Motivation

Sometimes things just don’t work out. Sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes once things get uncomfortable it just gets too easy to push.

This has been one of those times.

In March, I injured my knee somehow, and forced myself to dial it back and try to recover, to avoid a major setback and missing my goal race – the Ottawa Marathon. I thought I was being smart, and maybe I was but then the longer I went before returning to an consistent form of activity the harder it was to get going.

Where was my motivation?

I ran when I could find time – this was different than previous years, where I made time to run. My busy life was reducing the weekend run times as I was almost always travelling to coach a basketball tournament, or I was wiped out from said tournaments and settled into rest. I knew what I needed to do, but just couldn’t force myself to lace ‘em up and get out there. The cold and wet month of April didn’t help either.

But in reality, these are hollow excuses…

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I just figured that I would do it, and it never really clicked that I was just taking the easy way out, or then again was I?

I have run a few trails recently and felt great – I even managed to power through the first 5 Peaks Ontario race in Terra Cotta (doing the Enduro Course 10.8k) and had a blast not only running, but volunteering to help set up the morning of the event. I have even run a few decent distances on road, but again this week, at around the 18k mark that pain returned to my knee and I am very fearful of trying to complete a marathon knowing this could flare up again.

So here is the dilemma, do I try to tough it out and go to Ottawa and run the marathon, risking injury, but completing my goal, or do I look at this as a test, and realize that sometimes our goals need to be challenged and changed to reflect a new reality?

I’m not sure, but know that I will listen to my body, and if I can go, I will, and if I start the race, I will complete it, regardless of how long it takes BUT I will not risk the rest of my summer by injuring myself. My family needs me to be healthy, and I have many things that need to be done this summer, so again, I know I will do the right thing.

I just don’t know what that is, yet…

5 Peaks Ontario - Race 1 - Terra Cotta

The first event in the 2017 5 Peak Ontario Trail Series was held, April 22, in Terra Cotta and it was an amazing event, even though it was unseasonably cold that morning.

I was a volunteer that morning, so arrived at the park at 7:45am to assist with set up and to meet the race crew, as I had not been able to attend previous get-together runs for the Trail Crew team. When I got there, I immediately met up with Eric, the Series Director, and asked him what was needed, and went to work helping set up tables, and the inflatable Start/Finish line.

I’m glad that I was kept somewhat busy as it was very cold when the sun was behind the clouds and I was worried that my planned attire for the event was too light (shorts and long sleeve t-shirt). The 5 Peaks events are so well run, with tons of volunteers and helpers, and are great for runners of all ages and abilities. There are kids 1k fun runs, a youth 3k distance, as well as both a Sport (1 lap) and Enduro (2 laps) events so there is something for everyone.

The weather was sunny, and we had just come off a few days of rain, so the participants were all warned about safety as the first half of the course resembled a mud bog, which made for plenty of action, hilarity, and dirty runners. I decided to follow the mantra of enjoy the mud, and ran right through the middle of all the mud patches as we made our way through the first loop, and everyone was very careful to keep upright and also aware of the other runners to avoid slipping and taking out a whole bunch of people. It became very clear that the easiest path was the muddiest path and the sooner you came to terms with this, the better.

The trail was in good shape, and the terrain was challenging with elevation changes, bridges, and narrow paths but also had the wide areas to allow for runners to pass with ease. Having looked at the elevation map early, I was aware that there were some hills, and that meant both ups and downs, and remembered that keeping a consistent pace and muddy outlook would suit me well coming up on the second lap.

The crowd of runners thinned out for the second lap, which was good, because after 500 runners had passed though at least once, by the time I hit the mud the second time, it was even more glorious.

Again deciding to embrace the “get muddy” mentality meant straight into it, and through it, and I loved every second.

I took in the beauty of nature, listened to the sound of the trails, and lost myself in the joy of trail running and couldn’t wait to cross the finish line tired but feeling accomplished. The festive nature of this event series is amazing – from the lively crowds, playful volunteers and crew, and just the relaxed atmosphere of the trail community, it is something to be witnessed.

If you have never run a trail race, try a 5 Peaks event, they are not intimidating, and the experience is different at each location as each park offers different terrain and scenery.

Try it, you’ll love it - especially if you don’t mind getting a little dirty.