Saturday, 18 May 2013

The Greatest Challenge



Saturday, May 18th
In the pursuit of any venture, disaster strikes at least once. For me, it happened today.
I went to a sushi restaurant with friends in Georgetown. It was an all you can eat buffet and I ate far too much. Somehow I ate the excess food I’d ordered and left. My friends dropped me off at 10th Sideroad and Trafalgar road, a long way from where I usually end my run. But since I hadn’t run that day, I figured I go in a straight line from Georgetown to Guelph, a distance of only a little farther than a typical Inspire Halton day. I was inspired.
            That was until I started running. I used the washroom at Metro, perhaps a couple kilometres from my start, but was completely dead by the time I reached Christ the King, the midpoint of my run. I stopped in McDonalds, bought a drink and waited.
            I don’t know what I did but man I was in pain. I’d pulled something in my shoulders and no matter how I stretched or moved, I couldn’t fix it. Disheartened, I swear I was one decision away from making a phone call home and getting a ride back. Inspire Halton was nearly finished.
            But I promised to myself that I’d wait just a little longer. I fell asleep at my table. A couple drinks later, I felt fine.
            I left the restaurant, wondering what the time was. A large billboard answered my question: it was 12:01 am. It’d been four and half hours since my friends dropped me off and I’d gone no where.
            I headed back to Acton through Limehouse, and it was darn scary. Dark and some people were partying. I didn’t know if I’d make it back alive.
            Finally, I arrived at my house. I picked up dinner (guess what − more sushi) and continued on. The sun was beginning to rise.
            Eric, an Inspiree, was one of the people who’d dropped me off. I had to get to his house because he was meant to be taking pictures of me on Sunday. If I didn’t get there, he probably wouldn’t show up and a huge opportunity would’ve been missed.
            At 10 am, 14 ½ hours after I started (terribly time), I made it to Guelph. That was one of the closest shaves I’ve ever had. Holy cow.

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