“I missed my goal time by light years” and “At least we finished…” are two of the first things I heard, as I crossed the finish line from some fellow runners. Proud of our finishing moments, I was relieved to hear that missed goals happen to all of us and that I wasn’t the only one this time around. I had an ambitious PR sub-50:00 in sight for yesterday’s race, after the fantastic race I had 3 weeks ago at the Toronto Yonge Street 10K, but unfortunately I fell short at 56:58. There are a few factors that I think may have attributed to a less than stellar performance (hydration, focus, lack of rest, heat, etc), but you learn from them and move on. It was beyond wonderful to see thousands of runners out to support Camp Ooch in one of Eastern Canada’s biggest races, raising over $2 million-Nice work! 🙂

My first 3K felt good; I was warm, happy, energized and went hard with my goal in mind, weaving in and out of runners, trying to find my groove amongst the 26,000 around me. However I think I gave too much too soon. Rounding the 6K mark, I felt spent and exhausted and wasn’t sure how I would finish. My mind kept wandering back to how speedy I was 3 weeks prior. I thought this warm heat would be the boost I needed in helping me reach my goal, but I don’t think I have quite acclimatized to these summer temps.  At 8K, it must have been the look on my face or the fact that I was winded and beet red, but thankfully a humble gentleman rallied my spirits and paced me to the 9K mark at which point I was motivated to pull off a strong finish.

That’s the amazing thing about running, everyone has each others back, whether it’s cheering each other on or picking strangers up when they are about to give up. Those simple words “You got this” and “Come on we’re almost there” are sometimes all you need to help get you to that finish line. With every race, I am amazed at the new things I learn to love about this sport.

Now to gear up the training for our next stop, Niagara Falls Womens Half Marathon, who’s with me? Did I mention there is wine?

Run because you can. xx