Blue Nose International Marathon

On the road again??.

Ok call me cheesy to take a line from a song, but it?s certainly something I heard a few times of late ?Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back??? and it?s AWESOME ! What?s also AWESOME is it?s time to WELCOME BACK T4G to the Team Myles Relay event ! Run, Jog, Walk our way through 42 k and raise money for our local YMCA !

After being OFF the run for many many months, it?s certainly great to be back again. The feeling of something you truly passion being taken away from you, I cannot really put into words, but if you are determined and positive, you find your way again or you learn to deal with it and adapt to change. I always go back to what I said a few years ago when asked ?why do you run Bruce? and the Answer is (a la JEOPARDY style) = ?Because I can?.?, knowing I would make something off it was a whole other story.

2007 was certainly a challenging year to be on the sidelines, but you learn a lot from that angle. It brought me back to realizing another reason why I enjoy the run scene, and no it?s not for all the spandex, FREE water and Gatorade, the coooooooolness of a new poly-propylene shirt or seeing rookies find out why you don?t wear cotton anything ! YOUCH ! that?s all I have to say about that??..It?s about seeing people reach a goal, not because they are the first across the line, or top in their age group, but an individual goal. My first 5k, I reached my goal time ! I got to the finish before my sister or my husband ! or ?I DID IT? !!! Have you ever watched the end of an event ? A lot of runners get so caught up with their own goals and the next race, that they haven?t. Check it out sometime ! take in the smiles, the site of success when a close friend, or relative crosses that finish line with a fist pump, showing the feeling of a champion just as much as the first person who crossed that line ! where it?s not about time anymore, but just getting through it and having that feeling of WOO HOO ! that we all know.

?All runners are the same, we just cross the finish line at a different time?.?

So much for long story short hahaha ! last year at this time, I had a great year training for Boston, then the set back of Arthritis kicked in and it would seem all was lost, but in the end it was just reality. Not giving up I ran Boston, than it was onto a few other races including the ½ at Bluenose to get my spirits back up and the fight that I could get through this. Bluenose went awesome and I thought ?I am back in the saddle and GOLDEN !!! ?. Then came Charlo, my north shore up home marathon, the one I first qualified for Boston at, my first marathon win, the first time my Dad seen me in a run and saw why I did what I did, but??.2007 was certainly not 2006. My knee got worst again, but I was too stubborn to throw in the towel. Race morning being optimistic, I started out easy and slowly found my pace and just said ?listen to your body and don?t be dumb?.? 23k in the lead off came the hat and out came the towel and probably my smartest running decision ever. Today was not my day, it was time for a break, which brings me back to what I am trying to say here, I just to the MARATHON route to get it out ?wink wink?.

It turns out that your DAY can be through someone else, and I learned that a lot being on the sidelines in 2007. From seeing people qualify for Boston, completing their first triathlon, to their first event no matter what the distance ! and this year at Bluenose 2008 it?s all about our Relay team again !! GO TEAM ! We are back for a 3rd year in a row and it?s surely going to be another great time ! Keep your eye out for T4G on Sunday as we will be showing up with lots of energy and a goal to HAVE FUN FUN FUN !!! Sunday will be our day to be the best TEAM we can be ! On that note, here?s 10 big high fives BAM! for Team T4G - Jeremy Russell, Amanda McGraw, Patti Yeomans, Shawn Peterson, Malcolm Cosman, Julie Little, Mike Foster, Kelly Fowler, and Co-captains Karlene Wall and me Bruce Guitard

The team is excited and we will keep you all posted??

Until next time?.

Bruce Guitard - Relay