Chicago Bound 2018
Two years ago I never DREAMED of running a marathon. It was not something that sounded remotely appealing to me. It was not on my bucket list or even on the honorable mention for a bucket list. I had ZERO desire to run 26.2 miles at once. Although running had been an off and on part of my life since college, I never ran more than 3-4 miles at a time. The longest distance I had completed at one time was 8 miles in the Dallas Turkey Trot over 5-6 years ago (or longer, can't remember exact year). I ran a handful of 5ks here and there but longer distances and competitive races never really crossed my mind. I remember one of my best friends from college and roommate ran a half-marathon and it just seemed such an amazing yet an out of reach feat for me at the time. I continued to run off and on over the years but was never really serious about it. It was just something I did to try to stay active and somewhat in shape. I never timed my runs, never ran with music, never measured my distances other than ballpark estimates. I would just go out and run for about 3 or 4 miles at the most and call it a day.
Then enter Kelli Foster and the We Run Things Running Club onto the scene. Around January 2016, I randomly saw a post on Facebook about a boot camp in the Dallas area ran by a trainer named Demarcus Harris (DH the Trainer). I was always looking for ways to try something different and keep my fitness routine from falling into a rut so I decided to check the boot camp out. At one of the sessions, I met a boisterous and outgoing person named Kelli. To be honest, I didn't quite know how to take Kelli at first. Was she always this loud? Was she being mean or was she being nice? After she invited me to participate in a late night run downtown with her running club and then gave me a discount code to a 5K called the Trinity River Levee Run, I decided that maybe she was trying to be nice, lol.
Being that I liked to run at night but rarely had anyone to run with for safety reasons, I was excited about the prospect of a night running group. Kelli and four other leaders were preparing to launch the first season of the We Run the Trinity running club and our paths crossed just in time! I also decided to accept Kelli's offer to run with her crew in the Trinity River Levee Run. It was the first official 5K I had entered in years. I still remember being pretty proud and astonished at how well I finished in that 5K. Like I said, I hadn't been timing myself on any runs for years and had no idea what my pace was. When I saw my finish time and pace, I shocked myself!! From that point on, I was hooked!
Shortly after this race, We Run the Trinity officially kicked off with weekly runs on Tuesday/Thursdays nights at 9pm. I became a regular attendee and found myself challenging myself in all kinds of new ways, from pacing a group, to meeting new people, to registering for races that I never before considered doing. In September 2016, I ran my first 10K at the Tour de Fleurs and just narrowly missed getting a medal in my age division. My 5K time was steadily improving and I won my first ever age group division medal at the Mavs 5K in October. I was falling in love with the competition aspect of running which surprised me because I have never been an extremely competitive person. But I found myself addicted to improving and getting faster and accomplishing more when it came to running!
Around October 2016, I met up with Kelli and several other of my new running friends for a Sunday evening run. After the run we were shooting the breeze when Kelli began to persuade us to enter the LA Marathon with her the following March. At first most of us just dismissed her with a laugh and a "no way" but Kelli being the persistent person that she is continued to present her case. Suddenly we found ourselves opening ourselves up to the idea. At this point, I hadn't even run a half-marathon. I was registered for the BMW Dallas Half-Marathon (which was a big step in and of itself for me) but I kind of wanted to wait until I saw how that went before committing to a full-marathon. Like I said, a full marathon had NEVER even been a blip on my radar screen until that October Sunday evening conversation. Almost before we knew what happened, six of us had registered and committed to the full marathon in LA.
The next 4-5 months would be an experience unlike anything I had encountered before in my life. I successfully completed my first half in December but from there had to turn my sights fully on the looming task at hand...somehow preparing my body to go twice as far than it had ever gone before. Training in the gloomy months of January and February wasn't always fun or pleasant but God placed another amazing group of runners in my path to help me along the journey. We Run the Trinity was on break for the winter but another group, Mind Over Mileage, also met on Tuesdays/Thursdays in the uptown area and they helped fill the gap. Through cold weather, rainy weather, and windy weather I trained, often with my LA Marathon team or Mind Over Mileage crew by my side. And on March 19, 2017.....the impossible became possible.
I became an official marathon FINISHER with a time of 4:33! To complete this journey with my running friends that had become family was one of my peak life moments!!
All throughout the training, I often adamantly stated that the LA Marathon would be my one and only marathon. I had hardly wanted to do it in the first place, why would I want to put myself through the brutal training, the huge sacrifice of time, and strain on my body again? In advance, I labeled myself a "One and Done" marathoner. But I didn't know the runner's high, the euphoria I would feel at the finish line of accomplishing something less than 1% of the world's population has ever done. I didn't yet understand the bond I would have with my running family. And although I was most definitely stiff and sore at the end of the marathon, I cannot honestly say....it wasn't that bad!! It wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined it would be in my mind. Just a year before, I had experienced a rush of exhilaration when I saw my finishing time for a 5K. ... a year later, I felt the same rush at finishing a marathon. And although I was pleased with my finishing time for a first-time marathoner....I felt in my heart I could do better. I hadn't even made it home to Dallas and already thoughts of a second marathon were creeping their way into the back of my mind.
The thing for me though is that part of the marathon experience was doing it in a new city and being part of a large marathon. Being in LA made the 26.2 miles an adventure of discovery as I ran through new neighborhoods and new scenery. I knew then that if I ever did another marathon it would HAVE to be a destination race! Now that I was becoming more firmly embedded in the running community, I began to set my sights on completing a world major marathon....preferably Chicago or NYC. I decided that if I were to go through the grueling training process again, I wanted it to be for a BIG one!!
October 31 was the first day the lottery for the 2018 Chicago Marathon opened and by 10am, my name was in the hat! Several others from my original LA Marathon crew also applied. We had several weeks to wait until selections were made in December.
I found out almost first thing in the morning on selection day that I was IN for Chicago!! My hands were literally shaking as opened the email and saw a blur of words that began with "Congratulations"!!! That was the only word I needed to see before I was leaping out of my chair and grabbing my phone to share my excitement with my run squad. Throughout the morning, one by one messages came through as my friends were notified that they too had been selected for the marathon. Every single of one of us that applied got in....we couldn't believe the odds! The excitement of going down this road again with the ones who held me up and carried me through the first time is indescribable. For me, one of the most beautiful things running has brought to me life is the community, the camaraderie, the friendships, the support, the encouragement of my running family. To be able to take on these hard things and suffer through the ups and downs together is what makes finishing together so special. I absolutely cannot wait for our next marathon adventure as we start down this long road to Chicago.
Five of the original LA six marathoners are back for Chicago as well as three others from We Run Things running club. In 228 days, we take on one of the greatest adventures of our lives....finishing an Abbott World Major Marathon among some of the world's best runners. From a 5K to a major marathon in little over 2 years....what an amazing ride this has been! The way God places you in certain places, leads you to certain people, and works the details of your life together to completely change the trajectory of your path and purpose is mind-blowing. I absolutely never would be on the brink of this journey with these amazing individuals (Jeremy, Kelli, Brandon, Rodney, Tenille, Roderick, and Chasity) without God's provision and hand gently guiding me to the right places at the right times. I'm so thankful to each of them for bringing out things in me that I didn't know I had. I'm thankful for their belief in me, support, encouragement, and motivation to be better, to grow, to improve, to keep chasing goals. My eyes are on Chicago for 2018....but this is just the beginning of our journey to greatness, to living our best lives, to experiencing MORE LIFE. Chicago Bound 2018...or bust!
Whatever it takes 'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins I do whatever it takes 'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains Whatever it takes You take me to the top I'm ready for Whatever it takes
-Imagine Dragons-