It's officially Official (Yes you are correct. That is a capital 'O').Today I registered for the ING Ottawa Marathon. And so now, barring any unforeseen circumstances - injury, illness, mental breakdown (don't laugh, it's a real possibility) - I will be completing my training, and I will be running 26.2 miles (that is 42.2 kilometers, fellow Canadians!)
When you ask? When will this event take place? In eleven short weeks, on May 25!
I've been doing alot of talking.
'I've got lots of work to do', I inform my friends who ask me how my training is going.
'I ran 16 miles yesterday', I notify my co-workers over coffee on Monday morning in our employee 'lounge'.
'I got a hot new running skirt', I report to my girlfriends over cocktails.
The reality is that I have been naively plugging away at my training schedule, not giving much thought to the inevitable finale to this little party I've been planning. I've brought a wee bit of publicity to this situation, what with the whole blog thing, and the Facebook Group, and the talking and stuff.
The gravity of the situation became apparent to me at approximately 9.36am this morning when I received my confirmation email from ING:
Please print this email as confirmation of your entry.
Michelle Dykstra is now Registered for: ING Ottawa Marathon
There were some other words on that email that I'm sure are equally important, and I shall revisit that at a later date. But it's that last sentence that sort of reached out and grabbed me by the aorta. I am registered for the ING Ottawa Marathon.
Not that I ever lost sight of what I started here. You can ask anyone who's close to me - I'm as committed today as I was back in November to completing the marathon. And I'm still hopeful that people are reading this blog (as sporadic as the posting may be) and learning about Tinnitus. In fact, I may be even more committed now that I've received the confirmation that someone may be expecting to see my face at the Registration Table on race day.
Today I feel a renewed sense of determination. I began this project to raise awareness for Tinnitus, and I intend on completing it to the best of my ability. It's true, I've been a little under the weather lately, and my mileage has suffered a bit. But tomorrow I intend to get back outside and brave the elements once again.
I'm sure I felt the universe jolt just now, like it's realigning itself. It's like all the negativity that has been plaguing this blog is trying to dislodge itself and replace itself with happy, optimistic, marathon-is-tic energy. Did you feel that?
Oh. Maybe the cosmos haven't shifted at all. Maybe I've actually been slammed in the back of the head by a slipper-turned-missile, launched by my seven year old daughter in an attempt to render her 13 year old brother unconscious.
Well, whatever......wish me Luck (with a capital 'L')
