Chasing Dreams and What-Ifs

Leave a comment October 1, 2019 drworobec

Let’s talk about lofty goals, shall we? I always love having a big, broad goal put out there in front of me to chase. I’m a stay-busy type, a dream-chaser, a go-getter, a keep-reaching-for-more sort of person.

Some might call it ambition, some might call it being anxious or restless, I just call it being me, and it’s what I’ve always done. As I get older, I’m able to find words for it and better able to find strategies to harness it, and today it takes the form of big bristol boards plastered on my bathroom walls and notebooks tucked into my purse.

Lately, I’ve been searching for some more carrots to chase, and if you follow me online, you’ll know that I’m currently in peak training mode for the New York City marathon, coming up on November 3rd.

Facebook: Dr. Ashley Worobec

Instagram: @ashburlington

Marathon training on Instagram: @thisismymarathonlife

I’ve been running with a great Oakville-based group for the past couple of years, and in them I’ve found other people who don’t think it’s crazy to get up before 5am to run, who also plan their weekends around their workouts, and who enjoy the well-earned fatigue that training brings. I’ve found my tribe and suddenly my crazy seems normal. When I joined them in November 2017, my goal was to run a half-marathon fast enough to qualify me for New York. I’d failed to meet the qualification standard twice on my own (once in spectacular fashion: “Then the Wheels Came Off“), and only six months after I began training with them, I qualified with my Mississauga half marathon result.

But I still identified myself as “only” a half-marathoner. I’d see their marathon training schedules, thankful for my shorter distances, and while I admired them from afar, I was content to plug away in my 10k/21k domain. But then June 2019 rolled around, and my own New York marathon training officially began. You see, NYC is a once-in-a-lifetime race for me, and I plan to run stride for stride with my dear friend Michaela. We aren’t chasing the clock, we’re just two working moms who love to run and want to prove to ourselves that we can do this. Somewhere along the way though, I’ve started to love the long stuff again. I’ve started to embrace the big mileage, the early bedtimes, the huge appetite. I’ve started to anticipate Sundays and watch NYC promo videos, I’m following marathoners on social media, and I’m researching race entries. Just this morning, I looked up my age group’s Boston qualifying time (BQ) (spoiler alert: it’s 3:40). WHO AM I?

So while I search for my next goal, thoughts of a BQ ruminate in my brain…..

Big dreams. Big goals. Just how I like it.

Real talk.

Leave a comment March 5, 2019 drworobec

Real talk.

I’ve had a rough month. There’s been a few hurdles thrown at me lately, and I want to share those with you, in keeping with my “this is me” philosophy of transparency and honesty.

If you’ve read this blog over the years, you’ve certainly heard me talk about my love of running. Being a “runner” is a big part of my identity, and it’s something I’ve loved to do since I was a little girl. As a 12-year-old, I used to get up early on Spring mornings and run down to the end of my small-town street and back before anyone else was awake. Other times, I would ride my bike over to the school track and run laps just for the peaceful bliss that I knew it would bring.

I didn’t have the vocabulary for it back then, but I do now:

running helps to keep me feeling like me.

I tend to worry about things, and running helps me to worry less. It helps my mind to stay calm and my energy to stay high. I’m a happy person at my core, but running simply makes me a happier person; a runner’s high is no joke.

And I think this is the reason that February has felt like such a tough one. I had a week of a chest cold that wouldn’t let loose, four epic snow/ice/freezing rain storms that made for very tricky conditions, and a stubborn Achilles injury that just won’t cooperate. My mileage was really low, meaning less fresh air, less group run support, less peace in my brain. Crossfit helps, yoga helps, workouts in my basement help, but for me, there’s just nothing quite like the run.

Bring on Spring. Bring on blue skies and clear roads and sunshine on our faces. Bring on movement and sweat and feel-good hormones. Bring on friendships and smiles and goals to be chased.

We’ve got this. Happy March!

“Because I can.”

2 Comments September 5, 2018 drworobec

I checked off a bucket list item on Labour Day Monday morning. I swam with the Triathlon Club of Burlington (TCoB), in their annual Pier to Pier swim. This swim is 2.8km, across Lake Ontario, from the Burlington lift bridge pier to Burlington’s downtown pier.

Usually on Labour Day Monday, you can find me in my happy place, along the Lake Ontario shoreline, on a long solo run to clear my mind and get myself mentally prepped for the upcoming school year. With a teacher husband and two school-aged children, Labour Day is like my New Year; a fresh start, new goals, big dreams. And every year, I’ve noticed the TCoB crew climbing out of the water with big smiles and high fives, and sunshine on a glassy lake only adds to the appeal. Always up for a challenge, I wanted in on the fun, so a little over a week ago, I signed myself up.

2.8km looks really far from this finish-line vantage point; that red circle is the lighthouse where we jumped in.

My husband thought I was crazy; 2.8km and I haven’t swum a stroke in almost a decade. In fact, I’ve never even put on a wetsuit before, and I didn’t have time to test my borrowed suit out before yesterday’s event, so it was a jump-in-and-hope-for-the-best situation. But, I used to be a lifeguard, and a decade ago I did a handful of triathlons, including a 1.9km swim in my 2007 half-Ironman. So while I haven’t swum in many years, I hoped my previous experience, swim technique, and fitness could carry me through.

Monday morning at 7:15am, two of my girlfriends met me at home, and the three of us trekked down to the pier. They were rookies too, although one is a regular lap-swimmer and one had just come off a great triathlon season. They gave me tips on getting into my wetsuit (a workout in itself!), BodyGlide advice, and how to loop my zipper string. I was woefully underprepared, and felt like I should personally introduce myself to the kayak support boats. Deep down though, I knew that sheer determination (stubbornness?) would get me across the water.

It did.

I finished in 58:36, just under the one-hour mark that my obsessive Google calculations of “open water swim times” told me I could do. And while I don’t plan on adding swim training to my schedule, I truly enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed the nerves, the challenge, the friends and family, the sunshine, the sense of accomplishment, and the gratitude that I am physically able to do things like this.

“Why would you want to do that?” someone asked me. “Because I can.” And oh how I love a challenge.

In fact, this just may become a new tradition.