For the past four and a half years, I have been running 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, and most recently a full 42.2 km marathon. I’ve done hill training, up 400 metre-long hills with a 17 per cent incline in weather so hot I thought I was going to pass out, but was too competitive with my fellow running companions that I wouldn’t dare stop. I’ve run those same hills in what seemed to be monsoons, running with water sloshing through my Saucony Fastwiches, through pools of rain rising up to my knees, and pelts of it relentlessly smacking my face. I’ve run in weather so cold it felt like my toes were going to snap off, so cold it took hours for my body’s temperature to regulate – and when family and friends question why I continue to “torture” myself, I smile.
I am a runner. This is my love. This is what I do.
My running, however, does come with its own unique set of challenges. I have Type 1 diabetes. I was diagnosed with “juvenile” diabetes in 1987 when I was just nine years old – almost 24 years later, I have never been healthier. I credit a lot of that health to my running, as well as my love for cycling and hiking. Last year I switched from multiple insulin injections a day to an insulin pump for the flexibility pumps provide athletic types such as myself. I’m still figuring it out.
Another challenge: Injury. In the four years since starting down this much-loved road, I have been plagued with plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, runner’s knee, bursitis, inflamed piriformis, tight psoas, jammed hips, tight ankles and more. My goal now is to keep running and stay injury free.
This is my journey.
