I have always loved to run. I discovered competitive track and field when I was 12 years old and within two years I was training with the senior varsity high school team (even though I wasn’t even in high school yet) and I was competing, and ranking at a national level.
Life at home during these years were volatile and tumultuous to say the least, so running became my escape - literally.
I remember vividly ranking at the national level for the first time in early 1997. Canadian track and field had never been stronger as everyone was still buzzing from Donovan Bailey's world record gold medal run at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta just a few months prior.
So when I ranked nationally with three years to go until the next summer Olympics in Sydney… a new goal was put into place. Unfortunately in 1998 I was pulled from school and never finished and because of this I wasn’t allowed to continue training or competing with the athletics team. This was one of the biggest disappointments of my childhood.
Running became a leisurely activity for me after that, but I never quit. In fact after moving to Kelowna I quickly found the Mission Creek Greenway and began running 5kms a day. I joined NRC (Nike Run Club) and logged close to 1,000 kilometers that year. A couple years later Liam arrived and it didn’t slow me down… in fact I even bundled him into a carrier and took him with me. Most often he would just fall asleep.
But when Madison and Ethan arrived and we were forced to move 25 kilometers away from the Greenway, running stopped immediately. I had just purchased a new pair of shoes too. They only had 112 kilometers logged on them (20 runs). No, I’m not still bitter about that.
I’ve missed it. My legs have stiffened up in the last three years. My knee aches now. I’ve gained a dad bod tummy; and I long to escape on the trail again. I want to start running again.
This goal will go hand in hand with my goal of going to a gym. I think eventually my schedule might be two or three days of cardio and two or three days of weights each week. I've already worked my way up to 2 kilometers on the treadmill for my 10 minute warm up at the gym every night, so I think this goal is already well within reach and should only take 25 mins a day.
I can’t wait for the snow and cold to give way to spring and summer as the trails are calling my name. Are there any other runners out there?
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