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Showing posts from July, 2012

Running Through My Childhood

Maybe it has to do with waking up in my childhood bedroom; it’s the same, but different.  Gone are the 1970’s flower power wallpaper and my bright yellow canopy bed.  Added is my husband, who’s had the pillow next to mine for much of my adult life.  I’ve returned home different, but the same. I had some time on my hands and new running shoes on my feet.  That combination only means one thing, and I was going to make the most of it.  The first thing I see when I leave my mom’s place is the “big hill”.  I remember being about ten years old, my Dorothy Hamill haircut was blowing in the breeze as I cruised down this monster on my purple banana-seat bike.  I vividly remember thinking, ‘I never want to leave here’.  I ran up and down that hill, and after all these years and all these races, I can attest, it is still big. I leave the old neighborhood via the “big block”, though it is hardly a block at all.  I smile at the mailboxes that have names I remember—I once knew

Spartan Race

Noah and I set off on an unknown adventure last week--the Spartan Race.  It's a boot camp style obstacle course held somewhere in the woods, about an hour north of Toronto. The organizers do not release a course map, so you really have no idea what you are up against.  Our only clue was watching the Spartans who had already finished their race.  They looked dirty and banged up.  Game on! As Noah and I awaited our wave to begin, we were approached by a very tall man in a Spartan costume.  He was the m.c. for the event, but turned the microphone off as he was talking to us.  He also would not let go of my hand.  When  he left, Noah asked "Mom, how come all the guys who hit on you are jacked?".  Whoa, I was hit on?!?!  Cue awkward moment. We jumped into the starting corral and were immendiately pummelled with high pressure hoses.  Then we ran through a series of stink bombs, our wet bodies holding on to the stench.  A mile long series of hills thinned out the herd.  No

Trees. Knees and Bees-- Finger Lake 50

I started off tired.  I had just driven home from Plymouth, Mass, with the hubs and three kids.  Spending the night doing laundry is not part of my normal pre-race routine, but what's a weekend warrior to do... The alarm went off at 3 am and I was out the door at 3:13.  It took about 2.5 hours to get to the race start, and I was thinking of every excuse possible to get a pass on this race and turn around and go to bed.  Unfortunately, everything fell into place and I was at the starting line ready to go at 6:30 am. This race is run by my friend Chris, and I really wanted to see what kind of class act this classy lady would put on.  I was not disappointed.  She really thought of everything.  With the weather predicted to hit 95 degrees, she put a high priority on hydration and runner safety.  I've  never seen so many search and rescue and medical people mulling around a race before. The course was a typical trail race with a mix of single track, double track, paved and unp