4th Quarter Updates

(More Like 2017 In Review)

NTS: Be more accountable on my own updates as a form of incremental running logs ?

As they say, life happens and when you don't keep track, time just simply flies by! In my case, three months have past right by and lots has happened with my own running journey. Apologies for the lack of updates.

I participated in quite a few races since my last update in August and I will be elaborating more on each race on separate entries:

SEPT 2017
- Oasis Zoo Run 10K

​OCT 2017
- MEC Trail Race FOUR
- Niagara Falls International Marathon
- Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon

NOV 2017
- Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon
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My marquee races within the last three months was strictly the Niagara Falls Marathon and the Hamilton Marathon. The remainder of the races listed acted as my incremental stepping stone races to measure whether I was close to my maximum running potential or falling short of my self-set benchmarks. Challenges doing so included risks of getting injured, overdoing the runs in between races and timing, and lack of preparation. Now that I looked back into tackling the races from the past few months, I can definitely say with confidence that I am running more efficiently and hungrier for improvements more than ever. As I observed from one of the posts using #runnerscommunity hashtag, I recall the statement of "ALWAYS EARNED, NEVER GIVEN" and this simply speaks volume as to the drive to achieving goals albeit running or pursuing any personal or career related goals altogether. "HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT IT?" was a recurring theme that was inside my head in between my Niagara Falls marathon to the Hamilton marathon weeks apart. (to be expanded upon in their individual posts)

What's In Store for 2018?

I am still in my initial stages of planning my running year ahead for 2018 with the Burlington Chili Half Marathon in March 2018 secured.

One of the races I will definitely look forward to is the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October 2018! As a world major marathon, this race can be entered by submitting a guaranteed entry with a set qualifying time or by lottery system. In my case, I opt for the lottery entry as my pace is still a work-in-progress and nowhere close to those blazing speeds that they require. I am proud to say that my lottery wishful thinking from this past October became a reality a couple weeks ago as I was accepted into their entry list.

I have also marked my calendar for the first weekend in May 2018 for the Pittsburgh Marathon, as per recommendation of my older sibling which is representing on behalf of his employer, Lanxess. I will be looking forward as to how they build the hype and anticipation as they mark their 10th year anniversary of hosting this very event.

As for the ultramarathon scene, I intend to step it up a notch from the 50K to the range topping Gore-Tex 50 miler for the North Face Endurance Challenge up in Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Ontario. I feel that it's time to put all my trail runs and practices into a tried and true effort and attain a reasonable goal that I can personally be proud of.

Lastly I am also currently looking into both the MEC races as well as the MEC trail race pack - both for the price value and for the amount of races that I get to run in preparation for the even more significant races ahead.

From here, signing off for 2017 and let's see what 2018 has in store!

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year for the year ahead!

Cheers,
​- M.W.

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