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I was really feeling down for few days after the injury. I decided to do some activities to improve my overall strength. I started taking yoga/Pilates classes. It was love at first sight. I have taken 6 yoga classes in 2 weeks and feels really good every time I go for the class.

I learned swimming last year and now learning to tread and surface dive in deeper end of the pool. Freestyle is the only stroke I'm comfortable yet. I did swimming 3 times a week for past 2 weeks as well. I need to learn to stay calmer when I swim. I'm finding it lot harder to stay calm. Even after 1 year, I still get tensed and try to rush things in water.. :( .

I think I'm slowly getting ready to start running again. I did a 2 mile easy run on Sunday and foot felt OK. I'll do few more easy shorter runs for couple of weeks to get used to running. Then I have a week of Rim to Rim backpacking...

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Whew...it's been a challenging 3 weeks in some ways from a running perspective, but I'm feeling back on track today and happy to be so!!

We went on vacation 3 weeks ago...LOVE a vacation, and I did run on the beach. Also ate a lot and drank some. I never beat myself up for this, I work really hard and love our vacations. Felt good that I ran.

Then, back to work...you play, you pay in my field, the work is just there waiting...began to build up some stress and by week's end began a week-long bout of insomnia. Missed one run, not too bad, but slow.

Last week my in laws showed up for 5 days...5 days of eating (italian, giant burgers, steaks, and mexican) followed by lots of...sitting (they can't get around very well). Add to that my insomnia and continued work stress. I missed 2 runs (one due to no time, one due to just feeling really run down and exhausted) and my times have been lousy, i...

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This was my second marathon. My last, and first marathon was in 2006, in Edmonton. In that race I went out too hard, hit the wall and the rest of the race was a real slog.

This unfortunately is a bad habit with endurance races for me. I did the same for the Whistler Granfondo last year.

So for this race I was determined not to do this. I had followed Hal Higdon's intermediate I training plan fairly closely, missing perhaps one run per week maybe one or two weeks out of three, but always getting my long run in.

My last race I ran 3:56 or so, and for this one I thought I'd pace with the 3:45 group and see how it went. I wasn't really sure if that was realistic, but my pacing had suggested that this was perhaps do-able.

I arrived at the race about 1/2 an hour before. As I came ...

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"We've been procrastinating getting outside for 20 minutes."

"Well, it's no wonder...we don't know what we'll face out there...doubt..."

"Fear."

"And who knows what could happen to our marriage?" We could laugh at that one, at least.

But it was a tough one - a hilly route that was a stretch both physically and mentally. A light breeze on the way out turned to a gusty tail wind on the way back, but somehow it didn't feel any easier. It was one of those runs where for the last 5 km, the force of every footfall seems to send a jolt from your ankle all the way to the base of your skull, and you wonder, is this what people are talking about when they use the expression "running through the pain?"

One thing I really appreciate about running, though, is the mental toughness that it gives you. There was never any question that we would complete the run. Sure i...

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