Flabby New Year!

New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Lose the pound I gained over the holidays (okay five)
2. Lose the 10 I was carrying around before that (okay 15)
3. Stop obsessing about my weight
4. Big Time Snugerena party
5. Love running again
6. Eat more vegetables (except Brussels sprouts; those are just gross)
7. Love running again
8. Be more patient with my kids (put your jacket on, put your jacket on, put your jacket on, put your jacket on, SERIOUSLY PUT YOUR JACKET ON NOW just isn’t working)
9.  Love running again
10. Love running again

It turns out October’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon didn’t just drain all the fluids from my body.  It sucked out my ambition, my drive and my desire to ever do a fartlek again. I mean ever. Post-race I couldn’t face it: Going to my run group, putting on my sneakers, writing this blog.  To some, it might seem  a bit of a dramatic over-reaction to a 10-minute miss of a mediocre marathon goal, but I was frustrated. In some ways I’m still frustrated. But it’s a new year and it’s time to bury that hatchet, move on… get a life.  It’s time to rediscover my sport and remember why I love it.

For that reason, I resolve in 2013 to move forward, suck it up.

So, with this genius resolution in mind, I set out for a group run early yesterday morning — 15km divided into five, three-km loops each one faster than the last. And good news!  So far I’m right on track. I really moved forward (albeit very slowly) and it really sucked. Majorly. My legs burned, I couldn’t catch my breath and they were out of French Crullers by the time I got to Tim Hortons.

But the weird thing is, it was kind of liberating. When you’re at the bottom you can only go up right?  One step in front of the next; Left, right, left, right, left, right; Just run. Run (ok maybe walk a bit). Run. Who knows where I’m going? Not me.  No goal for this season except to get back out there and give it a go with a smile on my face.

We’ll see what happens.

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