and run at the same time so I walked across the
finish line but I will remember that moment anyway. It was worth the minute or so it probably
cost me on my time. I have said it
before I have the world’s best friends!
Just after I finished a stranger
came up and gave me a huge hug. She told
me she finished last in the 5K last year and that she has since lost 125
pounds. She came over to congratulate me
and tell me she was proud and that I could do it. It was such a very cool genuine moment. (It was also a little
strange for me. I’m not used to hugging
random sweaty strangers but she was very lovely. This journey has offered me such a great
opportunity to meet people. It is
helping me be more open to so many experiences and just embrace them for what
they are. It is showing me that for all
the people who have called me names, made fun of me or anything else that there
are just as many amazing people ready to cheer me on and encourage me. I truly feel blessed and amazing.
As hard as today was I can’t wait
to do it again. I didn’t run as much as
I had hoped or planned but I do think I beat my Terry Fox run time although I
don’t know for sure yet. I am so proud
of what I have done. I’m only going to
get stronger and better. It is such a
weird mix of emotions. I’m happy, sad,
tired and proud. It is such a huge
accomplishment.
The next
little section is written to my friend Will who passed away in 2011. Anytime I do amazing things he is never far
from my mind. I miss you Will and
wish you were here to share this. You
were the first person to really believe in me and the first to convince me that
I am special and capable. You opened the
door for this journey. I will forever be
grateful of that.
Sun May 24/15 – Part 3
The time is in. It took me 1 hour 13 minutes and 1
second. I can’t help but be proud of
that. It was 3 minutes faster than Terry
Fox and the course was way more difficult.
We ended up doing the same trail as the strollers which apparently is a
much harder race because you have to climb up again before the finish
line. I am truly just happy that it all
worked out. I will get faster and
stronger. I do have to say as much as I
question my sanity during the run I do truly love this. I don’t know I like running so much but I
have never felt anything else like it. I
can’t wait until I can just relax into the run and go.
Anyway I’m exhausted, sunburnt,
and pretty much ready for bed. My brain
isn’t making much sense anymore.
I am so glad that I signed up for this race. I knew it was going to be challenging and I
do very strongly question the course description that lists “moderate hills”
but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was
tough enough to make me want to keep improving myself but I still manage to at
least accomplish one of my goals (to be my Terry Fox time) so I still get that
rush of pride. I can’t wait to see where
this journey will take me next.
Here are a few photos from the race.
Before sharing the photos though I would like to say thank you to
everyone who have supported me on this journey so far. Thank you to all my friends, old and
new. A special thank you to Rose, Anne,
Anna and John for coming out with signs to cheer me on – it made my day. Also a special thank you to the stranger that
shared her story with me – it is so inspiring to know other people are doing
this journey too. Most of all I want to
thank my trainer. She not only showed me
a new way to train to run but she has also talked me through many challenging
moments including Sunday’s race. Daisy
has helped me come a long way in the last 6 months. I am grateful and blessed for all the people
I have in my life.
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| My crazy trainer and I pre-race. |
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| Two of my longest friends - Kendall, Tracy and little Grayson. |
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| Rose, Daisy, Me, Anna, John, Tracy, Kendall Anne, Grayson |
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| Rose, John, me, Anne, Kendall Anna, Daisy, Tracy, Grayson |
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| I love these shots together and how much better my shirt fits now. As soon as I put them together I felt a huge wave of pride and accomplishment. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. |
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