Chocolate is my weakness. I don’t drink coffee or tea, I stay away from alcohol, and I don’t smoke. Being lactose-intolerant, I don’t even consider anything with milk or dairy unless it has chocolate – not cheap chocolate, but divine, delicious, pure chocolate. So, back in June, when I first heard about The Chocolate Race, a 21K run being held this weekend in Port Dalhousie, I knew it was for me.
There was only one small problem: my baseline. In June, my weekly mileage was 20K. With the summer off and a good running history, I figured that I could be ready for this run if all I wanted to do was finish. Being the competitive spirit that I am, though, I want to run well. I didn’t register.
But, all I could think about for the next few weeks was chocolate. Not only was it quickly becoming a food group in our house (“Yes, sweetie, you can have a chocolate cupcake for breakfast. Just let Mommy sleep for 30 more minutes.”), I thought about it, The Chocolate Race, whenever I ran. Could I be ready in time? In July, my mileage slowly increased and my speed was exactly where I wanted it to be. When I bought a chocolate-coloured running skirt (shopping for new gear is my other weakness), I knew I had to run this race.
At the beginning of August, I made the commitment; I registered, not the 21K course but the shorter, 14K route. The Chocolate Race was no longer the goal but a stepping stone towards The Niagara Half-Marathon in October. Today, I’m ready for the distance and the boys are set to help at a water station.
A few nights ago, while talking about the race, #1 asked what the forecast was for Sunday. At first, I thought he was worried that it would rain and he’d get wet. But, after hearing cooler weather is expected, his reply was “Good. I wouldn’t want it to be too hot (Ah, he’s worried about me, I thought) or all of that chocolate would melt.”
This is what we educators refer to as Apple Syndrome – in this case, chocolate-covered apples.
