Gearing up for my first race in three years

On July 26th I’ll run the San Fransisco Marathon.

That last time I raced was May of 2006. It was the Canadian 50km Championships in Toronto. I won, but haven’t raced since. Not because I haven’t wanted to but because the demands of touring ramped up and have been near-relentless ever since.

However, over the last three years I’ve run consistently, averaging about five runs per week. But I’ve done it for a different reason. I haven’t been concerned with pushing the boundaries of my physical fitness as I had been in years prior when I raced full-time. Yet, I continue to run simply for the mental break and non-physical benefits, benefits I write about in my latest book, Thrive Fitness: Mental and Physical Strength for Life. Since most of my time is spent touring, the time commitment needed for high-level triathlon training and racing is not an option. yet, I’m not only able to fit running in while on tour, it in fact complements my hectic schedule by allowing me time to myself, which keeps me fresher and able to tour for longer without a break. While there’s no getting away from the fact that running between an hour and two uses up between an hour or two, I feel it returns more than it takes. Greater mental freshness, better sleep quality, and more energy are direct results of regular running. But the ability to ward of staleness when talking about the same topic repeatedly (as is the nature of a book tour) is among the most valuable attributes of a daily run while on tour.

And lucky for me, each run over the last three years has also contributed to the building of greater aerobic fitness. So while the getting up early to fit a run in before the day begins has not changed, the reason for doing it has.