PRE-RACE JITTERS
Rookie can’t wait for Sunday
Wow … Week 12. I say it out loud and I still can’t believe it.
We are not months or weeks away to the 33rd annual Sun Run, we are just mere days! The butterflies are starting to set in as the excitement and anticipation mounts for we newbies. I only hope I can sleep this Saturday night!
I realized based on the forecast that Week 12’s run was going to be in the rain. I know, big surprise, right?! It was raining on the short drive to the clinic’s location, but by the time I got to the Pitt Meadows Rec Centre, the rain had subsided. The dark clouds in the sky thinned and they were actually higher than the North Shore mountains.
Our group’s leader, Leif Sorenson, took us once again to the Pitt Meadows Airport and along the Fraser River. Our backdrop consisted of a nice bit of late evening sunshine against a backdrop of snow-covered mountains in one direction and majestic Mount Baker in the other.
The paths were drier than they were in some of our more soggier weeks so we were able to run along the paths in the forest along the Fraser River. The temperature was perfect and our group seemed to be a little more giddy than usual.
Strangely enough, I found Week 12’s run a little tougher than usual (five-minute warmup, 50 minutes running then a five-minute cool down). I have never run 50 minutes non-stop before.
Jeff Straker, one of our other leaders, told me of a very interesting factoid he had read about.
Strangely enough, after the run that night, I happened upon that same info in my Facebook feed. A New York Times article from April 12 detailed how research conducted about three years ago determined that running may be the most effective way to increase life expectancy.
Analysis of the research also pointed to health benefits from
One hour running gives you seven more hours life? That’s pretty good returns ...
running as little as five minutes per day.
The real “Ahh-ha” moment in the research showed that for every hour of running, one’s life expectancy can be extended by about seven hours. One hour running gives you seven more hours life? That’s pretty good returns as far as I am concerned!
I can tell you from personal experience, running has certainly improved my overall fitness and energy levels. After 12 weeks of running, I can only imagine how much longer I’ve put myself on this Earth.
As I write this we are just six days away from the Sun Run and I am raring to go! Hopefully we’ll see you all Sunday in downtown Vancouver.