Last Saturday, Stella and I ran in the 2K Family Run at Ottawa Race Weekend. It’s an inclusive race where strollers, wheelchairs, walkers, and toddlers are all welcome.
Have you heard of “chickenpox parties”? It’s when a group of parents hold a party and intentionally invite a child with chickenpox to hang out with their children in the hope that their kids will catch it. Well, this is sort of how I imagine I might be able to catch the “running bug.”
Yes, the “running bug.” Tell-tale signs of those who’ve caught it are running in the pouring rain, running in -20 weather, getting up at 4am for a run or going out at 9pm for a run, putting yourself in ice baths while training for a marathon, and various other strange behaviours.
Apparently, if you start running, you’ll eventually you’ll catch this bug. Like the desperate parents sending their kids off to catch an infectious disease, I’ve completed a group training session with the Running Room, I’ve treated myself to a cute running jacket for the wind and rain, I’ve cajoled friends into running with me, and I’ve even managed to drag my 10-year-old daughter along too. In fact, it’s been eight years since I ran my first race and so far, not a sign of catching this infamous running bug.
This is moi and mon amie Jacquie, after completing the Ottawa Race Weekend’s 5K in 2005.
To me, running is still very much a chore. Not only is it not particularly enjoyable for me physically while I’m doing it, but it’s kind of boring too. Then there’s the aches and pains from the high-impact on your joints. All of this might make you wonder: why am I trying to catch this bug in the first place, right?
I know, I know, it does sound a touch mad. But the people I know who do run really (I mean really) love it. I want to feel that kind of enthusiasm for a physical activity. Plus, there’s a convenience and efficiency factor because you don’t need to get yourself to a gym — you just thrown on your running shoes and out the door you go. And then there’s the pure vanity of it all … all those skinny celebs run, so it must help to keep them skinny, right?
Here I am with my 2K medal from last weekend’s Ottawa Race Weekend.
So, in answer to the question my bloggy friend Karen asked me after I finished this past weekend’s race in Ottawa: No, I haven’t caught the running bug … not yet, at least.
But I’m not giving up on it! I think I will sign up for the Canada Day race. One just never knows … perhaps my immune system will weaken and the running bug will take over my muscles — and my soul.
Fingers crossed.
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