Long time! WOW, a lot has happened since September, so I won't bog you down with everything, but will give you some highlights.
Jen and I have this thing called
NEVER SAY NEVER...yes, it's cliche, yes, I stole her next FITT-RX Newsletter theme, and yes, IT'S TRUE! As a testament to my 2012, I truly believe that if you set your mind to something, you can do it! For example...I ran with Jen as she completed her first 1/2 marathon on September 3rd! It was a horribly humid Labor Day morning and this Half comes with hills and trails. I certainly did not expect that for a course, and it was really beautiful. BUT...did I mention it was hot. For her
first half, I told her that it was my
hardest half. No shittin' caboodle...
Finishers! Congrats, Jen!
Can't wait to do 6 more with you, and be sure to flip me off at Mile 9 again.
On September 9th, the
TOUGH MUDDER was overcome, and our team of Elmhurst Mudders finished it with smiles on our faces...even the one's who were electrocuted. Yes, the boys did not fare well during those obstacles, but I have to admit that it was fun seeing the guys get shocked even though they would not like me saying that. I will never think of an "electric eel" the same way again.
The scariest part of the race for me were 3 things...
1. Swimming under barrels in a pond. Ignoring the fact that there are 2 scuba divers ready to save a life, I was more nervous about losing a contact, plus even if I could open my eyes, I was in a dirty pond where God knows what happens in there on a typical day. Oh yes, and the fact that I was afraid that the person in front of me would kick me in the face, which is what I did to the person behind me because they wouldn't wait a milli-second for me to get under!
2. Tearing my arms off my body. My left shoulder is sensitive. I call it Breast Feeding shoulder, which is defined as hours holding your arm overhead while laying in bed nursing. You nursing mothers should understand. So monkey bars and the rings were out. I opted to jump in the water instead. Plus, on the Mt. Everest obstacle, I almost did have my arm torn off by a guy trying to pull me up. I'm sure I left a lasting impression to those waiting for their turn.
3. Breaking an ankle 6 weeks before my first marathon.
Here is a great video that eased my reservations about doing such a great race...
and...
Tough Mudder - official website. I heard a rumor one will be within 60 miles of Chicago in May! Who's in!?
Before...
After...clean because we couldn't clear the monkey bars! Only Tough Mudders get head bands!
October 21st - Detroit Marathon
Common questions/comments I received before I ran the marathon.
- Why Detroit? My friend was going to do it too.
- Why not Chicago? Chicago was full.
- I can't imagine where in Detroit you'd want to run! Well, don't know Detroit so I guess I'll get a running tour of it.
- I bet you'll run faster in Detroit! Maybe...why? Just kidding!
- Cool! You get to run into Canada? Yep!
Up until 5 months ago, I swore I would NEVER, EVER run a marathon. Ask anyone. Really. Why would anyone do that to themselves? Who would ever WANT to run for 4 or more hours? Who cares about this so called wall people hit. The training takes FOREVER! Nobody could've given me a good reason to do it. BUT...here's what happened during an evening in June.
I just ran the RAGNAR race with RMFAO and clocked 18 miles in 24 hours and ran the Inaugural Chicago Women's Half Marathon. On one of my final half marathon training runs, I saw my friend, Rachel, on the prairie path and she said she was training for her first marathon and it was going to be in Detroit. Remember... she told me this and it went right over my head....0 interest...nada...zilch...
Until one night, I was home alone (kids in bed) and I texted Rachel...
Texting got me again!!!
So after this brief text exchange, I went to the marathon's website to look at the course, and also surfed Hal Higdon's marathon training programs. After my quick research, I told myself that I was already halfway there in my training, and what the heck???? I'm turning 40 soon, we run into Canada, and my passport expires in April. So why not??? Before I knew it, I was registering...and before clicking "SUBMIT", I just sat there....sitting....sitting....then I closed my eyes and clicked "SUBMIT". What the hell did I just do? Crickets...
The next day, I had to tell someone, and that someone was somebody who's clocked 28 (I think???) in her lifetime, and has goals to hit many, many more. Here's our text exchange...
I didn't share this with the world, definitely was not going to share on Facebook (and, yes, I like Facebook), and I surely wasn't going to get cocky about it. In fact, I was still in shock because I've suffered from knee tendinitis in each knee in the recent past, so I wasn't sure what was going to be in store. We shall see...
I'm going to skip over all the training stuff. 4 words...I ENJOYED THE TRAINING.
Day of Marathon:
I was as ready as I was gonna be. It was cold. It was dark. It was early...especially because we lost an hour driving there. But all of that didn't matter because I had Rachel there with me at the start line. We were lucky enough to be in the same start corral. The race started and we were off. We hugged, wished each other good luck, and off we went.
A runner's view at mile 3 as we ran over to Windsor, Canada.
Passport pinned to the inside of my number in case I got pulled over by border patrol.
Yep, there was about a mile climb from the road leading up to the top of the bridge until it proceeded to go back down to the other side. Happy that bridge was early on! Before I move on, I need to share my glove story. So, before we leave for Detroit, I'm looking for "throw away" gloves. YES! I find a pair folded together like a pair of socks. Little did I know, that one was a normal size glove, and the other Rachel decided to call the "Hamburger Helper" glove. Yep, one adult size...one child size. A perfect Jill story...pretty much sums up my lack of winter gear organization skills.
At mile 7, we headed back to the US via underground tunnel which was a mile long. I met a women in the tunnel from the Detroit area who shared her story with me. She was about to turn 50, her husband left her a week before Christmas last year, and she had a decision to make. Either sink, or swim. She swam, and hasn't looked back even for a second. It wasn't her first marathon...her first was Chicago 10 years ago, but she also decided that it wasn't going to be her last. She joined a running group, made some new friends, and shared with me that she is happier than she's been in years. Good for her...she chose to swim.
OK, so we get out of the tunnel and the US crowd is crazy! My family is here somewhere. Where? I HAVE GOT TO SEE THEM! SHOOT! UGH! I'm looking!!! There! I see my parents! They see me and I wave like a crazy women. OK, now where's Wade and the kids? Oh geez...ok, keep running. There! I see them. I pass off my t-shirt, say "hi", and I'm off. The same thing happens at mile 13, and I'm feeling like a champ! Wade tells me he's going to run to 19 to see me, and I'm thrilled! I continue on and I run through Indian Village. Imagine Detroit when the going was good...big, huge, beautiful homes. The scenery was really pretty. I get to 18, and I'm still feeling fantastic. I see Wade at 19 as I'm heading over another bridge to Belle Isle. He tells me he'll run 22 to the finish with me. OK, sounds great! I'm feeling good.
I get to 20...start to feel it...but tell myself that it's just normal. The guy tells me that I'm at 3:11. YESSSSSS!!!!! 6.2 more miles...I'll give myself 10 minute miles to the end and I'll finish around 4:15. That sounds feasible.
"Pre-wall" according to Wade.
UNTIL 21...
My legs start to get into a heated argument with each other. My right leg says, "Hold on sista! It's time to stop!" My left leg replies, "I'm doing alright. Getting tough, but it's gonna be ok." My right leg snaps back, "Watch this!!!" Right there my right leg buckles, and I think "oh shit". This must be the beginning of my "wall". I thought the wall was in your mind...I thought it was when your mind starts playing tricks on you. I didn't think it was physical...sounds stupid to say...but I really thought it was a mental wall. I mean I ran two 20 milers, why is this beginning to happen at 21? And where the hell is that damn bridge I'm supposed to run back over to meet Wade?
"Wall"
Wade meets me at 22, and is happy, cheery, chipper - fresh... He is my rock holding me up while I finish the last 4.2 miles. I turn to him at 23 and say, "If I have to walk, I'm not going to lose my pride." I have NEVER walked ever during a training run or a race before. THIS IS WEIRD. He made it ok that if I had to walk, it was fine. He did during his marathon. So I ran/walked from 23 to 25. Then at 25, he's all happy and shit and says, "How excited are you!!!??? You only have one more mile!!!!" His chipperness was wearing thin...If I could've beat him, I would. I was NOT happy or excited that I had one more mile to go. I had 1 more f'ing mile to go yet! And then to top it off there was a hill! Kill me now.
BUT...I see my parents and my kids. This thing called a smile comes across my face as my son runs out into the street to give me a hug...I'll call it an energy hug. Trust me...that kid has some to spare! I give my mom a weak hug, let her know I'm hurting, give me dad an "I'm going to finish this!" look, and pass them still thinking that one way or the other, I'm crossing that finish line. Just not sure how pretty it's going to look. I turn a corner and see the finish line about 400 yards away...it could've been 200 for all I know. Wade is encouraging me to keep going and it's probably the happiest I'd been since mile 20. I cross the finish line and cannot believe I actually did it. And just 5 months ago I said I'd never, ever run a marathon. Well, looky here...
The Hardware!
Go GREEN BIB FIRST TIMERS!!! We did it!
Thanks, Rachel for getting the crazy thought into my head...it was supposed to be "hypothetical"!
A little inspiration from the one and only, Jen!
