Well I’m down to less than a week until the Manitoba Marathon. It has been a whirlwind over the last few weeks as I only committed to participating in the relay 6 weeks ago. I’ve never considered myself a runner. I had even taken it as far as labeling myself as a non-runner.
My passion for the past 18 months has been yoga, more specifically Hot yoga at my local Moksha yoga studio. I love how I feel when I enter the hot room; my body relaxes, my breathing slows, my mind quiets. It’s my place, it’s my time, it’s all about me. Yes, I’m a mom and I just said something was all about me!
Right now, running is my “all about me” activity of choice. I’m learning to allow running to free my mind, quiet the non-stop voice in my head and allow myself to just run. It was easy to get started. I have a goal. To run 4.38 miles (7.06 Km) on June 17th, Father’s Day.
The goal came from a commitment I made to my sister in-law to participate with her on a relay team for the Manitoba Marathon. She’s a runner. With two half marathons under her belt and countless miles on numerous pairs of shoes she’s what I call a runner. I’ve always admired her determination and commitment and now I get to be a part of her running journey.
So with no running experience I bought a good pair of shoes and hit the road. In six short weeks I’ve gone from feeling like I was going to drop dead after 1.5 miles (2.4 Km) to running a four mile (6.4 Km) loop and feeling great!
I’ve managed to run more than 42 miles (68.8 Km) in the past six weeks while getting myself ready for the big day. I keep track and map my runs at MapMyRUN – one of my What We’re Lovin’ for June items. My running journey has just begun. I can’t say that I love it but I sure love the way I feel and that feeling is enough to keep me pounding the pavement for a while longer.
To get ready for race day, this Saturday night I’ll be making a pasta dinner. The recipe I have picked out is Whole Wheat Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach. This recipe uses fresh herbs and I just happen to have a fantastic supply of fresh basil, oregano and parsley growing in my garden!
Before, during and after race day I’ll also be drinking plenty of water. Check out Kristy’s post Water and You on the importance of keeping yourself hydrated and how to get on the right track if you are not a water lover.
Best of luck and happy running to all the Manitoba Marathon participants. See you there…gotta run!
Be Well…Jenn
Comments are closed.