Val's Decade Diaries

My Couch to Half Marathon

Let me start by saying that running may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I firmly believe that anyone can become a runner if they set their mind to it. As a child, I stayed active by participating in various sports, with basketball being my main focus. While running was always a part of that sport, I never had a true passion for it until the unexpected arrival of the pandemic in 2020. With my final year of high school underway and exams, tests, and assignments being canceled left and right, I found myself yearning for a healthy and fulfilling way to pass the time beyond endless Netflix binges. That's when I delved into the world of at-home exercise, desperately searching for a routine that could keep me engaged during the pandemic. Little did I know that this exploration would lead me down a path I never anticipated. Fast forward three years, and I find myself deeply in love with running. It has become such an integral part of my life that I went from being a couch potato to completing my first half marathon at the Ottawa Tamaracks Home Race Weekend, surrounded by 10,000 other passionate runners.

Basketball

I know this blog post is about running BUT I would be remiss to not mention the impact basketball had on me. Playing basketball since I was just six years old has been one of the absolute highlights of my childhood. I can't thank my parents enough for getting me into a team sport at such a young age. It wasn't just about making friends and having a blast; it also taught me how to work with others and kept me active!

Exercise during the Pandemic

While gyms were closed during the pandemic, I considered myself fortunate to have a treadmill and weights at home. I wanted to find exercise I could do from home during the pandemic. I embarked on my running journey right there on the treadmill, initially aiming to run continuously for 20 minutes and gradually working my way up to a satisfying 30-minute stride. To counter the boredom of treadmill running, I used the TV, which proved to be a welcome source of entertainment. Following my runs, I dedicated 10-20 minutes to engaging my core through ab workouts. I relied on the Nike Training Club app and Chloe Ting workouts to guide me during through a variety of core exercises. This combination of cardio exercise and focused core strengthening not only added balance to my fitness routine but also helped me pass the time while at home during the pandemic.

Running Outside

Running truly captured my heart when I started to run outside. It was an entirely different experience, one that ignited my senses and invigorated me both mentally and physically through the environment surrounding me. It was during these outdoor runs that I witnessed a remarkable transformation in my approach to running, as I diligently pushed myself to increase both the duration and distance of my runs, truly committing myself to this newfound passion. Over the course of the next few years, I maintained a consistent running schedule, dedicating myself to run four to five times a week. It was through this dedication that I witnessed astounding improvements in my overall health, cardiovascular endurance, and sheer enjoyment of running. Running became a part of my daily routine, serving as a source of revitalization and fitness that significantly impacted my overall happiness.

Running from Toronto to Montreal 2022

This experience was insane.

I decided to sign up for an Ultra-Relay Race from Toronto to Montreal with a team organized by my roommates mom. We were called, "MVM Motion" with MVM standing for Me versus Me and we had about 15 people total, 12 of us were runners and the rest were supports for driving, biking etc. For training, I had made sure to run 100km a month starting in May 2022 which gave me 5 months of training since the race was in October. There were 57 legs in total, all spanning from 3km to 15km per leg. For each leg we had 1 runner and 1 biker with the runner to ensure the safety of the runner. In addition, we had a rented RV and had 1 rental car. We started the race Wednesday October 19th at 9pm from Toronto Lakeshore and I had my first biking leg at 3am (11km).

My first running leg was at about 6am on Thursday October 19th. I had not slept the Wednesday night due to the excitement, adrenaline and the biking leg I had at 3am. It was a 10km run and it was extremely windy, and I was quite nervous. However, my roommate supported me on the bike and although it was a hilly leg, I was very motivated by the rising sun and the beautiful views of the forest and fields I ran past.

The next few days were extremely challenging, I only slept a good 5 hours the entire time. I was also very hungry throughout the whole run, we did not have a proper meal until we arrived to the top of the mountain in Montreal at 5:30am. We ravished lots of pizza and then slept in our hotel for a good 7 hours. Saturday night, we went out in Montreal and celebrated with all the other teams that competed!

Ottawa Race Weekend 2023

Training for a half-marathon was not easy (21.5km). Especially in the winter, it was hard to motivate myself to run the distances I needed if I wanted to complete the half-marathon. Needless to say, for the 3 months leafing up to the race, I consistently ran. However, I did not watch what I was eating and I also did not incoroporate any cross training or strength training. These are my two biggest regrets as when the race came, I did not perform as well as I had wanted (2:21 time). I did not go too hard on myself as the weather the day of the race was not in anyones favour.

The race was at 9:00 am on May 28th, 2023 in Ottawa which had record heat that day (20 degrees at the beginning and ending in 26 degree weather).

The experience was still absolutely incredible and an extreme challenge.

How can you get started on your run journey today?

Get out and run! Do not worry about your pace or distance, commit to consistency and running at a light pace until you start to become more and more comfortable with running. After that, I would recommend setting goals of how long you want to be able to run for (again, do not look at your pace or distance) whether that is 10 minutes straight and building your way up to running for 30 minutes straight!

Find music that will motivate you and once your start running more than 2 times a week, I would recommend getting proper running shoes. Click the button below to see the top running shoes you can buy in 2023:

Best Running Shoes of 2023

Finally, I would also recommend joining your local running club. Most towns and regions have a run club of some sort where they run at a certain meet-up point and offer some distances. It is a great way to connect with the community (and the run community is SUPER nice and welcoming!). If you are from the Ottawa region, click below to follow the RunOttawa Instagram, they constantly post the different run clubs and events happening around Ottawa every week.