I can look excessive for those who run less than me but I work hark to maintain balance and harmony between family, work, friends and laundry. No more than two marathons a year plus a few other races.
Being a full time single mom, I am blessed to have very independent kids and to live near work which allows me to mix in my training and run to work. This way, my kids don't have to suffer from their moms passion. I think my strava has more mileage than my car.
Why do I love running so much? Maybe because I was lost in my twenties and everyone I knew seemed to walk proudly toward their diplomas. Maybe running gives the sense of direction that once felt so inaccessible.
Maybe running makes me feel invincible and strong. It might allow me to meditate and take me far away from daily worries such as bickering children and lost bus passes. It takes me far away from the powerless feeling I get when I try to help my daughter figure out why a shop owner buys 120 boxes of 6 granola bars. He later sells 520 bars and we have to figure out how many are left.
Every morning at 6am, I wake my daughters. Their breakfasts are ready and lunch boxes lay near the door. Mom takes off greeted by the many surprises mother nature has to offer. There's no such thing as bad weather. It's all a matter of clothing!
April 16th 2018 was the day of the the mythical Boston marathon, it's 122nd edition. It was my fourth Boston. With an average of 100 km a week since the beginning of the year and several hilly long runs with solid runners, I was ready to face that journey that still intimidates me the fourth time around.
Monday morning, it's 6 am and I haven't left my hotel room but I can clearly hear the whistling sound of the wind outside. Rain fogs up my windows and the view of a somber wet Boston. I feel like I'm going to the slaughter house on my way to the school bus that will drive us 42 km away from my cozy hotel room. I can't see the rowers this year as the bus windows are covered with humidity.
I wait one and a half hours in the big white tent that will greet 27 000 runners on a muddy slippery ground. After 15 minutes of walking in the rain and cold towards my corral, everything happened fast. All I know is that I went for a long run with thousands of passionate runners.
Two days before running this marathon, there was a sense of deception of having done all this preparation and having to show what we got in this awful weather. Once we crossed the finish line, the feeling shifts to pride for having completed the 2018 Boston marathon in that crazy weather. For my part, not only did I PR but I ranked 7th among Quebec women.
After being greeted in my loving partners arms and having changed in dry clothes, my trembling hands tried to turn my phone on. I was swept with emotion watching a congratulations video my colleagues sent me which then plunged my thoughts to Nicole a life marathoner that left us 2 months ago. She was always the first to congratulate me on facebook...
The 2018 Boston marathon is my biggest sports achievement. Its a challenge that I chose to do knowing full well the preparation it takes, the course, the distance and a finish line after 42 km.
My dear Nicole had to face her challenge without all this preparation, not knowing if there was a finish line. In fact, this challenge, she did not chose it. Fortunately, her family was as powerful and supportive as the volunteers and 500 000 spectators I saw on monday.
Maybe I like running cause it gives me a sense of direction and maybe it is because it gives me time for me. It also may be because I have great admiration for Nicole and others that face big challenges that they did not chose. So maybe its to push my limits and convince myself that I might be strong in a future life challenge bigger than my control...
Maybe its not important to know why I love running. All I know is that monday morning, when I crossed that finish line on Boylston street in Boston, I had never felt so alive. I will therefore try to keep doing it a little more while I can.
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