Four Generations Across the Finish Line

Congratulations Bright runners and walkers! It was so great to be out there running and enjoying this day with so many of you. There were indeed some dedicated runners and walkers among us! Aunty Joe running with the stomach flu and Mom running the last 10 km with a wicked calf cramp - they both gave new meaning to the word "determination".  Mike, Kasey, Julia and I also ran the half and Mike beat us all  - rumor is that he did it with only one training run. However, I suspect that chasing down Mountain Goats qualifies as some pretty decent training. We finished in time to watch the 5km runners and walkers - Keely and Hazel, Margaret, Timber, Dawson, Uncle How, Rod and Michelle and Baba and Aunty Hazel (apologies if I've missed someone!). So many others including Aunty Dee and my sister (Ellie’s Aunty Dee) and her family and Jim were out there cheering with sincere Bright enthusiasm. Being a part of these races and even watching them inspires a well of emotion in me. In part, I’m grateful to be fit and healthy enough to do this but I also am so grateful that I have so many beautiful people in my life to share this with.

At the BBQ after the run, it was great to see how all the “little” ones have grown and how they are developing as their own individual beings. I was entranced watching Hazel blow bubbles - her concentration unbroken for what seemed like hours - blowing, mindfully sending her breath through the plastic wand to create the biggest and the greatest number of bubbles that she could. I was fascinated watching little Brayden practice his fierce leadership skills behind the camera. Surely, his photo captured the biggest smiles from the group. For a moment, I thought forward 20 or 30 years and saw him again behind a camera, perhaps a photo journalist ....then I returned back to the present to see Kimmy organizing her miniature water balloons, taking great care to protect and preserve them. I watched my own precious Ellie follow her Aunty Dee and her cousin Taylor around, shy yet curious towards most everyone else.  I felt like I spent most of that afternoon just watching - simply observing. Timber and Noah connected at the hip and then Dawson and Taylor also not leaving each other’s side. As I watched, I wondered if they will remember these moments.

I remember so clearly being one of the “little ones” (albeit always the oldest of all the kids) at these family gatherings. Cherished memories of me and my cousins at Baba and Grampa’s farm remain close to my heart - these times are long ago yet they don’t seem so. We spent many hours playing in the farm fields, picking berries, play acting and creating our own radio shows on tape. We wore gum boots and toques that Baba made us by hand. We ate sunflower seeds from the shells - seeds from great tall sunflowers that Baba had grown and then dried herself. When I remember back to those times spent with family and the farm, all my senses are stimulated: the smell of pastures and berry bushes and freshly shelled peas, the sound of Grandpa’s sneaky chuckle as he prepared to make his winning move in checkers or crib, the bitter crunchy taste of raw rhubarb (from our rhubarb eating contests), the brilliant diversity of color and species in the edible garden…the memories could fill a book. 

These family gatherings make me a little nostalgic. Maybe there’s a part of me that just wants to be a kid again with the freedom to play and create without time pressures and responsibilities. I feel immense gratitude that we, our family can get together and that all of you are healthy and well and truly making this world brighter. But on Sunday night, I found myself missing you all - sad that our visit was so brief.  All my little cousins are grown with their own lives and families - I see Timber and I remember when Mike was exactly that age impersonating Joan Jett into the cassette recorder. I can only imagine what it is like for Baba and Grandpa to see three generations grow before them. Time flies for sure but what a beautiful gift that we were all able to pause from our busy lives and enjoy a visit - to see the evolution of a beautiful family. Thank you all.

Stick to your plan man!

Just three weeks to go! Now is the time to stay focused and be smart. With only three weeks go to, stay committed to your plan and DO NOT try to make up missed workouts. Years back when I was fitness training, the most common mistake people would make leading up to a race was increasing mileage or intensity beyond the plan. Stick to your plan and if you are fighting illness or any sort of physical injury, scale it back. It's better to be slightly under trained as opposed to over trained, fatigued and at increased risk for injury. So if you'r doing the run/walk program, you should be gearing up to do a 16km this weekend, if you're doing the beginner run program - it's 18km and if you're doing the intermediate program, it will be 16km.

A few tips for your last long run and the next three weeks:

1. Run as though it was race day. The Scotia Bank 1/2 starts at 7:00am. My body is stiff as a board at this hour so this weekend, I'm going to make every effort to start my run this early. This is not an easy feat with the little amount of sleep I get. I'll be thinking of all of you out there with me!

2. Eat like it was race day. Eat what you would normally eat before a long run and give yourself enough time to digest. Carbohydrates (skip the bran buds for your pre-race meal though) and small serving of protein will do. During the run, use the fuel that you plan to use during the race.

3. Get your nutrition sorted. If what you ate for breakfast (above) did not sit well with you, practise eating different things for your remaining training runs. Same goes for fuel you plan on using during the run.

4. Check your shoes. Are your shoes on their last treads? Buy new ones now not the day before the race. Buy the brand you're wearing now if you've had success with them.

5. Get some rest. As you lead up to race day, make sure your easy days are easy and your rest days are truly rest days. A four hour hike plus 4 hours of yard work does not constitute a rest day.

And most of all, enjoy your runs. Celebrate that you are healthy enough to run. One year ago, I could barely hike 30 minutes without pain. Yesterday, I did a 21km trail run. It was awesome. My legs feel a bit toasted today but I am loving the fact that I am able to explore my neighbourhood - places that I could never travel by car - by foot.  When I'm running, it's a time where I feel like I can be fully present. I can absorb and observe what's around me or just listen to the rhythm of my breath.  I celebrate that my health allows me to move my body in this way and do something I love - to run.

I hope you are loving it too!