Happy Day One. New day. New Year. New Playlist.

January 1, 2019

Here it is. Another year. I am hoping this is the year I get skinny again!  Since my minor car accident in August 2017 I have found it hard to get back to running. I still eat like I am running but not so much running which has caused me to gain about 25 pounds since the Tely10. Back in November I joined a Joe Ryan clinic to help me get back into the running scene. I found it has helped me, but it is still discouraging when I am the slowest runner in the group and I am still not back to where I was before the car accident.

Today I woke up in pain, like I usually do, and hung out under my new heated blanket for most of the day. Every once in a while, I would get the urge to go for a run, but I would talk myself out of it. I sent a text to Lori and Shelley at 1:10 pm “I need motivation to for a run. I am stuck in my chair.” Lori replied stating she was on her way to the duck pond and Shelley said that she was already out and about doing things. So, I sunk back into my chair to get comfy…for all about a minute.

I asked Marc if he wanted me to see if my parents can watch the girls for a bit, so we could go for a run starting at the duck pond, he said he was to tired.

I got up and got dressed in my clothes I have started to grow out of. Got ready to head out the door. Forgot my water bottle. Had to go back and get it. Had to pee again. Pee’d. Forgot my keys upstairs. Had to go get them. I thought if I had to do one more thing before I opened that door I would go back over to my trusted heated blanket.

I got out in the car knowing that when I get to the duck pond the other crowd who are much faster than me will be long gone but I started the car and drove to the duck pond. I arrived at the duck pond, got my earbuds and new playlist ready, took a selfie and started running. A couple that was walking toward me were looking at me, instead of saying Happy New Year, I said, “It’s day one.” They smiled and said, “Absolutely, day one.” Maybe I looked like I was going to struggle, or maybe it was their day one as well. Who knows.

I started running, I wanted to get at least 5 km in. I started with the hill first, to my surprise that didn’t kill me. I got to the top of the hill and kept running to the Peter Barry Duff parking lot second entrance, turned around and toward Buckingham. There was a man running towards me who, by his running pose, thought was Andrew G but wasn't. So, it is not only Todd R. with a running doppelgänger. There were no “real” sightings of the other PRC crowd yet. I kept going.

I got to the four way stop and started running towards the guard rails. I heard someone running behind me, I turned my head to see who it was and to my surprise it was Colin Fewer, he said good job and then pretty much disappeared. As soon as he passed me my watched buzzed and when I looked at it there was a trophy symbol on it. I am not sure why I got the trophy, maybe our watches got confused, but I thought it was pretty cool that I got it around the time Colin Fewer said good job. That was my little push to get this run completed.

I kept going, I was almost at the guard rail when I noticed someone standing there waiting. She was a runner, I just couldn’t pick out who it was yet. To my surprise, it was Suzanne B who was waiting for the other crowd. Soon after there was a crowd of runners hanging out at the guard rail. I was pretty cool to see so many familiar running faces! Lori Dalton greeted me with a huge hug! They told me not to go anywhere after my run. I laughed and said that they were a lot faster than me, so they would be finished before me.

We all started running again. I thought for sure I was going to be left in their dust but I was able to run with Suzanne for the remainder of my run. Some parts of the run I couldn’t talk, the cold air was not good on the throat but it was still nice company. The last of the run we ran from light pole to light pole and then walked light pole to light pole until we got to the bridge back at the duck pond. When I first did LTR in 2013, Darlene M told me to do this to get through the run. I have never forgotten it.

By the time I finished the run I had 5.63 km. I am happy with that. For now.

Happy Day One.