I got my start in running a little later in life, at the age of 34. I was inspired to give it a try by my friend, Lorraine. I really should thank her for her inspiration because running has proven invaluable to my mental health over the past 19 years, especially so in the last 10 years after I became a mom to a child with serious health issues.
Several other friends started running around the same time I did. It was fun participating in 5k’s together and sharing our war stories at the end. Much to my dismay, however, I quickly discovered I was much slower than everyone else. Being a competitive gal, it truly bummed me out.
Since I wasn’t going to be faster than everyone, I decided I would run farther than everyone else. I eventually worked myself up to running 10k’s. I toyed with the idea of running a half marathon, but knew that would take some dedicated training and I didn’t have time for that. At the time I had no kids. With the exception of working full-time, I had all the time in the world. Oh how time changes your perspective.
It wasn’t until I went through my own health scare in 2009 and had Owen and was dealing with his ever changing health issues that I decided to try a half marathon. That was in 2011 when Owen was two years old. It proved to be really difficult and I was sure I’d never do it again. But, I did. Eleven times so far and counting. My husband and I even pushed Owen through a half marathon in a jogging stroller as part of My Team Triumph. Truth to be told, my husband did must of the pushing in the later stages as by this time, Owen was about 50lbs and his weight coupled with the distance was a bit taxing for me.
After finishing my first half I thought to myself that I could surely never complete a full marathon. I had barely survived the 13.1 miles. How could I ever go twice the distance? About 3 years after completing several half marathons, I decided I was going to tackle a full marathon before I turned 50. I signed up for my first marathon at age 48. I figured if I didn’t make it the first time, I would have another year to give it a go.
When I was training for my first full marathon in 2014, Owen was very ill. His neurologist at the time said he was in sub- clinical status. While he wasn’t seizing all the time, his brain was trying to seize all the time. This left Owen listless and lifeless. He got to the point where he was no longer even able to sit up on his own. And, nothing we tried as far as medication seemed to be able to touch it. I think what helped me stay somewhat functional during this period was all of the training I was doing for my first marathon. During my short training runs (3 – 4 miles) Owen tagged along in our Bob jogging stroller. We logged lots of miles on our trusty old Bob.
Thanks to all those training runs with and without Owen, I made it through my first marathon in October 2014, the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although finishing was a truly euphoric feeling, I vowed never to do it again until I did in 2017 when I completed the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Again, I vowed never to do it again until I signed up for the Chicago Marathon this spring. I felt the need to do it again for the cause I was representing, seizure awareness.
I am running the Chicago Marathon as part of Team Danny Did, an organization founded by Mike and Mariann Stanton who lost their child, Danny to SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy). Their mission is to prevent deaths caused by seizures by advancing public awareness of SUDEP. Since I fear losing my child to SUDEP, I couldn’t help but support their efforts, which is why I’m choosing to run another marathon.
So, Owen and I are back to our training runs. Luckily he is in a better place healthwise, but still not seizure free by any means. He has accompanied me on my short training runs. Although I don’t have the physical stamina to push him through my longer training runs -currently I’m up to 12 miles at this point- he is definitely there with me as my inspiration. Also inspiring me on is the promise to myself of a deep dish pizza at Gino’s East following the marathon. Can’t wait!
I Don't Have Time for This Sh*#! 