Journey to ... Boston!

Rome Marathon Update


Updates are still pending. Perhaps I'm just waiting for the perfect time to write an epic post about an epic trip. Nevertheless, the entire experience from Rome remains burned in my mind and heart. In the meantime, for those of you who have me on facebook, I have photos uploaded. I even took the camera along the race, snapping photos along my run! Here's a photo from a friend's album snapped of me (above).


Qualifying for Boston

As I crossed the finish line in Rome (at 4:24), I was in excruciating pain, muttering to myself, "never again!" After 3 ice baths and the runner's high kicking in, I lay on my bed the next day craving more. In fact, I could not sleep from all the excitement.

Upon my arrival in Toronto, I immediately looked for opportunities to run. An opportunity opened up to be a Pace Rabbit for the Toronto GoodLife Marathon (I'll be the 4:30 Pace Rabbit). I have paced a Half Marathon (2:30 Rabbit), but I was just getting into the Full! Yet I felt fairly confident that I could do this, given the downhill course (Toronto) and the smooth course, quite unlike Rome's cobblestones. I will also need to continue training hard so that I will run the Marathon (May 15) comfortably.

One of the goals I have is to qualify for the Boston Marathon (cut-off, 3:10). I have a long way to go to qualify, but coming back from Rome, I was filled with a renewed desire to reach this seemingly unattainable goal.


Vegetarian Diet

One of the keys to training is diet. Eating the proper diet will help give you the right energy and help you recover faster. Faster recovery means more training :) In light of all this, I am working to a more plant-based diet. Apparently, meat takes more energy to digest, energy that can be used to run. The transition will be gradual, much like my transition away from coffee. But I will be taking more care into how I eat, looking for foods that give me a lot of "positive energy".

Matt Frazier, aka the No Meat Athlete, qualified for the Boston Marathon. Incorporating a plant-based diet was a key element to his preparation. This is the tail-end of my Journey to Rome (the journey has been complete, and the last month of fundraising is coming to a close). A new journey has begun. The Journey to the Boston Marathon!

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