I am so excited to be participating in the TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon next month and those who know me would say, ‘How is that possible?’
The story begins at the Beer Mile held by Athletic Brewing and iRun Magazine on Saturday, August 19 when a long time dream came true—being a runner (I started running just before I turn 40), I wanted to run a Beer Mile Race.
I had intentions to do so for a long time, but the fact that I don’t drink beer unless it’s a momentous occasion (along with the fear of how I would feel drinking so much beer in a short time) had my foot pumping the brakes and put a pause on this crazy idea. Heck, I didn’t think I could drink a beer, let alone four! Could I even drink four bottles of San Pellegrino??
Ben Kaplan organized the race and did it in top-class style. To start, he rounded up a great group of participants, heck he even had a pro participant who gave up her top secrets to a successful race. Ben’s magic was the beer: Athletic Brewing supplied the non-alcoholic beer, which in theory doesn’t qualify for a true beer mile as 5% is the minimum alcohol content of the beer imbibed. I can be a stickler for rules, but when it comes down to including friends who opt out of drinking alcohol for personal reasons, I am just as pleased to ‘fudge the rules’!
To make me feel better about the non-alcoholic beer, my husband said, ‘It’s like drinking the real thing without the after effects.’
I did it! I downed 4 beers in under 10 minutes and finished my mile in a time of 11:40 as was announced by the official time keeper (an 11-year-old kid, son of the eventual winner). Five stars to Athletic Brewing for supplying the beer—truly awesome beer for drinkers and non-drinkers alike.
And last but not least, 5 stars to Gord, coach and beer mile mentor!!!
So, how did the beer mile get me to register for the half marathon? Well, two weeks prior to the race I broke my 3rd bone this year, second time breaking my left metatarsal, but most recently I broke my right metatarsal (4 weeks before running in the Tokyo Marathon). When I asked my husband if he wanted to participate, he said, ‘How can you do it on a broken foot?’ I replied, ‘I didn’t see that there was a required time to complete!’”
So on today’s journey toward TCS Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon on October 15, 2023, I share with you one of my modalities in my healing process: Exogen helps heal my broken bone (5th metatarsal on my left foot). The ultrasound helps heal my bone and has allowed me to get to running sooner than one would imagine. 4 1/2 weeks since my break on Aug. 5th, seems early, but this is all too familiar to me. It is a broken bone that allows you to weight bare, but the risk of a possible re-injury would really set me back.
I run cautiously—other things maybe not so much…
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