We have deemed this year “The Year of the Marathons”. Yes. Multiple marathons. Being on maternity leave this year has allowed us the freedom to travel and run. Baby girl flies for free and still likes car rides, so we’e taking full advantage of this! I work in retail which means I don’t generally get weekends off and trying to coordinate schedules in the past was challenging, if not impossible. So 2017 has become the year of the marathon. So far we are registered to run 2 full marathons and 2 half marathons. But we’ve got more in our sights. Not all marathon or half marathon distances, but the goal is at least 5 of those. Lofty, maybe, but if you haven’t noticed yet, we don’t do anything half a$$.
We, along with input from our running family, have compiled a list of the reasons we run. Some people will say things like “I run for the health benefits” or “I just love the peace and quiet of going for a run”. But not us. We have realistic reasons for running and we’re not shy about sharing them:
The Real Reasons We Run:
1. Bling.
This is legitimately the #1 reason we run. We find runs with cool medals and spend weeks “creeping” the websites and running forums waiting for medal unveils to decide if we really need to do it or not. Now, we don’t always run specifically FOR the medals, but if we know there is a medal involved the race becomes that much more appealing. We like them shiny. And the bigger and more unique, the better! For the entire afternoon after a race you can almost guarantee that we will be struttin’ around proudly displaying the bling for all to see. Don’t deny it…you’d totally do the same thing!
2. Swag.
And not the “I’m-awesome-cause-I-just-ran-42.2km” kind of funny walk people call a swagger. Real swag – T-shirts, ball caps, hats, towels, backpacks etc. We’re not really fussy either. As long as registration comes with some kind of swag that is emblazoned with the race logo, we’re in. It would be WAY to easy to just buy that stuff. You need to earn it by registering for events and completing the distances. It’s the perfect way to expand your running wardrobe and we wear the shirts like badges of honour to signify our participation in the event. Besides, is there really such a thing as too many backpacks?!
3. Eat All The Foods.
My new favourite day of the week is Saturday. This is because it’s carb-load day and an excuse to try and eat ALL THE FOODS in a 24 hour period. Pre-race week is also a new favourite time of mine. Did you know that pre-race diets can include gummy bears and cookies as a sources of carbohydrates?! Why wouldn’t you run if it was an excuse to eat gummy bears. Oh, and not sure if anyone has ever told you either, but distance days are also travelling picnics. Water belts also have pouches on them that are for holding your picnic treats. You need snacks during long runs to keep your body fuelled, and often times those snacks are also in the form of gummies, jellybeans or some tasty gels (some tasty – some, not so tasty)! You can get hundreds flavours and part of the fun is testing them all out to see which ones you like best! The longer you run, the more snacks you get! It really is a win win situation.
4. We like to speed-shame each other.
There is no better feeling than clocking PB’s. But there is something super satisfying about crushing someone else’s PB. Especially if that someone is your running buddy. I’m kidding…kind of. Our running family is definitely some of the most supportive people I know and we all push each other and celebrate each other’s achievements. But secretly (or not so secretly) we all love trying to beat each other. It started out as a joke – #teambeatBilly. And now it’s a running joke (haha, no pun intended) that whoever finishes their race first becomes the new target. Headed toward Ottawa 2017 Sean is in the crosshairs…#teamcrushSean.
I promise, we generally do like each other’s company and enjoy passing the miles together catching up on life, families and goals. But none of us can deny that these are the things we think about every time we lace up our shoes. Man that next medal is going to look good hanging on my wall. I can’t wait to eat my weight in gummy bears. #Iwannabethenexthashtag.