The Rocket Launch
Welcome to the starting line.
I’ve been threatening to create a little corner of the internet for awhile now, and if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that there is no time like the present. It’s officially time to lace up and hit the ground running.
The timing just feels right. I don’t know about you, but the arbitrary strike of midnight which turns one year into the next has never felt better. I remember being terrified in 2000 that the world would end at 12:01. Throughout 2020 there were actual moments where I feared we wouldn’t make it that far. I am grateful to be here.
All this said, in spite of the emotional roller coaster of a global pandemic and having all of our running events cancelled, I truly found my stride. Once I accepted the fate of the year that was upon us, I embraced the “non-season” with full force and allowed space in my calendar to experience things I never would have otherwise allowed for myself. Running in a dangerous time was, dare I say it, good to me. Actually, it was GREAT to me. I became an ultra-marathoner 3x over, achieved unofficial PR’s in the marathon and half marathon distances, did some EPIC trail running, and most importantly, used running as a tool to raise over $6600 for cancer research. (Stay tuned for future #ThrowbackThursday posts where I plan on diving into these experiences in more detail.)
Taking the pressure off of my performance taught me to get out of my head and into the moment. My coach often tells my peers and I to “Run like Kipchoge”. Although none of us will likely be running a sub 2-hour marathon any time soon, there is merit in that statement. Have you ever googled a picture of the guy? He is almost always smiling. The man understands gratitude. He runs with it literally plastered on his face. Did you know that if you smile when you’re running it tricks your brain into thinking it’s easier and you therefore run more efficiently? Seriously. #science. We should all be grinning cheek to cheek to be running in 2021. We friggin’ MADE IT.
So with a new year and a clean slate it is time to set new goals. After all, I owe it to you guys to give you a little heads up as to what you can expect from this whole blogging thing:
I am optimistically registered for a spring marathon. Fortunately, I live in the East coast of Canada where our government has been very proactive with Covid-19 enforcement and our case numbers are currently quite low. Should the show go on, it’s my hope to finally achieve an official Boston Marathon qualifying time. Technically, the time to beat is 3:35. Realistically, I will need to run a 3:30 or better to ensure my spot amongst all the competition. Last spring when my marathon was cancelled because of the pandemic I ran a time trial and achieved a time of 3:27:51. I am hopeful.
Come September I hope to run a 125km trail ultra at The Ultra-Trail Harricana in Quebec. After falling in love with big mileage in 2020 I decided to set my sights on what will inevitably be a long and gruelling process of qualifying for the sufferfest that is the Western States 100. This could take years, so I better get warmed up.
So with that, welcome to the team. What are you setting your sights on for 2021?
x Rocket