If someone approached my younger self and said, hey, I know you don’t run…at all, nor do you have any desire to be a “runner”, but after you get married and have those kids you want, you are going to run…a lot…and love it…and qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon, have a shoe sponsor who will take you to Seattle to shoot a video for a 2015 shoe that is coming out…and that’s just the beginning, I’d say to that someone: you’re out of your flipping mind. Crazy. Get outta my face.
I am a runner. I am a marathoner. I love it. I just flew home from Seattle two days ago where I spent four days, two of them shooting a video with some SUPER talented people for Altra Running and their Intuition 3.0 that will be out next year. I am now a sponsored athlete with Altra Running and could not be happier with that decision. I just qualified for the Olympic trials marathon a month ago and I’m not done yet. Crazy. That “would be” person would have been right and I never would have believed it.
I ran my first race ever in 2008, a marathon, and I loved it and hated it at the same time. I would have been content to never run another marathon. I didn’t run another one until 2011. I wanted to do a 50 miler in 2011, one that my husband had done the previous years, so that I could do the 100 miler he has done in VT. But that 50 miler didn’t work out. So I ran a marathon instead. I remember saying to my husband, I’m not happy about this, but there is a reason I’m running this marathon instead of that 50. Everything happens for a reason, a purpose. That reason is that I was meant to be a marathoner. I’m a firm believer that God has a plan that is much bigger than mine. I love that bigger plan. I love when the big plan coincides with my plans but I think I love it even more when it doesn’t. It’s exciting and it feels like I’m taking the road not taken. Hello Robert Frost.
Running that marathon in 2011 is what propelled me full force into marathons. While I disliked that one just as much as the first, something took hold of me after that one. I couldn’t let it go. I wasn’t trained, my mileage was low and I didn’t have a clue what a tempo run was. But I ran a 3:17, and wanted better. So that afternoon, after I pulled my dehydrated, sick to my stomach, can’t keep anything down self up off the couch, I registered for another marathon 4 weeks later. With major IT band issues and not really training in between the two, I ran a 3:11, a new 6 minute PR. When you run a marathon, you can’t help but be changed. It might happen right away, it might not. But something happens as soon as you cross that start line and begin the 26.2 journey to the finish. I love that journey. Maybe that’s why I keep coming back. The journey is different every time. Maybe that’s why I crossed the finish line of my 2:41 OTQ race and my mind was already thinking of the next. Something happens even before the start line – in that first run of the training cycle and in every early morning run, tempo and long run after that. Something happens in working hard for something that will be hard in itself where the only reward for the work is purely and completely intangible. Those intangibles are the things that keep me training, and setting goals and expecting more. Those intangibles are what have brought me to the place I am today with running. That, and a God given talent to move fast across 26.2 miles and to put the work into getting there.
I could go on and on about why Altra is a great shoe, a great company and a great fit for me. I’ll do that in another lengthy post. A friend of mine has been telling me about Altra for quite some time, but I just stuck with what was working. I got to try my first pair of Altras over the summer with the Runner’s World Half event, and like I said previously, I knew it was a great shoe from the moment I put it on. One thing led to another and now I am an Altra sponsored athlete. I’ve never had a sponsor, so this is new and exciting and amazing to have a solid company behind me, supporting me, helping me get to where I want to be…I’m not entirely sure yet where that is, but it’s going to be good.
Altra is a zero drop sneaker, so it was a seamless transition for me from the 4mm drop that I was wearing. They are not a minimal sneaker. They’ve got a great amount of cushion, but are still super light. A dynamic duo right there, a winning situation. They’ve got it all.
I got to go to Seattle on Sunday to make a video for Altra. I met the crew and jumped into filming bright and early Monday morning.
I literally ran all over Seattle, and had a blast doing it. Everyone was SO accommodating and amazing. It was a long and successful day all around.
On Tuesday we went out of the city a bit and filmed at Seward Park for the day. Gorgeous. And cold. But mostly gorgeous. Considering we were in Seattle, we could not have asked for better weather. We had two days of full sunshine.
Two full days of filming for what will be a 90 second video. I really didn’t get to see much in the way of footage, but from the very short blips that I did see, it’s going to be a fun 90 seconds to watch. You’re going to want these sneakers.
The trip was an awesome way to kick-off what I hope to be a great relationship, friendship and sponsorship with a solid company. I tried to sneak off to San Francisco with them, but I had to go home. I missed the family.
My awesome little loves made me a welcome home sign. So much love.
I also needed a break from running ¼ mile sprints over and over, for two days straight. I was actually pretty sore from the short quick bursts of running. It felt great to run a solid 8 miles before the flight home. It was a slightly unplanned off week from training. So it’s time to get in gear as I am racing as elite in the Houston Half champs and I’d rather not completely get my butt kicked. I’m looking forward to the challenge of running with some very fast women. This will be a first and is sure to be a humbling experience. I need that challenge.
Ok, for the sake of this post and your time, I’m going to end it here and do a giveaway in the next post. I’ll also talk a bit more about the zero drop concept and some misconceptions about it. I think one common misconception is “I can’t wear zero drop, I need more support”. That’s like saying “I can’t eat apples because I don’t like oranges.” One has nothing to do with the other. Sure, you may think you can’t wear zero drop, but it really doesn’t or shouldn’t have anything to do with lack of support or your supposed need for more support. We’ll talk about it.
As always, thanks for bearing with me and sticking through my super long posts. I really do try to keep them short, so you can imagine what they look like before I read through them and take out paragraphs at a time. You’re welcome for that. I do it for you.
I just looked at the weather and it is going to be 25 degrees in the morning for the long run – time to start bundling!
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