Since my year began with running a half marathon (21K) I figured it should end with one too. Because Jody is always up for an adventure, she agreed to do this one with me. Her husband, Gerry, shook his head in disbelief.

Not only were we going to run (actually more walk than run) a half marathon on our own with no crowds, medals, t-shirts, or any kind of fanfare, we were going to do it without any training.

I cross country ski a lot in the winter and Jody had done quite a bit this year as well, so it’s not like we’re not fit. Running is like any other activity. Muscles like to do things they’ve been practicing. Our muscles have been practicing gliding, or showshoeing with our legs in a different position than running. Neither of us had actually run at all since December 15^th when we did our 5K virtual cupcake run. Really, though, how hard can it be?

We made plans to meet at 6:30 am on Valentine’s Day at my house. We could run on the rivers trail and use my house as a washroom stop / aid station. Tomena, much to our shock, decided to join us for the first 9K. So the three of us reminisced about the slush run of last year and training for half marathons we all did last year. We watched a brilliant sunrise, and had a great time.

Then we got back to my place, reloaded our water, etc. and said goodbye to Tomena. 12Km to go – no problem!… actually… problem!

We agreed that we would walk the rest of the way because that would be easy… right? Wrong! By the time we got to 16K we were hurtin’ girls. My hips were sore but I think Jody was suffering a bit more than I was. It was a damp morning, which does nothing for either of us, and it was also icy. We didn’t discover that until Jody found what looked like a puddle and was actually polished ice. She went down backwards in slow motion and there was nothing I could do about it. After that we still had 5K to go. We managed to finish but I wouldn’t say it was our best run or walk. It took us four hours!

Of course, some of that time was spent doing what we do best – enjoying the scenery and taking pictures. Some of the highlights that distracted us from our pain were the awesome hearts strewn along the trail by artists wanting to brighten up Valentine’s day. We saw wildlife – a beaver underneath the Overlander’s Bridge and swans coming in to land. We met and interesting guy collecting cans and bottles, and we had lots of time for great conversation.

Looking forward to running season starting again, but not until I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every second of ski season.

Why was this crazy?

We spend a ridiculous amount of time training for runs – what if we just did the runs?

Would I do it again?

Probably not… I think training and building gradually to a distance is a good thing! I was in serious pain the next day!