Every Day is a Good Day When You Run

Today was yet another learning day for me. A friend of mine (Gary Trepanier, who is a very good runner and someone that I can learn a lot from) and I had been planning a morning run for a couple of weeks now. The original goal was to do a 28km run, but as we turned the corner into this week it was becoming obvious that we may not be doing the full 28. We may not be running at all. Winter was declaring itself as "arrived" in Montreal, and we started getting snow Sunday night. Yesterday I went for a short 2km run to test the roads, and make a call. An email exchange later, and we were committed to doing the run today. Yes, it snowed again over night, and the temperature was hovering around zero degrees so it was going from snow, to rain, to snow, to more rain, etc. etc. etc. When I woke up this morning it looked like crap outside.

I know it may sound like whining, but I am going somewhere with this. My friends that are into Ultra Marathon running are probably saying I'm just being a pussy. That's cool.

We laced up, and went outside to do some warming up. When the GPS signals were locked in, we took off down my street on the course I charted weeks before. By the time we were 2km into the race, our shoes were completed saturated with cold water, and every street corner seemed to be a collection of freezing ice water, and slush. Not cool. The course I charted is nothing but hills. Up down (more up than down it seems), and some good steep climbs as well. At one point Gary commented (as we were jumping over snow banks, and running along the tops of them)... "I thought this would be a road run. This is more like Cross Country." It was, and it was fun.

Before long we were laughing, chatting about running, technique, and other things. We started to forget about our freezing cold feet, and the chunks of slush and water that were hitting us as cars passed by. We got to my favorite place on the course - the ascent up Mont Royal (or Mount Royal for the people that have problems figuring out the obvious). We decided that even though the road was still a little messy, we would go up and over to the other side. At this point we had run for 12.5km's, and were a little tired from running in the snow, slush, cold, and mist. That was a great workout, and when we got to the top we were both very happy. It's a 3km run uphill at a good incline, and this is pretty tough on a good day... but today it was pretty brutal.

Here's a picture of Gary as we are approaching the top of Mont Royal, and getting ready to go down the other side.

When we got down the other side, we headed for a path that would take us home. We were both tired, cold, and totally wet by now due to the fog along the entire road up and down the mountain. Again, I'm not complaining... we loved every minute of it.

When we got back to my place we were both happy... after completing 23km's of the course (I will do the remaining 5 on Friday or something). My wife chatted with us about the run, and we told here about the route, and the fact that we were soaked, cold, and hungry. We also spoke about the fact that we did not see a single other runner out today... and for me that was especially strange, as I am used to seeing tonnes. Her reply back to us was "you beat the elements". How true... and a lesson for me.

Running is an amazing activity, and it gives me clarity, joy, and energy. What I never really realized before was that every run (especially those in the Winter) is not going to be a rosy as the others. I do not live in a city where it is warm all year around, so I have to face the facts that I'm going to be battling these elements more than once in my life - and I will for sure. I won't stop, and in many ways I can't stop. If I do, my body will complain, and I will get sore, and cramp... somewhat how a person feels sore after running for the first time.

I'm looking forward to the next time when Mother Nature throws a curve ball at us, and thinks she will keep the roads clear of runners. And hopefully, the next time I'm out... I'll see a few more people that feel the same way as I do now.

Mark
"Every day is a good day when you run"