Not a runner...

I'm not a runner; that's what I've said for most of my life.  Athletic, sure.  I've played all kinds of sports and even excelled at a couple.  I was a very competitive downhill skier in my younger days.  My coach, who was one of the most influential adults in my life who was not related to me, made me run several times a week.  I adored Scott, but I cursed him with every step.  I hated dryland training more than just about anything! I never got any connection between my performance on my skis and running around a park at 6am!  In my early 20's I went through a stage of working out obsessively. I could squat hundreds of pounds repeatedly, weighed less than was healthy for my frame and avoided the cardio equipment like the plague! 

A couple months before my 40th birthday last fall, I did a couch to 5km program and didn't hate it.  I bought some really good running shoes and fancy running clothes.  A girl can spend a lot of money in a running store!  Then I got sidetracked with holidays in Costa Rica, losing Glacier & Deuce, Christmas and a bout of  pneumonia.  I kept running but it wasn't nearly as often as it should have been. 

Once I got back on my feet, I started running more and more.  I started getting bitchy on the days something kept me from running.  My husband started encouraging me to run as I generally came home in a better mood than when I left!  I still avoid cardio equipment as much as possible.  We have a lovely gym quality treadmill in our shop. I have all the technology to distract me while I run on it...ipad, netflix, tunes...it still makes me want to cry with boredom! 

If it was above -15C, I ran outside all winter in a pair of trail shoes with ice spikes...I love those spikes!  Sometimes accompanied by Tehya, the only one of my dogs who has the energy or interest in doing much anymore!  The road through our subdivison is a 6km loop, ending with a massive uphill climb.  No matter what direction I go, I have to climb a big ass hill to get home.  Over the winter, I took 12 minutes off the time that 6km takes me.  I started wandering into the next subdivision to add a bit of distance.  I got farther up the hill before my lungs begged for mercy! 

Last week, I blew part of my tax refund on a Garmin Forerunner 210.  What a fun toy!  It tells me far more than I really need to know, but it's just fun to use! 

Sunday, I went into Whitehorse and ran a 10km loop around the Yukon River trails in just over an hour.  Not terribly fast but I was pretty damn happy about it, especially when I couldn't run a single kilometer not that long ago!  I could have gone farther; I didn't feel like I was dying, I wasn't begging for mercy.  That damn hill has had some benefits...a flat course didn't feel so bad at all!

Today, after some discussion with a cousin who is an elite runner and fitness coach, before I could remember that I'm not a runner, I registered for the Mayo Midnight Marathon!  I'll be running the half marathon, 21km or 13.1 miles, on June 22!  That's right about my favourite day of the year, when the light is at it's height and it never gets truly dark.  The half event starts at 9:30pm.  Eight weeks to train! 

So apparently, over 40 years later, I am a runner!