Running 18k Solo

You would think I'd learn after one lesson and call to see where the running group is at, but as I may have mentioned, it takes a few times to get through to my cognitive processes.

But no - I got to the Running Room this morning and discovered that the half-marathon group was doing their 18km run out of St. Albert. Again, it was then too late to drive to St. Albert, so I said to heck with it, I'll do 18km on my own.

I stopped briefly at home to bolster my resources and check out a new route.. The last version involved road-side running, which I dislike for safety reasons. This new route was all side-walk friendly, and involved some paths that I'd traversed a few times. I explained my route to my boyfriend, and set out.

In the first loop through Lago Lindo, I already felt the need to use the bathroom, but shrugged it away until later thought. I had a pace of around 6:45min/km, which was alright. The breeze was cool, but the sun was hot. Thankfully, there was a 7-11 who gave me succor (and by succor, I mean air conditioning and the bathroom key).

Then I started through Castle Downs, ran by the dude with the gigantic Great Dane again, past the church, and down Castle Downs Road. As my boyfriend had worried, I was starting to get low on water, so by kilometer 11, I stopped at the nearby Subway (eat fresh!), and was able to get free cold water from their drinks fountain. It was around this time that I remembered GI Jane and the recitation, "A bird will drop dead from its tree, without feeling sorry for itself." Imperfectly remembered, probably, but the sentiment kept me going.

By about 10:30 a.m., it was getting quite warm. My left knee had ached on and off for a while, but I concentrated on exactly how my foot was falling. The 16th kilometer was on a bit of an uphill, but I powered through that, but right around 17.5km, my knee started trying to buckle every 200 meters. Well, that wasn't going to get my run finished, so I used a Granny Weatherwax tactic: "But her voice wasn't faint and she wasn't swaying, Nanny Ogg could see, because Granny Weatherwax's body was in the grip of Granny Weatherwax's mind." (Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett)

The saying goes that 90 per cent of running is mental, and this really proved it. My knee continued to come close to buckling, and every time it did, I kept thinking it as a strong joint, moving forward. It did work, but as I came close to the final turn, walking was very tempting. As I hit the 18.01km mark, I was very very happy to mark this run as 'complete'.

And next week, I will indeed be checking where the hell the running group will be!