Running fears, real and imaginary

Warning: this topic degenerates into talk about zombies.

As frequently as I run, I have almost never run scared. Not that I want to run with the fear of god in me, but it occurred to me that most people, including pros, set out to run distance X with effort Y and pain level Z and usually follow through to a tee. Race winners work hard but look relaxed. My idle thought was to imagine how often runners use their skills -however unexpectedly- to save their very lives?

PhD defense completed

Well, the long road is at last near its end. Transitioning from one path to another, this time in Halifax. I'm feeling a mixture of joy, exhaustion, and I don't know what else. This has everything and nothing to do with running. I started my PhD with little more than casual running experience. It was used as my backup plan in case the snow wasn't good for skiing. Often I would even run with poles. Then I came to McGill. Nothing of that nature changed initially. I was busy with school, learning the city, and trying to understand what my research project was going to be.

McGill Team Challenge

I spent most of Saturday volunteering for the 17^th McGill Team Challenge. This race lies at the midpoint of every Canadian's indoor track season. Six weeks out from CIS and it's time to show your stuff.  The meet was very well run, events started as scheduled, and it looked as though there were enough volunteers to keep things going smoothly. Help came in part from us members of Montreal Endurance, also decked out in our fresh team logo for some free advertising/good PR. My job was to check in athletes before the requisite hour prior to their events. Given the noisy environment it wasn't an ideal job for someone with APD. To me most names sounded the same, especially in French "Did you say LeDuc or Medoc?" Nothing worse than repeating your name while stressed for your race.