To run or not to run, that is the question

As a runner, I am devastated when I am sidelined by an injury or a sickness, so you can imagine what I go through when faced with a difficult decision to pull myself from a race. That is what I went through for weeks concerning the Around the Bay 30k. I signed up for it months ago and was very excited to run this event for the first time. I have heard such amazing things about it and I decided that if there was going to be a race to change my ‘no training in the dead of winter’ rule, it would be this one. Training started great.  No matter how cold it was, I was bundled up and out there doing what I could, even though it was hard on the ego to slow down. Then I got sick, just a cold I thought. It would go away, and then come back and so on and so on. Then I started to sound like Kathleen Turner and I knew it was time to see the doctor because no matter how much over the counter stuff I was popping, it was not going away. Within minutes I was diagnosed with a sinus infection. Awesome. Four weeks after that first sniffle I find out that I need antibiotics to get me back to training, and then after five days after that I was finally feeling better.

I was in knots over the condition I would be in come March 30^th. I knew that I could probably just run it -yeah no biggie, it’s only 30k – which is awesome to say and makes me proud of how my running has strengthened over the past few years, but who knew how I would feel afterwards?  With a couple of spring races coming up in the following weeks, I wanted to be at my best. It was a very difficult decision, but when I finally decided to sell my race bib I felt like a weight had been lifted and I knew that it was the smartest decision to make. I sold my entry not long after that and turned my focus back to training smarter for the rest of my race season.

I won’t be lining up with my runner friends on the 30^th, but I will be sending them speedy thoughts! I am looking forward to rest of my season being healthy and strong.

Have you ever had to make the difficult decision not to run a race? How did you deal with it?

 

I’ve got the Music in me – Part 2

When I run I have to listen to music. Like for real, I have to listen to music. Not only do I have to listen to music but I will spend hours picking the perfect songs to add to my playlist and if after a run I feel like it doesn’t fit, I delete it instantly and continue my search for more (No one is safe as even Beyonce’s Single Ladies got the axe after a 10k race). I have a wide variety of music that I like to listen to, Foo Fighters to Kanye, you name it I listen to it…..Just no country and no Taylor Swift or One Direction or Selena Gomez…..well, I think you get the idea. Below I have just a few songs that carry me on both my training runs and races. I love to get lost in my music and enjoy my day dreams…..If you’re lucky I will share some of those said day dreams in this post. For the sake of this post let’s say that I am running 10k. Oh and one more thing. Please don’t judge my taste in music, thank you.

When I start off my run, I like something upbeat, cheesy and pop-y, something like…..Pitbull!. Yep, love me some Timber. Not only is it terribly cheesy but it features Ke$ha! Hello!!! Winner! It gets me warmed up and feeling good. I like to think positive quotes and thoughts to set me off on the right foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This takes me straight into some Avicii…really I love any Avicii at this point; I Could Be the One, Wake Me Up, or more recently Hey Brother. Now I’m getting nice and warm and my breathing has settled into a nice comfortable breathing pattern.

Are you ready for super cheese? How about some Owl City featuring good old Canadian born Carly Rae and It’s always a good time, this gets me smiling and tries to encourage me to “have a good time” – get it?? 😉

At this point I am at about 5 or 6K into my 10K, so I’m starting to pump my legs faster and harder and I need MKTO, Thank you. This song reminds me of the retreat I went on last March with an incredible group of ladies who have inspired me more than they will ever know, so this song takes me to a happy emotional place that gets my heart even more full. I’m smiling, I’m having fun and this is what I think look like:

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah…not quite right, in reality this is what I look like all sweaty and red in the face with flared nostrils…cute

 

 

 

 

 

Now is when I need to fly so this is when I need some old fashioned musical theatre. My go to song? Defying Gravity from Wicked and when this song comes on I am speeding and my legs are flying. Especially when it gets to the following part: “I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so, some things I cannot change but till I try, I’ll never know!” It reminds me that a lot of people look at me and think I don’t look like a typical runner, so I must not be capable of achieving my race goals. I use that as motivation to keep going and prove that I can and will succeed. It is also during this song that I start to envision my success that I hope will come as a runner, and this is what I see in my mind:

 

 

 

 

 

As I am nearing the end of my 10k I need some angry music, queue Kanye West – “uh huh honey” and I Am A God. Enough said, no? I actually have a plethora of Kanye to listen to as I run. I need serious inspiration to get my game face on:

 

 

 

 

 

Some might find it a bit much to spend so much time putting together a playlist, but for me it’s a typical Monday J My music inspires me to run faster, further and stronger.

Do you listen to music while training and racing? What do you like to keep you going?