Next Year Is Just As Sweet

I think 10-10-10 is a very cool date; in fact, last year I begged my son and his fiancé to get married on that day at 10 a.m. No such luck. As fate would have it, I later decided to run my first marathon that day and they chose a date in June of 2011. 

In the summer of 2009 I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired. After 44 years of avoiding physical activities something clicked in my head; I needed to get my Type 2 diabetes under control. In June of that year I started walking, and by August I was walking a song then running a song. In September I secretly left my house to run my first 5k and finished in about 30 minutes.

On Oct. 11, 2009, I traveled with a group to Chicago to support some friends who were running the marathon. We made our way to the 22-mile marker, where we hoped to spot our friends (and allow them to see their daughters for inspiration). I never had the desire to fight the traffic and push through crowds just to watch a bunch of super athletes. This was a new experience.

It took me all of five minutes to find myself yelling words of encouragement at the runners. Those runners were four miles from victory. I saw young, old, tall, short, fat, skinny, able-bodied and challenged people smiling. I knew I had to get some of whatever they were feeling.

After the race we rushed to the finish line to find our friends. I saw athletes barely able to walk, wrapped in mylar blankets, hugging loved ones or searching for a familiar face in the crowd. I was determined to train for 10-10-10. I went home and taped the route map inside my vanity.

I belong to the local YMCA, which is not as fancy as the trendy gyms but they have the one thing I needed: an indoor track. I used my iPod Plus with the sensor in my shoe to push myself a little more each week. In March of this year I ran another 5k; it was the first time I had run in the cold. By May I ran my first half-marathon with a finishing time of 2:24:59. The experience changed my life; I was officially a runner. I purchased a book on how to train for a marathon and started a workout journal. There was no doubt in my mind, I was going to run the Chicago Marathon in 2010. Sadly, my body had different plans.

My blood work proved that running was actually making a difference, my A1C numbers where close to 10 before I started exercising, in June the results were 5.8 (6.0 is normal), my internist was shocked.

In August I was set to run my scheduled 12 miles but my leg felt very different from the normal shin splints. I abandoned the run. An orthopedic appointment and a trip to the hospital for a bone scan revealed that the 2010 marathon was not possible. My doctor informed me that I had two "substantial" stress fractures. I was very close to tears. Originally I was scared of running 26.2 miles but now I was terrified of not running.

In less than a year I was transformed from a mushy mom to an athlete. Running is my "me time." I have been a supportive mom for 25 years, driving five busy kids to many athletic activities. It is a wonderful feeling run a 10-minute mile on the same track where I cheered on "runners" thinking I could never do what they do.

Training for a marathon is not easy; that's why people run them. I was instructed not to run for six weeks, so I turned to cross training. Eventually I found myself waking up at 4:45 a.m. three days a week to take a spinning class. I am surprised by how much I like it. After the six weeks passed my doctor felt I needed another month before I could resume running. 

I received my race shirt from my charity in the mail last week, which was a hard experience. I will still volunteer on race day — that energy is addictive. I pledge to keep moving, lose some weight and continue to train until next October. It isn't as cool-sounding as 10-10-10, but that's okay by me. My goal is to get a cheap sticker that boast of 26.2 — to go along with my 13.1 already on my van. To think a year ago when I saw those on vehicles I thought it made reference to a Bible verse.

If you are planning a resolution to exercise more in 2011 and you need to some motivation, take a trip to the lakefront this Sunday and next year your cheering section may be standing next to mine at the 22-mile marker.