Another half marathon has come and gone; my feet and leg muscles no longer ache with every movement I make and my insides are once again hydrated… well, as hydrated as can be in this crazy assed heat. As is always the case for me post race, I’ve been thinking a lot the last few days about the journey to redemption: the triumphs, the challenges, the lessons, the moments, the people.
The last 15 weeks was spent again with a select group of women, between the ages of 18 and 60, volunteering their legs for the UBC run study, which is investigating running injuries in women. The road to redemption was not only my journey but theirs also. Like the previous study, most of these women had never run a half before, many were novice, they were excited, they were nervous, some came to the first session with knocking knees. To see them grow, to see how far they had come with their running, to see them push their bodies week after week, to see them not quit, to see them with the biggest smiles on their faces post race – that was pretty freaking amazing. Seriously, my heart is still bursting.
This was our journey – most definitely emancipated from mental slavery 🙂