Today and Next Weekend

I went out for 11 today. This was long, slow distance at it's worst. What a slog. I have gotten so slow it's pathetic. Eleven miles was nothing for me 6 months ago. Now it's such a challenge. I woke up pretty congested this morning, though, so I know that the cold I had last week is still lingering a bit. Maybe next weekend 12 miles won't feel so bad, but I won't get my hopes up.

Not sure where I'll be running those 12. I'll be in Quebec for a wedding, so I'll need to do a bit of research into the area where I'm staying; maybe contact a local running club to find out about potential routes. It's a couple that I hang out with in NYC who are getting married. She's from Montreal, and the festivities are taking place at a venue just outside the city, as far as I recall. Not sure about where my hotel is located -- I just went with her recommendation.

On the return from Montreal, I'll be reentering this country and applying to stay another year. I always get nervous this time of year. When I bring my paperwork to the desk, it always seems to come down to whether the guy or gal at Homeland Security is just having a good day or not, with regards to how difficult they can be in processing me. I'll be coming through on Thanksgiving Day (Columbus Day in America) so I'm hoping the busy long weekend traffic makes them more inclined to get me through quickly. Fingers crossed.

Patriot

Saturday was Canada Day. This year's Canada Day celebration in Central Park was on June 25th. The holiday is actually on July 1st, but due to it's proximity to July 4th, the celebrations are usually the weekend prior.

Canada Day used to be called Dominion Day, but in 1982, the government rewrote Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and to commemorate this event, the holiday was renamed, too. I preferred Dominion Day, as it had such a cool sound to it. Can you imagine renaming Independence Day as America Day or USA Day? Pretty corny.

Anyway, I didn't attend the celebrations at Summerstage this year, but a couple of friends did. The event features all Canadian bands. Previous years have featured such high-profile acts as Rufus Wainwright, the Cowboy Junkies, and Sarah Harmer, but there weren't any bands on the roster this year whose names I recognised, so I didn't go, and my friends said I didn't miss much.

This was my poorest celebration of my country in recent years. Saturday's events were made up of moving another Canadian friend from Harlem to Brooklyn. At the end of it all, we had our pizza and beer, and raised a glass to Canada.

Terry Fox

Most of these posts are just my ramblings to myself about myself. They help me clear my head, organise my thoughts a bit, and serve as therapy in some way, while dealing with the crap that I deal with in the office, in the field, in my social life, or at home amidst my clutter. All this stuff falls away when I am reminded of someone who demonstrates, with their strength of character, what is truly meaningful in life.

When I was sixteen, I wrote a biographical paper about Terry Fox. It was one of the few times in my life when research that I did in high school actually influenced who I became. I was eleven when he attempted to run 5000+ miles across the continent to raise money for cancer research. It was the first time running really touched my life. Terry's focus and determination under the cloud of having lost a leg to cancer, was and still is something to be truly emulated.

Terry died 25 years ago today, June 28th, 1981, not even halfway through his "Marathon of Hope". He started his run with a support van, three rudimentary artificial legs, little fanfare, and a dream: to raise a million dollars. While he never finished, the runs that have taken place since have raised over $400 million, and the legacy he left behind goes beyond what words can describe. There are now runs to honour Terry and his cause held annually all over the world. I'll be doing my Terry Fox Run again in Central Park this October.

The CBC has a special online tribute to Terry in their archives, and there is no shortage of information about him on the web, from Wikipedia to his own foundation site. Whether you're a runner, you know a cancer survivor, or you're just curious, it's worth a read, if only to remind yourself what's important.