MRIRUNS: Sherry Hill Farm

1825 09/09/19 – Day 1 of Run Streak

After a nap that was very hard to wake up from after the recent move to Victoria U-Haul packing/unpacking sleep deprivation week, I am headed out for my first ever run in my new home in beautiful Victoria, B.C. 🥰 #consistencyiskey truly. Consistency is something that I struggle with when I don’t have a routine. I seem to need to have a race to be training for to create enough fear to get my butt out the door.

As I am receiving the “2 years ago today” Facebook reminders, I am reminded of when I started my first run streak to help me establish consistency. I had moved to Kamloops a year before and was struggling in a few different areas of my life and wanted more than anything to be consistent with running. So I started this run streak. I have all the pictures of my pre-run pics and post run pics. I would always take a picture before I headed out (like this one) for accountability. As I think every runner knows sometimes getting out the door is the hardest part. So once I was dressed and ready I would post a picture. Often I included motivational quotes from audiobooks I was reading or quotes from motivational speakers. I wanted to brainwash myself. I wanted to recondition my mind to believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. I choose what I let into my consciousness. I can and I will watch me. I protected myself from negative influence and truly created tunnel vision. I deleted the old mriruns Instagram account for reasons described in the first post of this account. Funny enough my Instagram handle is now the same as my license plate…it could only be 6 letters.

I have grown and learned so much over the last five years. I have worked very hard to become the person I am today. But I digress…going back to 2016…as well as that run streak, I also registered for a 100 miler in Denmark that was 11 months away. That’ll get my butt out the door. I hadn’t run longer than a standard marathon distance of 42 km, which was 6 years before. My first marathon was Vancouver in spring of 2005 before my first season of fire fighting. My second marathon was the Moose Moose trail Marathon in Prince George fall of 2010. Since before that race I was researching the ultramarathon in Denmark 🇩🇰 100 miles around the isle of Mors. I love Denmark so much and it will always have a special place in my heart. I lived in Denmark for a year for a rotary student exchange when I was 15. Well before my second fire season in 2006 I backpacked Europe by myself for 5 weeks to reconnect with my host families and friends. I had been wanting to go back ever since, now ten years later, but due to some constraints in my life that was unable to happen. But I knew that someday I would run that race. My life was such that I had absolute control over my decisions and I was determined as hell. So I made it happen.

So going back to November 2016 I decided to do a run streak to force the consistency. I have some awesome icelash extension icicle eyelash pictures; I found it and attached it as picture number ten. I had a 8 miler before Dayshift and I did an out and back. As I hit four miles and started making my way back it started snowing like crazy. Blowing in my face. And i foolishly had eyelash extensions so the picture shows the result of that. I was going to be late for work so I couldn’t stop I’d anything. I had to tilt my head to the side so I could see. I ran outside every day no matter what. I saw this as building mental toughness. It’s all good mental training as Scott Jurek says. I was sharpening the knife. I did all kind of things to force myself to train while fatigued. After working 12 hour shift shifts I would run errands during the day and then at 3pm head out headlight on fuel and fluids on board ready for 4-5 hour runs. I ran to the top of Mount Lolo from my place. I did sunset to sunrise runs. And did a 30 km loop twice. But I had set backs. I got kicked in the face at work which left me with a concussion and whiplash and two weeks off work. I couldn’t not be horizontal. My head was so heavy. Then I went to Africa with my mom for a month when we volunteered at an orphanage in Swaziland. For obvious reasons I couldn’t run long outside by myself. So I went into Denmark knowing it was a learning experience. I did learn. I have learned so much since then in so many areas of my life. I want to compete in 100 km and 100 mile ultras. I just turned 35 and I know that I am coming into my prime as a female ultramarathoner. I’m 20 pounds lighter than I was two years ago. I had a breast reduction going from DDD->A. Finally for the first time in my life I feel like my body can be efficient. I am excited to see what my body can do and I am going to be methodical in my training. Two years ago it was all I could do to just get the runs in and make it happen. Before I hired Zach Bitter as my running couch July 2016 I was doing it by myself. I knew that I knew enough to get myself in trouble but I was scared after the setbacks (running shoe to the chin, etc.). Now I also just accepted a part-time position that is 8-hour shifts. I want to work less and part of my reason for finding a cheaper place to rent was to offload some of the higher living expenses. Wow. So much on my mind right now. Okay, I’m going to get out the door and have my first run along the harbour. I feel like I’m coming back to myself. I will not run with music and let my thoughts jumble around and sort themselves out. 💞🏃🏻‍♀️💫