Aches and pains

A little more than eight weeks to the New York Marathon and man, I ache.

My foot hurts, my ankle throbs, my knees twinge, my legs feel just plain heavy – and the Leafs are still a terrible hockey team.

Even the basic things hurt, such as standing up, where my kneecap sometimes misaligns itself, causing a few minutes of limping around. Also, ehem, sitting down; these days I have to brace myself with my hands on the toilet seat so as to gently lower myself on (don’t worry Mum – I have taken out stock in Purell).

The Stairlift gets installed Monday.

On the bright side, it turns out I’m not alone. Even elite runners feel this way sometimes. Perhaps more importantly, forget ice baths – after a lot of experimentation I finally found an effective way to plunge my naked body into ice after a long run (see below).

Yes, it’s about this time (2.5 months into it)  in every marathon training program I start asking myself… why? Why do I put myself through this? Is it really worth it? Or should I just quit now and pull the daiquiri mix out from the back of my fridge?

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – I do this because I can. Because I used to be a fat kid who couldn’t run around the block let alone 42km. Because it makes me fit and strong and happy. But I won’t go into that now.

Instead, I thought I’d look at the numbers – where I’ve been and where I’m going – and remind myself that the pain is paying off. That this former couch potato really is progressing in her journey to becoming, well, Kenyan..ish.

So here they are.

Half Marathon:
2002 – 2:05
2009 – 2:13 ( slower yes, but it marked my return to running after a six-year hiatus)
2010: -1:50

Marathon:
2002: 4:54
2003: 4:47
2010: 4:28
2011: 4:01

In conclusion, my French teacher was right “Il faut souffrir pour etre belle” —  You have to suffer to be beautiful.