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15k in 1:53 and still alive
August 23rd, 2009
Well folks, I did it. I completed the 15k Midsummer Night’s Run in 1:53, with an average pace of just about 7.5 minutes per kilometer. My usual running pace is just a little under 6.5, so apparently, I ran all but about 20 minutes of the course.
I have two words for that.
Kick. Ass.
The course itself was gorgeous. We started right at 6:30 in a park near Lakeshore and Carlaw, and ran out through Tommy Thompson park. The lighthouse at the end of the spit marked the halfway point.
To our right as we ran out, we were treated to gorgeous views of the sun setting behind the Toronto skyline. To our left, views of the bird sanctuary, community gardens, and Lake Ontario. The path was wide, and varied between concrete (ick), dirt (yay but ew) and gravel (scary).
These are the folks who roped me into this crazy goal. We all survived and stuck together until the last 1.5km, when I had to run it in or I thought I’d never make it. Moira, Darren and I shouted out at every route marker. “Only 14 left!” “13 to go!” “12 more kilometers!” I realized so soon how important those markers are to keep your energy up and keep you motivated. Just a little further til the next marker, I kept reminding myself.
Not surprisingly, we built in a lot of our walk breaks immediately after a marker or water station.
If you follow me on twitter, you might know that I twisted my ankle walking around Bloor West last weekend. I spent the week resting it entirely, icing, elevating, and taking advil to keep the swelling down. By race day, I was feeling almost normal, but I was still worried that the running would be hard, if not impossible.
Turns out, all the rest did me a lot of good. My ankle didn’t bug me any more than any other of my many body parts. (Today, however, I’m doing a lot of icing and whining. Everything hurts!! Everything!) My gear worked out well too. Great shoes, awesome wicking tee from Lululemon, and a nike run skirt.
Because at Chez Indigirl, we’re all about the bling…
That’s the front of the medal. (It’s so heavy!!!!)
And this is the back.
In case you’re curious how I felt when crossing the finish line, I believe the following photo sums it up perfectly.
Next up? The Scotiabank Half-Marathon (21k) on September 27. Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me so far! Every little bit helps support Epilepsy Toronto. I’m $35 short of my goal of $250.
Please Sponsor Me and Support Epilepsy Toronto.
Running FOR something
August 17th, 2009
On September 27, 2009, I will be finishing a Half-Marathon run/walk in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon while raising funds for Epilepsy Toronto. Whether I run part of it, or walk all of it, doesn’t really matter. I’m going out there in support of Epilepsy Toronto and what they do.
As you may or may not know, I was diagnosed with Epilepsy a few days before my 21st birthday. I have bouts of partial-complex seizures that, while not harmful or even obvious to an observer, are disturbing and disruptive.
My seizures are far from what you might expect when you hear the term “Epilepsy”. I don’t convulse or lose consciousness. Instead, my seizures start with an aura of a kind; usually a smell like bacon and pancakes. (I know, weird, right?) And then, a metallic taste in the back of my mouth. I feel nauseous and just… well… wrong for about 60 seconds or so. After that wave of feeling passes, I’m back to normal, except a little more tired and feeling slightly out of place in the world.
When I was first diagnosed, I was terrified that it meant my life was over. After all, this is a pretty big and scary word when you only know what you hear in the media. I envisioned never being able to play nintendo, much less make a career of programming computers. I imagined needing a service animal (Cooper?) to help me cope with life. I anticipated never being able to drive on my own again.
Being diagnosed was all about fearing the freedoms I’d lose in my life.
As I worked through the list of anti-seizure drugs to find something that allowed me to physically get off the floor of my bedroom without falling over, I started to learn a few things about Epilepsy. And as I found a drug that made my life better rather than worse, I also learned one very important thing.
My life is not defined by this condition.
I didn’t have to stop doing the things I enjoyed. I didn’t have to change my decisions. I could still drive, provided my seizures stayed the same. I didn’t have to worry about losing my ability to think, to write, to learn, and to love.
In the past years, I’ve been almost entirely free of seizures. Whether it’s something I’ve more or less grown out of, no one knows. For an information junkie like me, it’s incredibly frustrating that despite all the neurologists and tests, no one has ever determined anything about the source, cause, or behavior of these seizures. I’ve been diagnosed strictly based on my descriptions of the episodes.
There’s a lot more information out there now for folks getting diagnosed with Epilepsy, or who suspect might have a seizure disorder. Organizations like Epilepsy Toronto do so much to help children and adults learn, get support, and live better lives.
Please support Epilepsy Toronto by pledging me for this event. Every little bit helps! If you care to pledge, please visit my sponsorship page. My goal for the event is $250CAD, but I’m hoping to raise what I can to help improve the lives of other folks living with Epilepsy.
Please sponsor me today!
Personal Geographies
April 28th, 2009
For the past week or two, I’ve been toying around with the idea of mapping out my own ever-evolving geography. Not merely the places I’ve lived, or traveled, throughout my life, but also those little locations that are inexplicably tied to particularly strong and resonant memories.
Maybe it’s just because I’ve been working on a Google Maps project at work these past few weeks. Maybe it’s the presence of the Google Streetview cameras throughout Toronto. Or maybe it’s due to some interesting conversations with a coworker about documenting personal timelines before those memories fade.
After I went through a pretty hard time with my epilepsy nearly four years ago, I discovered that many memories from that time felt entirely erased from my brain. Sandra would ask if I remembered going someplace, buying something, eating somewhere… and it was like it had never happened. When she reminded me, I could feel as if, yes, it was something I could have experienced, but it was almost like just remembering reading a book about the experience, not actually living through it.
I don’t think I lost much of substance. Everything prior to the seizures seemed fine. And that period of my life was pretty hazy and unfocused to begin with. It’s probably no surprise that, when the days blended together in a big gray mash, it was easy to lose specific details.
Still, it’s a freaky thought, and probably why I spend so much time and thought writing down the little pieces of my world that matter to me. But what about the tiny snippets where place and memory intersect? What about the memories specifically tied to non-important places?
I’ve decided to make a private map in progress, to mark my own personal geographies while they’re still important enough to remember. I don’t know that this will prevent losing those moments. Or even be something that’s easy to browse or review as years pass. But I think it could be an interesting experiment; to plot my personal timeline across the map of the world.