My Biggest Accomplishment to Date

I’ve jumped out of an airplane, rode in an open jeep next to a lion, bungeed off of a bridge, and black water rafted through caves full of eels. All of those moments were terrifying and invigorating, but none compared to my latest feat of running the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ Marathon.
This may seem silly to the average runner, but you must know that I went into this race with absolutely no preparation. No training, no broken-in running shoes, no game plan for my pace. I know…I’m crazy. I had very low expectations—to simply finish, no matter how long it took—but boy, did I ever surprise myself.

I was slatted to start with Corral #17 (roughly a 2:15 pace)…a group that I knew I could NEVER keep up with, so to say I was intimidated by my surroundings was an understatement. I got more and more nervous as each group took off. Everyone around me looked prepared and ready to take on this monster feat that, for weeks on end, they had been training for. I have done nothing but go on a few 3 miles jogs…which, at that moment, I was seriously regretting!

I was one group away from the start line, put a smile on my face, and told myself to just go for it! If I have to walk…then I walk. If I have to take a break along the way…take a break. For me, this race wasn’t about winning, or getting a fast time. It was about bringing awareness to a great cause (The American Cancer Society), pushing myself to my limits, and accomplishing something I never thought I could do.

The time had come…and we were off! The first mile was full of people cheering along the road, and a band playing not too far from the starting line. I felt an adrenaline rush come through my body, the fear subsided, and I was pumped! I was so distracted by the runners surrounding me that I hadn’t even noticed that I just completed the first 4 miles without a hitch! At that point…I felt great! Could it be…I was actually having FUN?

It wasn’t until mile 7 that I started to notice my feet aching. This slowed me down…but it didn’t stop me. It’s as if this competitive nature grew inside me saying, “I can totally prove MYSELF wrong. I am going to run this whole darn thing!”

At mile 8, for the first time, you start to see runners going the opposite direction, heading closer to the finish. I so badly wanted to be in their position…when you can taste the finish line, but I knew I had to keep going in order to get there. I told myself, “Just get to the turn. Get to the turn and walk for a bit.” Setting a goal marker kept me going.

I got to the turn, only 3 miles to go, and rewarded myself by walking for a few minutes. THIS is when I really started to feel the pain in my legs and feet. If I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t have stopped, as I felt the pain more by walking. Alas…I kept on truckin!

The last mile was, mentally, one of the toughest for me. It felt like 15 miles, but the roars of the crowd put a smile on my beet-red face and kept my legs from collapsing. I finally hit that last 100 meter stretch. The cheers from the crowd were deafening. Everyone around me started to run a little bit faster, and an emotional feeling came over me. I just RAN the farthest I have ever run in my entire life, and I didn’t have to be taken out on a stretcher. Ha ha!

Crossing that finish line was one of the greatest moments in my life…which I think is pretty obvious by the smile in my picture. I just proved that if I set myself on something, I can accomplish it! I do have to give a lot of props to Jason and our friend Bouker, who helped push me along when I thought I couldn’t go any further. Had I been alone, I probably would have been more likely to stop the minute I got tired.

All in all, running the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll ½ Marathon started as a scary thought but finished as the most amazing accomplishment in my life! I now feel fearless and powerful. Will I ever run a ½ marathon again…well…ask me next week, when I can start to feel my legs again!