Friday, October 30, 2009

Who Knows?

Two weeks ago I was sitting at my computer while Jonathan was at hockey and the boys were in bed. A good friend of mine who was training for the Hamilton Road to Hope Marathon mentioned that Simon Whitfield (who is also sponsored by Chariot) would be there. So, I thought I'd check out the website. Not only did the race appeal to me because a) it's close (only 40 min from Brantford to the Hamilton race start), b) it's a Runner's Den race (I run with the Paris Runner's Den group), and 3) proceeds go to Hamilton City Kidz (www.citykidz.ca) and The Joy and Hope of Haiti (www.joyandhopeofhaiti.ca) but it's, "Ranked #1 BOSTON QUALIFIER IN CANADA". This is what made the light go on. Why not run it (to better my time)? I have never done 2 marathons so close together (Toronto and Hamilton will be 5 weeks apart) but thought, hey why not? So, after chatting w/ my sister and getting approval from coach and hubby, I did a 22 mile run on the treadmill at race pace (to see if I "had it") and decided to go for it! I have two friends who will pace me, one around 20-30 km and the other 30-42 km and I just got a Garmin so hopefully it'll be a steady, evenly paced race! Look for a post after the race. I have no idea what to expect. Back to my friend. He said that he is so thrilled to have the gift from God to run, and be healthy. I couldn't agree more. And here's a quote from Amazon's review of Chariots of Fire about Eric Liddell to reflect my feelings, "he runs because 'God made him fast for a reason'. His running is a reconciliation of his faith and his passion, which is running. He runs for the glory of God. His faith always remains constant and pre-eminent in his life...". Wow.