I DO belong!

It's taken me about 3 running seasons but I finally believe that I belong with many of the runners who compete in the OUS series. Today I did the 1st "race" of the season but it was more about getting caught up and meeting some old acquaintenances and making some new friends.

I arrived at the High Park Curling Club at just after 7:30 and there was already a small gathering of people standing in a circle. As soon as I got out I was welcomed immediately. Most of the road races have so many people registered that you're lucky if you see a familiar face before the race starts. In the trail races, people purposely make a point to go over and greet everyone. I also knew about 90% of the people and the 10% I didn't know I quickly was introduced to. We talked about the upcoming Ontario Ultra Series and what races we had decided to run this season.

My main motivation for coming, besides to see many of the runners, was to pick the brains of as many people as I could with regards to the 50 Mile race. It's too late to do any last minute training sessions but what my conversation did confirm was that I had done everything necessary to prepare myself physically to run the race. My mental preparation will begin on Monday when I do the 9-day Isagenix cleanse.

The 28K route took us west along the lakeshore and then North along the Humber River path. It had just enough challenges to give us a workout but nothing that I wasn't prepared for. Having taken the last few days off I felt very strong today. The one regret I had was not sticking to my run/walk plan but I got so caught up in wanting to run with different groups that I found my pace faster than I wanted.

After the run we all gathered back at the club house and talked about the upcoming season. I'll be seeing most of these same runners again in 2 weeks at my race. Today was just the tonic I needed to propel me into the race and I'm on such a "high" that it's taking me everything I have not to go out for another run.