Vacation Mode

It's hard to think about training and a fall marathon when your feet are sore, time pressure is on and your mind is already on a lake in the middle of Algonquin Park. I really want to get enthused about working up to that long run, but while the flesh is willing, the spirit is weak.

Well, at least that's how I feel. I know that there is a very tough and long 26.2 miles waiting for me come October, but now, when it's the beginning of August, 33° Celsius outside and humid as heck, and that long training run is the last thing on my mind.

I already have the people at work ragging me about my lunchtime jaunts in the heat and humidity. To tell the truth, there is the odd day that I really shouldn't have ventured out because I paid for it later.

Why do I feel compelled to taunt the fates by flirting with heat exhaustion when saner mortals are lounging in air-conditioned comfort? When the weatherman is cautioning people to stay inside and to avoid exertion outdoors due to an air quality advisory why do I feel the need to challenge the dog days of summer? Why would I even think of doing anything that makes me even more hot and sweaty when I'm already hot and sweaty just sitting?

Well, there is that damn marathon. And like that lake in Algonquin, it does beckon me.

As I tie my shoelaces, in my mind, my wife and I are paddling the canoe across a cool, clear lake, scanning the shoreline. I check the compass and consult the map, looking for that hidden portage that will take us to the perfect campsite on the perfect lake. Maybe if we are lucky, we'll catch sight of an elusive moose or deer. Maybe, just maybe, we won't see another soul for the next week and I can turn into the hermit I tend to on these trips.

I fill my water bottle from the refrigerator, stuff it in my water belt and head out. No, the run isn't going to be easy, comfortable or fun, but it has to be done if I want to do more than just finish in the fall. Like some things that are hard to do, the preparation and work are often worth the effort.

It's just like how all the best campsites in the park are out of the way and usually involve crossing one or more portages two or three kilometres in length. Lugging all the gear and canoe are hell in the heat, humidity and bugs, but the payoff in the end makes it worth the blood, sweat and effort.

The funny part is that I started doing this running thing to strengthen my legs so I could survive the long portages that protect those choice campsites.

It's strange how some things are connected, isn't it?

By Mark G. Collis

Revised: February 18, 2005.