Autumn Morning

Waking up this morning I made the decision to go to the gym to do some interval training to improve my speed. As I opened the blind and saw the bright blue sky and the warm sun, I realised it was the perfect morning for a run by the canal. I easily ran 10km today with the cool autumn air keeping my body temperature at a reasonable level...thankfully. As I sit here writing, I feel fatigued and a little sore but it was well worth it.

Upon registering for the Brighton Marathon, I entered as a 'general entrant' meaning I wouldn't have to raise money for charity if I didn't want to. However, I have been inspired by the recent Great North Run participants and I am currently doing some research of charities to run for. I like my mom's idea of raising money to help families affected by cancer in my local area. The challenge is finding the right one. I'd like to go for a smaller organisation that has just started or is not getting as much funding as the others. Any suggestions would be great. In the meantime, I will keep searching.   

The photos below are from one of my running routes. I passed all of these things on my run today.

 Entry to the Lakes

 Sailing Club at Bury Lake

 Weeping Willows near Batchworth Lock

 Boathouses near Batchworth Lock

World's Best Pub

Fear

fear [feer] -noun

1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

2. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.

3. that which causes a feeling of being afraid; that of which a person is afraid

What is it that we fear the most? Is it darkness? Loneliness? Defeat? Disease? Or is it the fear of success? Failure?

When we do fear, how do we feel? How do we react?

The fear of success is a complicated one. As individuals, we feel internal bliss when we achieve a goal and obtain personal bests. The fear is how others perceive us to be. Isn't it?

When running the marathon, I fear I won't complete it. I fear I will let others down. I fear that my best just isn't good enough. I feel as though this will be an emotional battle as well as a physical battle to complete.

I admit - the challenge is what I fear the most, but...I love it!

Sunrise

 

sun·rise [suhn-rahyz] - noun

1. the rise or ascent of the sun above the horizon in the morning.

2. the atmospheric and scenic phenomena accompanying this.

3. the time when half the sun has risen above the horizon.

 

Sitting at our foldaway table by the large window, thinking of the days gone by and the week ahead, I'm filled with complete peacefulness. The sun is rising for a new day and the rest of the neighbourhood seems to be snuggled in their beds for a Saturday morning lie in. No breath of wind. Silence.

 

I debate going for a run but feeling the chill from the outside and seeing the near frost on the cars, I relax. I tell myself to wait just a few hours, but I feel anxious. Trying to pass time and after doing a little tidy around our home, I step out into the sunshine and shiver. It is just a few degrees above freezing. I know I will warm up once I start running but I can't bare it. I'm off to the gym.

 

Going to the gym isn't necessarily a bad thing. A little cross training is supposed to be good for a long distance runner. I run 5km in approximately 28 minutes as a warm up. It's no longer cold. With sweat pouring down my face I head for the weights. The peacefulness still exists within me and in the atmosphere. It's good to have the workout done well before nine o'clock. I feel confident and ready for the day ahead.

The Fly

The fly is a creature that flies around and, well, enjoys being a fly. Its bad points include hanging around horse manure. The good points is that they are seriously fun to smoosh with a fly swatter--my favorite! The trouble is, what do you do when you are running in wooded area and as you inhale you literally devour every fly in sight? Today, that was my challenge. I believe I spent more time and energy trying to dodge the suckers than actually running. Then, I began to wonder if they thought I was manure...did I actually smell that bad? or were they just hanging around the damp areas as they tend to do. I prefer the later reasoning. I believe a fly even has more friends than you and I, and that includes our facebook friends. There are millions of them hanging out in a large group having a big social gathering and just being in the way. Don't they have anything better to do? For mid-week, it was a short 4 mile run but satisfying. Let's hope those flies mind their own business next time.

Decisions

de·ci·sion [dih-sizh-uhn] - noun
1. the act or process of deciding; determination, as of a question or doubt, by making a judgment:
2. the act of or need for making up one's mind

A decision is something that most of us struggle with -- deciding what we eat, what type of red we would like to drink, what clothes we want to wear, and even what path we would like to take. As a child, the only decisions you have to make in life are based on play -- what toy, what cartoon, what imaginary friend -- it all seems quite simple. However, while growing up no one really tells us the importance of how your decisions greatly impact your future. The decisions you make regarding friends and family, education and career, dreams and reality always bring us to the present.

Over the past ten years I've struggled to make decisions. I've struggled to be selfish. I've struggled to bring complete happiness into my life. On Thursday, September 11th, 2008, I took on an adventure that has been beyond anything I ever imagined. The decision for the adventure was one of the most difficult. Battling with the thought of being away from family and close friends and giving up the ever so familiar for the complete unknown by myself was extremely challenging. I left the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada (population: 10,000) for London, England (population: approximately 8,000,000). I resigned from an excellent school on the Burin Peninsula to teach math in inner city London. When I look back on the struggles, stress and nervousness at that time, I laugh to myself wondering why I didn't do this earlier. Europe is magical - no photo does it justice. The cultures, languages, cuisine, and modes of transportation make you laugh at times and stand in shock at others. I know this was the right decision for me!

Over the past year I've been struggling with the motivation to keep fit and stay fit. While watching TV coverage of the Virgin 2010 London Marathon I was inspired. I was inspired by the people, both young and old alike, who have defeated the odds against diseases such as cancer and cystic fibrosis. Inspired by people who ran with amputations and severe vision impairment. So, sitting on the couch with a bag of pretzels in one hand and a breezer in the other, I thought to myself 'if they can do it, why can't I?'. So the decision was made and a few hours later I had entered myself in the second ever 2011 Brighton Marathon. I've never been a big runner, but I have completed a few cross country races during my school days and have completed the Tely 10 in St. John's, Newfoundland (10 miles).

My boyfriend, Mark, and my brother, Perry, convinced me to create a blog so that friends and family could track my training progress and send me messages of support. I've never done anything like this before, but so far I'm excited! I hope you enjoy reading about my struggles and triumphs and hopefully it will be a decision I won't regret.