Running Zaidy

The first picture was taken on October 19, 2022 and the second on the 23'rd at the same spot. You can see the difference that short period of time has on the foliage.

These pictures were taken 5 days since my last run on the mountain. Some of them were taken at the same spot. You can see the difference. This was my last long run before the NYC Marathon. I ran about 30K (18.5 miles) and now will start my taper. I will run half my regular distances so that my body ahs time to rest before NY.

 My favorite running spot is the mountain here in Montreal. There is a road that runs through the park. I usually start at the bottom of the mountain and run to the summit. It's a 700 foot elevation over 2.5 miles. I especially like running at this time of the year when the leaves are turning. This morning the foliage was really beautiful and I took lots of pictures. Of course it was hard to run this morning because I was constantly stopping to take pictures. But, I wasn't the only one doing that. Here are some of them.

I recently posted this to one of the NYC Marathon Facebook Groups. Have a look at one of the responses.  This is one of the things that make the marathon so special. Let's share medal stories. I'll start. I had a great experience with my medal last year. When I crossed the border on my way back to Montreal the border guard asked me if I had anything to declare. I said yes I do, and showed her my medal. She said "Wow, can I hold it?". I gave it to her and we had a nice running conversation. After giving it back to me she asked if I had anything else to declare. I said "Yes, I have some groceries, a couple of bottles of wine, and a bottle of scotch". She smiled and said "Oh, you deserve that". Here is one of the comments.

Here is something I wrote after completing my first marathon on June 3,2018. Power walked for over 20 years. Never intended to run a marathon. Couldn't run to the end of the block. Wanted to mix a little running with my power walking. Started. Running 1K without stopping was the goal. That little voice inside my head said no you can't. Took a while but I did it. Then it was 2K and then 3K. I never intended to run a marathon. Kept adding a little bit more each week. Weeks turned to months, I reached 5K. Wonder if I can do 10K. The little voice said no you can't. Did 6, 7, 8, 9, and then 10K. I was happy with that. I never intended to run a marathon. Did 8 miles and then 10. Decided to try a half. The little voice said no you can't. Did it. Did lots more half's. Most with 1300 foot climbs. One Sunday I decided to try a 16 miler. Let's see what happens, I said to myself. The little voice said no you can't. Did it. One day I saw a runner with 42.2 on his jersey....

Inspiration comes in all kinds of different ways. I've written about three runners who inspire me and hopefully will inspire you. Today I want to talk about inspiration from the spectators at a marathon. They provide us with much needed inspiration during the race. Be it the signs, the cheering, or the calling out of our names they are a big part of what gets us to the finish line. Let me give you a personal example. Towards the end of the race just outside Central Park with about 1/2 mile to the finish line I was completely out of gas; not even fumes. I was running (if you can call it that) on an injured ankle and it was killing me.  There was a group of spectators cheering me on. Somehow they gave me a shot of adrenaline and I was able to sprint past while high fiving them. To this day I don't know how I did it! But let me tell you about Emily Litman. The NYC marathon crosses five bridges. The start is the Verrazano. Then there are: The Pulaski, Queensborough, Willis Avenue, ...

Here is something I wrote a while ago and posted to a bunch of Facebook Running groups. I got a very good response. A few people told me that they downloaded, enlarged, printed, and hung it on their wall at home!