INSPIRING!

SO...

After breaking my goal of 40:00 (38:24!!!) for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k a few weeks ago, I became very reflective about my first year of running. I kept telling myself, "you need to get that stuff out of your head and onto your blog!"

I've been resistant. I haven't logged much in the way of what I've been doing for workouts this day and that or much of the random stuff that I usually do. I haven't posted a lot since the shuffle. And, I think it boils down to my avoiding getting my reflection down.

I won't lie. I'm sitting here this morning after watching most of the USA Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston (yes, I set my alarm for 7am to get up to watch it!)... and I still have a few tears of joy and excitement lingering. It was exciting, almost more so than the Men's Olympic Trials, and I don't know what it was this time around.

Maybe it was because of those thoughts in my head... How many of you think I'm a loony with these thoughts--I'm sure plenty of you. Nevertheless, they're there but now to be placed here.

My story started way back when I rolled out of bed one college morning in 1998 or 1999 to go with a brother in the fraternity that I was pledging at the time to watch another brother run the Chicago Marathon at Clark and Fullerton. I was super tired, probably a bit dehydrated from some libations the previous evening, and further dehydrating myself with a cup of coffee. Good times. Watching those runners of all shapes, speeds, and sizes had me saying that I would do that next year.

Well, I said that again in 1999...then 2000...then 2001...2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006...... yeah, yeah...it took me a while. I know. I just never got around to it. I was focused on socializing in school and practicing a lot for my bachelor and master degrees in clarinet performance from DePaul (great clarinet school by the way!). I also got caught up in my freelancing musician life then on to production and sales/development at the Chicago Symphony. I finally got ahold of my life around late 2006 and early 2007 and was ready to tackle what I said I would do for a long time--almost 9 years later!

After watching the 2006 marathon, I headed to Fleet Feet Piper's Alley that day to get my shoes that I would start training in. After October, November, and December closed out that year, and I had the holidays weight to prove it, I took to streets of Chicago east to the lakefront. It was January. It was a negative 20 windchill. Pacing for CES this past winter and spring half marathon seasons, I learned that those runs would have been cancelled. Yet, that is how I started.

I ran from our condo at State and Monroe with a goal of getting to the Starbuck's next to Fleet Feet Piper's Alley so I could grab a hot chocolate and then walk to the brown line to take it home. I think the mileage was about 3 miles. Whatever it was, it felt like enough. I had all the wrong clothes on. It was all cotton. I was wearing a scarf. I didn't know what a gator was. I didn't know the about the "plan for 20 degrees warmer" rule--not that it mattered in that temperature but you get the point.

I was such a rookie back in early 2007. I asked employees lots of questions at Fleet Feet. I surfed RunnersWorld.com and their blogs. I read a lot of useful items there and halhigdon.com. I didn't have a group to run with. I went to Fleet Feet fun runs where I felt really out of place so I just did my own thing--hoping somebody would engage me so I would start my new group of "running buddies." But, unfortunately, at that time I didn't find my group there.

My friend and colleague at the CSO at the time, Lisa, said she was starting to run and would do the Shuffle that year. So, we registered together. She was and still is one of my running buddies. We shared war stories. She supported me through my post-Shamrock Shuffle injury (infamous IT band syndrome). And, somewhere in there the Fleet Feet team was invited to apply to participate in the Nike Northside/Southside Challenge for the Chicago Marathon. I actually applied. I figured I wouldn't get in but I did! That was around May.

May was when I started training as a mentor for at risk high school students who were also training for the marathon. And that was where I met my additional running buddy, Cyndy. So, I was starting to pick them up here and there. I knew it would happen sooner or later!

I trained for the marathon with that group, struggling because the long run pace varied week to week. I wondered if it was the wrong decision for my first marathon. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it. I had my own goals in mind and I was feeling really guilty because there were these high school students also training and I was worried about going slower than I wanted to go. Humbling. Toward the end of that training, though, was when the Nike Northside/Southside challenge started. It was around the end of August and I think that's when my "running life" changed.

The Nike Northside/Southside challenge started with trainings at Fleet Feet for the Northside, Juniors (a bar) for the Southside, and Niketown for our neutral runs. Nike matched up 50 members for each team so the challenge was even for the most part. I showed up for all the runs that I could. I met new people. Being on the Southside team, I gravitated toward my teammates because we were going to beat the Northside! They were, and still are, a great group of people.

Did you think that this story would lead to me being voted Team Captain?!?

Now, along with Northside Captain, Danny, we were charged with motivating our team to come out to our respective runs. We also had our plans to infiltrate the other team's training run. It was fun. We found out about each other's schemes and would try to foil them immediately. I told you things started to change in my 'running life".

It was becoming more fun. I was meeting new people. I had my running group.

We trained together for that short 6ish weeks leading to the sweltering 85 degree, 30th Anniversary of the Chicago Marathon. We made it to the end without anybody on the team ending up in the hospital. It was a sort of initiation. But, would it really end there?!? How would I keep these people engaged so I would keep my feet hitting pavement post-marathon? What was I going to do?!?

I was determined to keep it going somehow. So, I formed a googlegroup to keep everyone connected. Since then, I have used it as a channel to get more of those familiar faces from that team challenge time to the Niketown runs on Thursdays. And, I've told them all that there is that selfish part--that I don't want to run alone or with too many unfamiliar faces. There is the reality that a familiar face is comforting. So, I look forward to that on Thursdays. I don't think I have missed more than one since the marathon.

There is definitely a core that has kept the connection alive since the marathon and that really came into perspective for me at this year's Shuffle. Most of us were pacers for the Nike Shamrock Shuffle Training Runs and those that weren't actively participated. We are also part of the core of the newly re-vamped Nike Club RUN CHI--joining the core forces of the club runners prior to our arrival. It's been great to become a part of this group.

We will even be moving forward with pacing and coaching the free Nike Training Runs for the Chicago Marathon 2008. I will continue being a pacer for sure. Those runs will start on June 16. You can see those details in my blog entry before this one.

This is where I am now. I have a great running group from the Nike Northside/Southside Challenge as well as Cyndy and Lisa. More continue joining the mix. I love everyone's commitment and their camaraderie as we endure 85 degrees in a marathon (thanks Southside teammate Liz for snapping me out of it!) and running in 3 inches of snow with heavy, horizontal sleet pounding our faces both ways (the exfoliating or facial run as I called it!) I love how I am kept accountable to keep heading out the door because I am committed to and look forward to seeing my group each week. We have a grand time and there is never a dull moment.

Thank you "core group" for keeping me inspired throughout my first year of running. I have joined your ranks, or close, by slowly becoming a veteran. You all keep me inspired and motivated and I continue to look forward to our runs each week. I should also thank you for helping me lose a good amount of weight and keeping it off. ;)

Last, but not least, thank you Nike! Thank you for creating an awesome environment to run in and meet new friends at the same!

If you are reading this and you're new, join me. Start with our Nike runs. Maybe you'll have a similar, fantastic experience!

SWOOSH!

--
Ken Chin
Ken@KenChinUSA.com
http://kenchinusa.blogspot.com/