About 10 weeks ago I convinced my colleagues to take on what may be one of the biggest physical challenges they have yet to endure, running a half marathon. Some eagerly jumped at the challenge and some took a bit more convincing, but luckily the free beer and chilli included with the race proved to be a clutch selling point.
By the time training was set to start, a whole seven of us had bravely stepped up to the challenge. That’s seven out of fifteen full time staff, or 47% of our entire office. I’d say that’s pretty impressive. (It’s worth noting that two more had initially signed up but had to pull out due to injury and a wedding. And the other six were there in spirit sending us their speedy vibes throughout the race.)
And so it began, on January 4th seven of us set out on a journey to train and conquer a half marathon, most for their very first time. Going for a common goal of about 2:00 hours, the plan looked something like this:
Not surprisingly, some followed this plan religiously and enthusiastically. This included text messages at all hours of the night with questions of pacing, discussion on nutrition, and just messages sharing how great their tempo run was; the response was amazing!
Others (ahem, Grant) took a more relaxed approach to training which included an extensive recovery, unlimited rest periods, a lack of mileage and a bagel diet for a week. Maybe it was the secret recipe…or maybe he just got lucky.
Here are a couple snap shots of our 9 week journey to the Chilly Half Marathon:
Now two months later, we are back at work Monday morning, greeted with sore muscles and a sense of accomplishment. Team TSSC killed it yesterday! Everyone accomplished their personal goals, including Grant who was titled the “wild card” guy.
March 6th was filled with running, sunshine, accomplishments and post race beers. We completed what we we set out to do; we got sh*t done. I always like to say “you’ve already won by just being here”. Not only did TSSC show up but we did it as a team, and we did it smiling. Fiona was even quoted as saying that she had fun every single kilometre! And naturally our runner’s high was accompanied by beers afterwards, supplied by Calum who showed up just to cheer us on.
What’s next for our TSSC team? Maybe a 42.2k? #TSSCRuns!
~Written by Katherine Force