I'm on Cloud 9 today after participating in this year's exciting Sporting Life 10K Run. The weather could not have been better – sunny, blue skies, no wind, and about 10 degrees at run time (with a high for the day of 21 degrees).
If you remember, last year's run was a bit of a dud. I was contending with a minor leg injury, and weather did not cooperate on the day of the race. But, I made it to the finish line, and with the help of generous folks like you, raised a ton of money to support Camp Ooch, which helps kids with cancer go to camp for free.
This year, I trained much more carefully, introducing my new running shoes more slowly, switching to pavement more mindfully, and listening to my body each time I practiced. Leading up to run day, everything was on track – no pain, no problems. Last night I went to bed nervous, but very excited.
And then this morning, ready, set, GO! Taking a slow start, I began the race up at Eglinton, ran all the way down Yonge Street, and completed the race at Fort York. How did I do? Drumroll please...
10.2km = total distance ran (6.3 miles for my imperial friends)
27,000 = number of runners this year
56:18 = final running time (BEST TIME YET! 1:09:49 in 2013, 1:04:35 in 2012)
But most importantly:
$1065 = the money raised by my amazing supporters, all going to help kids with cancer. Thanks again to each one of you, truly.
This year's run was an amazing experience. I highly recommend that you sign up next year, even if you are not a runner or think you cannot do it. You will find – as I did today – that when you are surrounded by thousands of like-minded folks, and you're being cheered on by perfect strangers on the sidelines, you can do just about anything.
p.s. Happy Mother's Day, to my mom and all the moms out there!
