Always Finish Fast

It was a dreary day at Cenntenial Park in Etobicoke, but my ticket to the next cross-country meet was shining about 50 metres away from me.

The top 22 runners moved on to the regional race in a weeks time. I was runner number 23. The guy I had to catch was 50 metres away and not slowing down as he entered the stadium, the last leg of the race.

At that moment I couldn’t help but feel defeated. Negative thoughts poured into my oxygen-starved brain. There was no way I could catch him. That runner was the fastest man alive. This was my last chance to make it on in elementary school and I was wrecking it.

Running is 90 per cent mental and I was failing in that department, big time.

Suddenly another thought came into my brain, one that wiped all the others off the table with a quick and confident swipe; always finish fast.

In pre-run pep talks my dad had always told me to finish a race fast and that if I felt strong at the end of a run, it meant I could have gone faster.

All of a sudden I was in ‘The Zone’, that mythical place athletes go when they are at their best, when nothing can stop them. I had always thought it was like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory; really cool, a little scary, but in the end just a made up place. That day I proved to myself it is real.

I passed the other runner, came 22nd and went on to the regionals.

The advice I used that day will never leave me. It is something I use every time I go for a goal, do any work or try to achieve something, big or small.

This is my last post in this blog, my final stretch before the finish line. I am going on to other races, other courses with different obstacles and moments of exhaustion and glory. So here goes my last kick, hopefully I can leave everything on the course.

If I have learned anything in my ventures in life, whether it is running, chasing a story for journalism, volunteering, making smores or writing this blog, it is that hard work, a belief in yourself, a sense of humor and love for others will carry you through some of the best and worst moments of your life.

If you work hard and give everything you have to something, like that moment all those days ago when I qualified, you will reach your goal, because having no regrets and being proud of yourself, no matter the outcome, should always be a top priority.

Believing in yourself will tear off all the negative words and actions that are trying to grab you and bring you down. When you start believing in yourself, others will believe in you, even when things don’t always go as planned.

Humor makes you an optimist. When you laugh, it’s easier to notice others laughing. When you smile, it’s easier to notice others smiling. And when you start to notice these things that make you happy it just builds and soon the thousands of little things blot out a lot of the bad things.

And finally, loving others helps the world love you back, and more importantly it helps you to love yourself. It’s not always easy to love people. I’ve seen enough bullying, racism, prejudice and hate to realize it is almost impossible sometimes. But hate only breeds hate. And if that’s true, than love must breed love.

So in this race that is life, follow your dreams. When a runner falls, give them a hand. When you reach the top of a mountain, admire the view. And when you reach the final stretch give it your all, finish fast, be proud and keep it going in your next race. One day soon, you will, not might, you will reach your goals, one stride at a time.

Air Guitar Solos are Better then a Six Pack

A little less then a year ago my girlfriend Kelsey embarked on a quest to find out if what the health and fitness magazines said was true; could you actually get a six pack of abs in six weeks. She followed a strenuous workout regimen full of early morning gym sessions and instituted a blitz to purge all unhealthy foods from her diet.

Kelsey documented her adventures on her blog (http://kelseyatkinson.blogspot.com/2010/01/under-construction.html, her journey begins) and I learned a lot of lessons about running and life from her stories and observations.

While running one day, Kelsey was so in the zone, so charged on a runner's high, that she absent-mindedly started playing air guitar in the middle of our university's indoor track. What is even better is that when she noticed she was doing it she didn't stop until she was done her solo.

I loved this story because although Kelsey's quest was hard, painful and discouraging at times she found enjoyment, euphoria and freedom in the midst of it.

Too often when people finally reach their dreams or goals they have forgotten why they even had that certain ambition in the first place. We can become too occupied with reaching the top no matter what and on the way there negative feelings, obstacles, stresses and bad experiences can leave us hating the very thing we once loved.

I've encountered this studying journalism at university. I love to write and ask questions, meet people and be a witness to amazing events, but amongst the stresses of weekly deadlines, tough competition among my peers and discouragingly rude sources I sometimes forget the good I can achieve from reporting and the thrill that comes with it. Same with running. I really love it, but sometimes I forget the joy it brings me and instead my mind and body grow to hate getting out of my comfy bed to run in the pouring rain or chilly air.

But now I always think of the Air Guitar Lesson to help me remember to be thankful for the simple joys in life and the things I love to do, like running or writing, instead of dreading them, like chores I have to do before I can watch more TV.

Instead of growing to hate running, one of the things she loves, Kelsey used the simple joys that it gave her to help her out of the traps that cynicism and stress laid out for her.

I won't spoil the end of Kelsey's quest for you by saying if she was successful in getting a six pack in six weeks or not, although to me her journey, air guitar solos and all, taught me more than the final destination did.

So break out your guitar and turn up the music because doing what you love, and remembering why you love it, will make you feel like a rockstar.