The sun rose at 5:24 AM today. I would know. At that point, I had already been running for nearly a half hour with 17 minutes to go. The air, hot and thick with humidity, felt trapped and heavy on my skin beneath the clouds bearing down on Chicago. As I walked through my door after wrapping up a quick 6 mile training run, I peered out my balcony to find that after a somewhat dreary run, a mere crack in the sky seemed to pour out a desperate ray of light. – And I knew it was going to be a beautiful day.
If this were a little over 3 years ago, I would have scoffed at the thought of waking up at 4:45 AM to squeeze a training run into my day – let alone even consider running a marathon. My how things change. For those of you who don’t know, the idea of running any further than a 5k used to be excruciating for me to even ponder (My average 5k took over 29 painful minutes – 9+ min/mile.). I will admit, I ran as a form of weight control or, in high school and college, a way to cross train for another sport. That doesn’t mean I liked it.
In the beginning of 2006, a career opportunity moved me to the small, but remarkable city of Boston. For those of you who move to Chicago or New York, and find it hard to navigate, be sure to pack a Garmin, compass, map book, and a AAA trip ticket guide before venturing through the streets of the greater metropolitan area of Boston, Massachusetts. There were many tearful lost commutes home throughout my first month in the great city of Boston.
When I first pulled into my Brookline, Massachusetts 3rd floor walk up off of Boylston Street in March of 2006, I could hardly imagine what the next year and a half had in store for me.
Today I wake up for that rush. I wake up with a longing to fulfill the promise I made on Saturday, May 26, 2007. Life is a little better, a little brighter, and I find that I can see the ray of light peaking out through the clouds with my tennis shoes laced, and my feet running to the beat of the lapping Chicago shoreline.
If this were a little over 3 years ago, I would have scoffed at the thought of waking up at 4:45 AM to squeeze a training run into my day – let alone even consider running a marathon. My how things change. For those of you who don’t know, the idea of running any further than a 5k used to be excruciating for me to even ponder (My average 5k took over 29 painful minutes – 9+ min/mile.). I will admit, I ran as a form of weight control or, in high school and college, a way to cross train for another sport. That doesn’t mean I liked it.
In the beginning of 2006, a career opportunity moved me to the small, but remarkable city of Boston. For those of you who move to Chicago or New York, and find it hard to navigate, be sure to pack a Garmin, compass, map book, and a AAA trip ticket guide before venturing through the streets of the greater metropolitan area of Boston, Massachusetts. There were many tearful lost commutes home throughout my first month in the great city of Boston.
When I first pulled into my Brookline, Massachusetts 3rd floor walk up off of Boylston Street in March of 2006, I could hardly imagine what the next year and a half had in store for me.
How was I to know that the following spring, I would begin my love affair with running. The following summer, I would make a haunting promise to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and the following fall, I would take to the pavement to complete my first marathon in loving memory of my grandfather, Dr. TM Graber and aunt Anne Kleinschmidt.
Today I wake up for that rush. I wake up with a longing to fulfill the promise I made on Saturday, May 26, 2007. Life is a little better, a little brighter, and I find that I can see the ray of light peaking out through the clouds with my tennis shoes laced, and my feet running to the beat of the lapping Chicago shoreline.
I know I run like a girl. Try to keep up.
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