Just Do It!!!

One of my favorite things about Pintrest are all of the inspirational quotes that you find:

With that being said…I have some news to share that has absolutely nothing to do with school!
Last week, I signed up to run the Chicago Marathon through Team in Training!

AHHH!!!!! I still can’t believe I finally stopped talking about it and just did it!!!
I don’t know what I am more excited about- training for the Chicago marathon or training for the Chicago Marathon through Team in Training!!!

This is not my first marathon- I have ran two marathons a LONG time ago. My first marathon was the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon- which I ran with my college roommate, Amber! We were only sophomores at Illinois State University when we signed up for TNT and ran the 26.2 mile marathon in San Diego! I can still remember us walking out of our dorm room at 6:15am on Saturdays and getting ready to run our long runs with our TNT coaches and teammates! When we saw our friends just coming in from their night out, we were headed out for a 14 or 18 mile run!!!

I also ran the Chicago marathon with my brother back in 2004- again with Team in Training! My brother is one of those athletically gifted people who can just go out and run an “easy” 6 miles without running in weeks. No matter if it is 90 degrees or 20 degrees- it is effortless for him. After he finished in about 3 1/2 hours, he literally fell asleep at Buckingham Fountain waiting for me to finish.

Meanwhile, my mom and boyfriend where checking all the medical tents because they did not see my at mile 18- which was where we planned on meeting.

This is a picture of Chris and I right before the finish line! I think I might have stood there talking to him and my mom for about 5 minutes! I was in absolute no rush to finish the race- I could have cared less about my time and and on most runs I didn’t even wear a watch- let alone a Garmin or anything fancy! (That is crazy talk for runners!) I wanted to bask in the glory of finishing a 26.2 mile race!!! :)


Make no mistake- I am NOT a fast runner! In fact, I am doing a run/walk that my coaches helped me develop- based off of Jeff Galloway’s training. Prior to signing up a week ago, I worked out at the gym- elliptical, bike, weights, treadmill- and was running up to 5 miles. Then, I got a BAD case of the flu (I learned my lesson- from now on I will get my flu shot!) and did absolutely nothing for three weeks. Since I am not a natural runner, it takes me time to build back up to that mileage. Two weeks ago, I went to my first training- 6 miles. I didn’t know what to expect since I did not work out for a while, but I did it!
I don’t think I could ever sign up for the marathon without doing it with TNT. Although I am blessed to say that I do not know anyone who has blood related cancers, I believe so strongly in the work that they do to help fundraise money to find a cure for blood related cancers. There are about 15 members of our TNT team this season. Almost every participant has a story about how they have a loved one who was affected by this disease- it is absolutely heartbreaking to hear their stories. On the flip side, it is absolutely inspiring to know that we are MAKING A DIFFERENCE! Which…leads me back to my Pintrest quotes:

Looking for something to do this summer? Ready to be inspired? Learn more about TNT by watching this short clip:

If you are interested in seeing some more pictures and visiting my fundraising page, click here.

One thing I am NOT looking forward to?? Getting up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to go for our 8 mile run! It is going to be a HOT day – mid 90’s!!! Wish me luck!

Whatever it is that you are contemplating doing this summer, just do it!!! Big, small- go for it! (And let us know about it, too!)  Especially if there are any other marathoners (veterans or wanna be’s!) out there!