Friday, May 23, 2008

One moment in time

There are very few "firsts" in life and tomorrow will certainly be one of those. Since I started running 3 years ago, I can still remember the landmark races that I've done. It's easy for me to put myself back into those races and if I close my eyes I can remember the feelings I felt through those.

Some of my most memorable times running haven't even occured in a race setting. The first time I did a trail run in the Greenwood Conservation Park I can still remember how amazing I felt. There was steam coming off of my body and I've never felt more alive in all my life.

The first "race" that I did was a duathalon (run-bike-run) and I remember that because I quickly found out that my Canadian Tire "special" just wasn't going to cut it in these races. I was pedaling away as fast as I could only to see people in their 50's and 60's passing me on their $1,000 bikes. Even though I was able to pass them on the running portion of the race, it was too frustrating to continue doing these races without an expensive bike so after doing one more duathalon, I decided to focus my attention on running only.

My first 25 K trail race was the Run for the Toad race in October of 2005. What I remember most about that race was how welcoming people were and the amazing food afterwards (LOL).

There have been plenty of "firsts" for me with regards to running but tomorrow will be a day I'm sure I'll never forget. I've never attempted something this "brash" in all my life and it was something that I didn't think I would do. However, goals have a way of springing up when you least expect them and this is exactly what has happened with this race.

It really doesn't matter how well I do, whether I finish or not or how much pain I'm likely to endure. What truly matters is the experience I will get and the memories I will make along the way.

I want to take a moment to thank of you who have emailed me wishing me luck on my race. It truly is overwhelming to know that I have so much support behind me. I'll do my best tomorrow and will have a full report ASAP.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Greg, I've been raelly enjoying reading your blog. I am going to be running the 10K tomorrow. Best of luck and I might see you there!

GregD'Cruz said...

Thanks so much!