It has been quite the journey. As I ran on the treadmill last night I happened to look down and noticed my fortune from our first dinner as a team. I remembered opening my fortune cookie and thinking, this could not be more appropriate.

My fortune said this; “You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course”.

I have been running since December, finding it difficult at times to remain on course, almost quitting at one point. I did not quit though, despite all the obstacles and challenges that presented themselves through this whole process. I realize that I am not the best runner or the most dedicated but I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far. I am also proud of my teammates, for none of them gave up either, and they have always been there to lift me up when I was down. We are all different, but we all have at least on thing in common and that is to finish the 25K Fifth Third River Bank Run.

I am a little nervous, but this is to be expected. I am going to go out there and give it my best! I can’t wait to see all the runners, volunteers, and spectators. Most of all I am excited to have my family there. No one in my family has ever run this distance before, and I hope I make them proud!

Thank you to all that have followed my blogs. I know that I am not the best writer in the world and I know that I did not have a fascinating story. I am happy to report though that I have inspired others to run and to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle. That makes this whole process worth it for me. I will be continuing this journey, I signed up for the Grand Rapids Half Marathon in the Fall! Hoping to see some familiar faces out there!!

If you are running/walking on Saturday… BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!! I will see you at the finish!!

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Whew! Hard to believe we only have 8 day to go before the race!! This journey has been so fun and empowering. I have been mentally preparing for this race a lot this past week. Going through certain scenarios, picturing myself at the aid stations. This is a really good thing to do so that if you get to a point where you are losing focus during the race you can go back to your “mind version” of the race and get re-focused. Another thing I have been doing is visualizing certain points in the race.  This helps me tremendously! I am breaking the race into 3 mile  segments…   so at aid station 3,6,9,12, I will be doing a mini dance or cheer!

I would like to also let my readers know that the my shin splints have seemed to disappear.. finally! I was told that they would eventually “heal” and that things would be back to normal, but for a few weeks there I had serious doubts. It goes with any treatment really, I did everything I was supposed to, I never skipped treatment. My legs feel strong!!

Tomorrow is the last public training run, I hope there is a huge turn-out rain or shine so we can all celebrate how far we have come thus far!!

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

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Well it is official!! I just took the first step to yet another starting line. After I rock the Fifth Third River Bank 25K, I will embark on another new adventure! I just signed up for the Grand Rapids Half Marathon!! I am so happy that I made the commitment to myself to keep on running! I have always said that I wanted to run a marathon.. I wonder what next year will bring!!

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This past weekend was absolutely crazy, and I loved it! I started Saturday morning off with the Striders  Saturday Classic. As I have said before I was truly nervous about running this 10 mile race. I ran it though, in 1:44.. and some odd seconds. It wasn’t easy though. I felt very confident and strong until about mile 7. I could see the aid station in the distance and that was what I focused on. With two miles to go after that station I was wondering how in the world I was going to make it! Trying to fight the mental games, I looked over my shoulder to see a guy running up behind me, with no thought at all I asked a total stranger if I could pace with him. To my surprise he said, yes and we started on our way. I learned that his name was Ed, and he is a fire fighter for Grand Rapids. Good thing, cause if I was going down it was nice to know I had someone by me that could help! Talking with him really made the last two miles fly! I don’t know if he really knows how truly appreciative I was at that point.. thanks Ed and I hope you continue running, and making a great come back!

After the race I went home to shower, eat lunch, and then it was off to our 15.5 mile bike ride of the Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K course. I highly recommend that if you are planning on running the 25K next year that you consider attending the bike tour. Learning the course is a great way to prepare mentally for the race.  It is free and loads of fun. It was freezing, (I did not dress for the weather!)  but well worth it!! We rode the course and got tips and advice along the way. I am so glad that I did it. Knowing which spots were hard areas for fans to get to due to roads being closed, was very helpful because I plan on stacking those spots with family members so everyone will get cheers in those spots! I am most worried about the stretch in front of Millennium Park and then Maynard to the Coca Cola factory. These will be the spots that I really need to prepare for.  One of the sponsors of the Fifth Third River Bank Run is Chicago Drive Cycling and Fitness. They were nice enough to loan me a bike for the tour. A few of the guys also joined us on the tour, it was interesting to hear about the “cycling community”. I had no idea that there were so many races and participants in the cycling sport!

I will end this now with a quote from Dr. George Sheehan

“It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.”

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Anyone that has ran a long run with me knows the mental challenges of running that I deal with. They know when the run is going from enjoyable to destructive for me. “Talk to me”. This is what I say when my brain is telling my body that I can’t do it anymore. Getting lost in someone’s else story makes me forget that I am running. Why is it that I need someone else to get me through it? Why can’t I do it on my own? These are the answers that I am looking for this week.

About two weeks ago we got an invitation to run the Striders Saturday Classic. It is a ten mile run. I was defeated before I even gave myself a chance to consider it. I decided that I was not running it. I told my coach, and made plans with others for a fourteen mile run instead. The “head game” won.  I was so stressed out yesterday, that by the end of the night I was in tears. My husband sat me down and said “Let’s talk through this.”

After the talk I felt better. I needed it, just as I needed the encouragement that I got from my teammates yesterday. These “head games” are the reason that I need this team, why I am on this team. I am physically capable of running long distances. I am physically capable of running this race, and you guessed it.. I am running it. This is my year to break down the walls. I am so tired of looking at others and wishing that I could run like that, or run that far. I have come a LONG way in this whole process and I am not letting the mind games keep me from enjoying this experience.

I have done my research and along with my shin splint prevention I will be adding mental training in each day. It may sound silly but when it comes to running, mental toughness can be just as important as your physical preparedness. I wish I would have researched this a long time ago. I have been on such a roller coaster with this whole process, I am sure a few of my teammates think I am crazy!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so.” Mark Twain

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