Being a Borealite

On Wednesday August 14th I officially joined a local running club and became part of the Boreal team.  Immediately after I handed in my registration papers I proceeded to run a PB of 30:22 (so close to breaking out of that darn 30 minute finishing time) at the DDO 5k race.  A good omen I hope. 

Tomorrow I will participate in my first team practice.  I am excited and nervous all at once.  Under normal circumstances I will likely only be able to participate in the Wednesday night track training sessions every once in a while because Jarrod works nights.  But since I am very new, I thought going to the track to meet everyone would be a good idea.  Alana will be there, which will certainly make meeting everyone a little easier.  Saturday I will be taking part in the Boreal weekly long run, which I am also nervous about because my longest runs recently have been about 6k, and I am fairly certain that being the new team member I am also the slowest out there... for now.

Refocused

On Saturday August 10th 2013 I had the great honor of meeting the one and only Kathrine Switzer.  Kathrine Switzer was not only the winner of the 1974 NYC Marathon, but in 1967 she broke the gender barrier by becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry (5 years before women were officially allowed to run).  About 4k into her marathon a race official realized that a woman was running in his race, ran after her and tried to rip her numbers off of her.  Mrs Switzer was kind enough to autograph a copy of the below picture for both myself and Alana (mine is already framed and hanging beside my treadmill).

Famous picture I had Kathrine Switzer sign for Alana

It was surreal listening to Kathrine Switzer speak about her experience in the 1967 Boston Marathon.  I was lucky enough to be able to speak with her after she got off stage.  She autographed the picture for myself and Alana, she autographed her book for me and she asked if I had ever completed a marathon.  "Not yet, I am working on running my first half marathon next year" I told her.  How exciting to share my goals with a running legend. A pioneer in women's sports. She signed my book with "Melanie - Remember, the marathon is the reward, but the real VICTORY is the process".  Such an inspiration.  She gave me a hug, we took a picture together, and we said goodbye she made sure to tell Jarrod to "make sure you keep her on the roads". Needless to say, she far exceeded my expectations.

Now that the triathlon is over I have two goals I am focusing on.  The first of which is to complete a 5k race in under 30 minutes in 2013.  The next is completing the Montreal Oasis half marathon in September 2014. 

I know that the including long runs in my training plan at least once per week will be crucial to my success, especially for the half marathon, I have decided to join Alana in the Boreal Running Club.  I will be submitting my registration form on Wednesday.  I am super excited to be officially part of a team, but am also nervous about my ability to keep up with the rest of the members on the Saturday morning long runs.  My first long run will take place on Saturday August 24^th.  Wish me luck!

Triathlete

On July 14^th, 2013 I completed my first triathlon. What an amazing experience.  Here is a photo journal of the day.  I was hoping for a better finish time for the run, but hey, it was over 40 degrees and I was exhausted!