NOTE: This blog was written while I was in the Bluenose Marathon. Not literally, mind you…. I “mentally” wrote it… it would have been too difficult to participate while carrying a laptop!

• I love the atmosphere right before the race…. Everyone is lined up, jumping in place, and ready to get ‘er done!
• I will be the first to say I am NOT a runner… I choose to walk, but I still work on a pace goal. Before the race I always say “I’m walking…. It’s only 10 kilometers”. During the race, however, it certainly doesn’t feel like “only” 10 kilometers!
• ½ a kilometer in, my hubby getting caught up in the excitement of all, and taking off on me!
• Seeing the 1km marker and thinking “wow, already? That was easy!”
• Settling into a pace, keeping in mind that it doesn’t matter who is in front of me or who is behind me, I’m not racing against them… I race against my last year self.
• Thinking racing against my last year self would be a lot easier if it was like Mario Kart, where you would see a “ghost you” of a previous route to help keep pace with
• The thrill of successfully overcoming the first hill
• Thinking to myself as I struggled to get my breathing back under control after that first hill “I’m sure glad I quit smoking 8 ½ years ago or this breathing thing would be WAY harder!”
• Coming up on the MacDonald Bridge, heading over to Dartmouth and being excited about it
• The random little kids along the race route sticking their hands out for high fives
• Muscles starting to scream but ignoring it and keeping on course
• Being happy, and at the same time thinking “I’ve ONLY gone 5KM?” when reaching the halfway point
• Seeing a racer from Independent Living NS running the 10km race with his crutches and fully appreciating that truly ANYONE can do it. No excuses.
• Meeting my hubby on the race route, slightly ahead of me and being proud of myself that even though he took off ahead of me, at that point in the race he was only “slightly” ahead of me.
• At 5 ½ kilometers, my FitBit going crazy, announcing that I’d already reached my 10,000 a step day goal
• Feeling the start of a blister… and ignoring it
• Feeling the start of pain in my feet and ankles… and ignoring it
• Trying to drink the water one of the awesome volunteers handed to me, instead of wearing it
• Approaching the MacDonald Bridge on the way back to Halifax and it looking like Mount Everest.
• Repeating to myself “just keep swimming just keep swimming just keep swimming”
• A woman in a wheelchair keeping pace with me, and cheering ME on
• Reaching the end of the bridge and realizing that I’ve left nothing in my “tank” for that last final sprint to the finish line. Thinking to myself “just as long as I finish”
• Every time someone says my name, looking to see if I know them, only to again remember my name is on my race bib
• The blister on my foot becoming more pronounced…. And still ignoring it
• Thinking that by participating every year, it helped me stay motivated to keep active in the winter. Because waiting for nice weather to start training for a May race was just not enough time. My muscle memory is forgetful.
• Feeling my lungs screaming as I struggle to catch my breath on the last major hill
• Seeing the finish line in sight, and a second wind coming from nowhere, that DOES allow me to do a final push to the end
• The first glass of water post-race that I can actually drink and not wear
• Receiving my medal. Even though it’s a participant medal, I have all of mine hung up
• Realizing at the end of the race, it doesn’t matter what my time was. As long as I crossed the finish line feeling like I was going to pass out, I would know that every walk and training session I had done prior to today had led me to, for this year, give everything I had. No regrets.
• Seeing that it was before noon and I already had over 17,000 steps clocked on FitBit, which was good…. Considering after noon I would probably have six…
• Hobbling into the Metro Centre to grab food and drinks, and realizing that I am already looking forward to next year!

 

Image courtesy of iosphere  / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Source Url: http://gobelmont.ca/why-i-bluenose-and-why-you-should-too/