a bit about myself...

I'm not a remarkable runner. I love the articles by John Bingham in Runner's World magazine, he calls himself the "Penguin" as he waddles from marathon to marathon...not seeking to be the best, but more seeking the enjoyment, and the not that he had the courage to finish, but that he had the courage to start.

That's the philosophy I follow. I've always loved participating in sporting activities...through school it was softball, track and field (I won first place in grade 6 high jump at our regional competition!!) and volleyball. As high school and college rolled around, priorities shifted (party y'all!!) and while I always tried to remain active (rollerblading in the summer, dreams of being on Roller Jam!) the preverbial freshman 15 (or in my case 20) slowly creeped on my body.

But it was cool. I wasn't really bothered, cause I didn't feel or look overweight. But I wasn't strong or fast either. It wasn't until I was looking for something new to try, something to shock myself into a fitness regimen that I discoverd one of my passions. Fighting.

Full contact kickboxing. My first school was Twin Dragon in Scarborough, but when I moved to North York, I transfered to that location where my passion (and surprising skill) for fighting was honed.

I met 3 of my good friends, Kim, Carol and Danielle there, and week in, week out we would spar, battle it out for 3 minute rounds of jabs, roundhouse kicks to the head, and front kicks to the sternum.

KICKS TO THE HEAD???? That's supposed to be fun?? I know, sounds crazy, but again, let's go back to the Penguin philosophy, it's all about the courage to start...me, whom most people see as shy and nice, why would she want to punch anyone, let alone be punched back. Adrenaline. Competition. Personal Pride.

But what I craved was competition. It wasn't until my friend Nicole introduced me to the world of amateur boxing that I found my niche. I wanted to compete, go to shows, kick some ass. Easier said than done. I found myself at a legendary club in Toronto, where I trained for a few months, and pushed myself to be ready. Or so I thought.

My enjoyment for running began here as well. Boxers run. It's part of their endurance training. So I pounded away on training days, huffing, puffing, to keep up with the rest of the fighters, often not. But I was determined. I even signed up for my first 5 and 10k in 2004. I thought I was going to die in the 10k!!

I had my first fight in September 2004.

In the second round I through a wild hook and ended up tearing my rotater cuff and partially dislocating my shoulder. It was not fun.

So with 9 months of rehab, what was a girl to do that had just spent the last 3 years in some form of combative sport? Run. Although I had to adjust my form, as I didn't want aggravate my shoulder, the summer of 2005 I ran. I ran the Nike 10k in the pouring rain, and I enjoyed every minute (well, almost, who likes squishy shoes!)

But I was also determined to make it back in the boxing ring too. I moved to a smaller city, just east of Toronto, and found a new club and after rehab had finished, I started to train for my comeback.

Again, running was a big part of it. I realized all this time, that freshman 20 hadn't really moved anywhere, through all this training, and running, I was eating like a pig. I was a junk food junkie. So when I dedicated myself to my comeback, the eating had to change. It made all the difference in the world. Cutting out the junk, adding more vegetables, and fruit, and for me, cutting out most dairy I shed that 20lbs, and was a lean, mean fighting machine.

So fast forward to May 2006. The Comeback. I travelled to St. Catherines, Ontario and fought in an amateur tournament. The butterflies you feel when you suit up, start warming up, I wanted to shit my pants (pardon my french). It was the culmination of what I'd been training for. I'd seen my opponent...she was shorter than me, and thought, yeah, I'll tear her head off. While I did win the fight, she hit HARD!! The next night, I had to fight again, but wasn't as lucky, and the final decision went to the other fighter. (she beat me by one point).

Running was integral in getting me in shape. I ran for distance, I ran hills, I ran to breathe, I ran to relax. Ok, so I don't know how people can really relax when they run, I didn't really run to relax. I ran for great legs! (and they're getting there!!) Now I run to challenge myself and to raise money too.

So now, I've decided to take a bit of a break from boxing, and concentrate on becoming a fit, strong runner. To push myself to reach my goals. Survive the Half, post a good time.

btw: The world record for the Half (for women) is 1 hr: 6 minutes.