Hello everyone 

When I set off on this journey I promised to do the around the bay 10 K race and the Toronto Half Marathon in support of men’s mental health. Today I have completed the 10 K!

To be quite honest, this past week/weekend I have not been at my best, leading to less practice. To be quite honest, for the 2 days leading up to this I have been in bed, unable to pay attention to today. When I woke up this morning, I said to myself “why am I doing this?” I know myself well and one large trait I am actively changing is not going through with goals/plans I set, it is my fatal flaw. What did I do? I got up and did it. It is most definitely difficult, especially when stuck in depression to do much of anything, so it is good that I did. 

I gave myself three weeks to get ready for this with no formal long distance running experience. Today taught me a lot. I had come severely under dressed for the weather. After around KM 5, I hit a wall where I was so cold I could not feel any part of my upper body. To couple that it started to rain. I learned that this type of challenge is more mental than physical. I had to take every single brain cell and push myself mentally to the finish. Boy was it difficult, but I finished in 1 hour and 11 minutes, which for some is normal, but I am happy I was able to pull it out so I don’t care, I was actually surprised. 

To be quite honest, after crossing the finish line I felt very accomplished. Unfortunately, when in such a depression the good doesn’t last too long. I was soon back to how I have been for a long time, upset and unsure of what to do now. 

That is the unfortunate reality for many like me, but what I am hoping people can take from this that even when you are down, you can persevere  enough to accomplish a goal. Yes, in certain states you go back to how you were before, but that 30 seconds to a minute of satisfaction is a small win in a big war. I hope for whoever reading this that your win helps you for a very long time. 

This is why I want to continue to fight for everyone stuck where I am through meaningful policy change. I truly want to help and hope my skills can. I hope my story helps even one of you to do something you wouldn’t.

I will continue to update leading up to the Toronto Half Marathon, along with some plans I am working on in the coming weeks, now that I am starting to gain some attention. I wish everybody the best