My Year in Running: 2014 Blog Favourites

I had a challenging year running in 2014.  It started on a low note with another foot injury but finished on a high with a nice 10K run at Reggae Marathon.

In an ill-advised attempt to speed up, I re-injured my right foot early in 2014 and had to use my walking cast again.  Winter running in Toronto was also cold. Frigid actually with lots of talk about the Polar Vortex.  Things improved as Spring came and the fabulous running trails that criss-cross Toronto opened up again. And I was back to a good running pace in my first race of the year, a downhill 10K.  Running in 2014 ended on a high note with Reggae Marathon.  I posted a better time than in 2013 and even had enough for an all out sprint at the end.  A challenging year at the start but with a nice finish.  I'm definitely looking forward to 2015.  Here are some of the highlights from 2014:

Running in the Polar Vortex:  Running is supposed to be simple.  T Shirt, shorts, running shoes. Running in the winter means adding layers...running in super frigid temperatures means head to toe coverage.  Here's how I dealt with running during the Polar Vortex 

We runners in Toronto are blessed with some fabulous running trails.  From the Don Valley (and connecting trails in the east) to the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario to mh favourite close to home, the Humber River, we have tremendous choices to stay off the roads.  Here are some of the top trails in Toronto:  Running the Trails in Toronto  

After the second foot injury, I was pretty dejected. I almost stopped running altogether at that point.  Thankfully though I re-discovered the 10K race distance that I had enjoyed so much back in my mid-30's.  I did two 10K's in 2014 starting with the Sporting Life 10K in the Spring in which I ran with two of my sons, Court and Andrew. Loved it!  Sporting Life 10K 



Here's how I truly feel about running:   Cucurri Ergo Sun:  I run therefore I am.

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Let the sun shine

15days!  That's how long it was without sunshine in Toronto.  I didn't like it one bit!

Yes I run in the pre-dawn hours so I don't see the sun when I start out on my morning runs.  I look forward to seeing the sunrise though.  That has gone missing these past few weeks with fog, rain and snow.  As I finished my runs I could only look forward to the darkness morphing into grey.

The snow was sympathetic changing into a black slop that mirrored the sky above.  People on the street and drivers in their vehicles stopped smiling.  Commuters pulled their toques down and pushed their collars up in a bid to hide from the dullness.  It was not beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

"Let the sun shine in!" we cried.

Then without warning a strange sight rose over the horizon from the east one morning.  Thankfully I'm am early riser and witnessed it first hand while out running:  A bright yellow glow signaled that the sun was back!  Hallelujah!  Break out the sunglasses...put away the Vitamin D.

S.A.D...Seasonally Adjusted Depression...was over for after just one sight of the sunrise I enjoyed my run that morning.  It re-filled my memory banks. I'm running again with a smile.

Until next time...
ThatRunninGuy

Tourism Marketing driven by Digital

BD:  'Before Digital', planning a vacation trip involved a visit to a Travel Agent's Office.  You picked up travel brochures for various destinations you were interested in.  Once home you poured over brochures featuring pretty pictures and destination/property details.  You sweated the fine print to minimize the later surprises once the 'add-on' costs were added to the displayed price.  If fortunate, you talked to friends and work colleagues to hear what they had to say about their experience in the destination you wanted to go.  Third-party endorsements have always had a big impact on selection a vacation destination.  To book the trip, you called the Travel Agent and gave them your credit card number.

Fast forward:  Destinations selected, trips booked and paid for online with airlines, hotels and tour companies. This chart shows this reality:

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Chris M Morales
MarCommTO

chris.morales@bell.net

647 393 3855

Linkedin:  Chris M Morales 

Wakey, wakey...time to get Running

I had a heck of a time getting motivated to go running last weekend.  It may have had something to do with the weather...we had a big snow dump in Toronto and the sidewalks and streets were sloppy. A Reggae Marathon hangover also could have contributed.  The bottom line was that until I went to my trusty source of running motivation and inspiration, Gibson's Daily Run Quotes I wasn't going running.   The first two reminded me of why I keep running;  the third one got me out the door

"Don't try to rush progress. Remember– a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Keep believing."

-Kara Goucher, two-time Olympian & elite marathoner

"Track and field is unique also in that you can be a 'winner' every time you compete. Not everyone wins the race, but you can improve your performance each time you perform, and when the timer's stopwatch shows you've run faster than ever before you're a 'winner' regardless of what position you finished in the race. This is a little victory. A succession of little victories is what builds a champion.

I know that every athlete I coach is not a world-class champion, but every athlete can demonstrate the 'right stuff,' that is, the character traits and training attitudes that lead to consistent improvement. If you are disciplined, if you show determination, if you persevere, if you're willing to go that extra mile—to try again—you will become the track-and-field athlete you want to be. And nothing beats getting where you want to go—regardless of how fast you got there."
-Jason-Lamont Jackson, Assistant Coach of Women's Track and Field at Seton Hall University

"You don't have to finish a marathon to be a runner. There are lots of great runners who never run 26.2 miles. A runner is someone who runs; it's that simple—and that grand. Be that someone. Be yourself. Be your own runner, whether the challenge is four times around the junior high school track or qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon."
-Amby Burfoot, Runner's World Complete Book of Running

These and other motivational and inspirational running quotes can be found on their Facebook page, Gibson's Daily Running Quotes.  

Until next time...

ThatRunninGuy