Half Marathon Shopping (& A Photo of Mr. Whitlock)

Some of my running pals and me with the famous long distance record-breaker Ed Whitlock a couple of years ago. Whitlock is known for smashing age-group world records. Last fall, he ran the Toronto Marathon in 3:30:26 at the age of 81. That was over 16 minutes faster than the previous age 81 best. And over an hour faster than my first marathon at age 46.

I need to sign up for another half marathon. I write this as the rest of the training group are running hill repeats tonight. I should have been there, but instead, was so caught up in computer tasks that I sailed right through dinnertime and leave-the-house-now-before-the-run-group-leaves-without-you time. Not feeling overly guilty though, because this morning's spin and core strength classes have rendered various body parts sufficiently sore.

Still, this half marathon addiction needs to be abated and the sooner in the season, the better. I don't want to drive far, and am not interested in a super huge event this time. Mississauga half is too close for comfort at 11 days away - I have not been keeping up the mileage. Then I remembered a running acquaintance mentioning the Barrie half. That would be perfect, I thought. Nice and close to home, looks like a nice route, not very expensive, and it's in mid-June. Perfect! 

But wait. June 16. That somehow rings a bell...The mud run? I checked. Nope. That's June 15. Yeeahhch (trying to mimic the sound I made when I imagined slogging through the Met Con Blue mountain adventure race/mud run on Saturday then plunging right in to a half marathon on Sunday.) Then, I thought, I could do it (your thinking tends to get skewed that way after you hang around with other runners and fitness enthusiasts after awhile. That is why I have signed up for the 5 Peaks trail series again, despite having not fully recovered from a sprained ankle from last year's series. And that is why my friend Janette is full-on running again after taking the required amount of recoup time for her broken leg.) And if it turns out to be an all-out disaster, I could always blog about it in a self-deprecating way!

Was just about to click the "REGISTER NOW!" tab when I thought of something else about that date. I checked my Anne Taintor desk calendar. Yep. I knew it. It's Father's Day. Now, I know my own father would be totally fine with me running a race that day. After all, it will likely be over by noon and then we can have him over for dinner later that same day. The person who I am concerned about is not even my father. It's my husband. The one who will want to be pampered right from the morning onwards. The one who will want his coffee brought to him in the morning, and perhaps even breakfast in bed. The reason I know this, is because for every day of the year, pretty much except his birthday and Father's Day, he makes the coffee and brings it to my bedside first thing in the morning. It is something he started doing all on his own one day, and, as a routine-oriented person, he has continued the tradition, much to my benefit (and now expectation...ha ha. But true.) 

I have not mentioned the idea of me running this Father's Day half marathon yet. But by the end of the evening, I had better mention something about it -- today is the last day they offer that little extra, that little dangling carrot, if you will:  your name printed on your race bib! So complete strangers can cheer you on from the sidelines, exclaiming things like, "Way to go Sandy! You're almost there!" as you have 5km left to go and are thinking, in your state of half-delirium, "THAT is not ALMOST! And how did you know my name?" (But what you say out loud is, "Thank you" and you smile and wave.)

Hmmm, if I got up extra early I could make his coffee and breakfast, deliver it to his bedside, give him a kiss, run the race, get home, shower, and be in the kitchen cooking up Father's Day dinner by the afternoon....

Unless, of course, I get trampled in the mud run the day before and am so sore I can't get out of bed on Father's Day. I wonder if he'd take pity and deliver my coffee....