The 5k Time Trial + My Intro to BOMF

At the end of my last blog I shared that I was very anxious for the next group run which consisted of a 5k time trial, and that I was going to try to beat anyone and everyone and that this would be my first time getting a real feel for the speed of the individuals in our group. Well, that day has passed and I can report the results...but I will share that at the end of this blog :)

First things first, I really wanted to share a bit about how I got involved with Back on My Feet Chicago. It all began winter of 2016-2017, when my good friend from Spain, Fanny, let me know she was coming to visit me in Chicago! Fanny is an avid runner just like me, so naturally she wanted to do a race during her visit, and not just any quick 5K but a lengthier 10K! The only problem was that she was coming to visit in the month of February...which is not exactly peak race season.

2/25/17

Fanny did her research and found a 10K with a Mardi Gras theme hosted by a nonprofit called "Back on My Feet" that I hadn't ever heard of. I agreed to join her, and crossed my fingers that it wouldn't be unbearably cold on race day. Well, come race day, it was not only unbearably cold, (24 degrees) but it was also windy and big chunks of snow were pelting down on us. I don't ever recall running in less ideal conditions (of course, until the Thanksgiving run with BOMF that came later on in the year!) So the race was tough, but we survived and by far the funniest memory of the day was when Fanny, in a moment of desperation, wore my extra pair of socks as gloves so as to avoid getting her fingers frozen off!

At the race afterparty I learned a bit more about Back on My Feet. I learned about how they engaged members from homeless shelters and used the benefits of running to get these members back to living fully independent lives with their own jobs, apartments, etc. I found their mission to be very respectable, but it did not even cross my mind to consider them as a potential volunteer opportunity for myself;  I simply began to follow them on Facebook left it there.

Fast forward to one month later when I came across a Facebook post saying that BOMF was starting a partnership with a homeless shelter in my neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago! For months I had been trying to find a worthy cause to support and volunteer for, and everything seemed to align and push me towards becoming a member of BOMF and specifically volunteering at the Pilsen partner shelter.

So, I signed off on the waiver, read through the volunteer handbook, and then paused and gulped when I read that "All runs start at 5:45am, Mon-Wed-Fri." Anyone who knows me well also knows that sleeping in past 11am is definitely in my top 3 favorite past times. Even so, I committed to showing up once a week (definitely not Mondays), and eagerly awaited my first run with the crew!

Never in a million years would I have imagined that:

1. I'd actually be able to sustain the 5:45am schedule for more than two weeks;
2. I'd meet on a weekly basis some of the most inspiring, optimistic, and empowering individuals I've ever met; and
3. I would personally benefit just as much if not more than the BOMF members from the time we spent hitting the pavement and logging some miles together.

I can't wait to share some of these great stories from the people I've met on this team!---
Ah, and for those of you who were still interested in how I did on my 5K trial: of our training group of about 100-150 people, within a wide range of ages (though I may be on the younger side), I finished in 21:43 (7:07/mile-- according to my GPS it was only 3.05 miles, not the full 3.1!), was the first female to finish and I believe the 6th person to finish overall. So unfortunately that timed trial has only fed my running ego and you will have to live through more blogs where I go on about how fast I want to finish my marathon and how hard I will be crossing my fingers that I don't full deplete my energy by mile 10.

108 Days Til Marathon Day!

First Group Run i.e. Sizing Up the Competition

I don't know what's inherently wrong with me that I'm incapable of doing any sort of physical activity/exercise without subtly making it a competition. Particularly when it involves running (or soccer). Swimming laps alongside 70 year-old veterans in the lap pool? Competition. Pacer test alongside the elementary school kids at work? Competition. Running on a treadmill directly next to someone else at the gym? Competition (and yes, I am taking a peak to see if I'm going a faster speed than you). Race against my nephew to see who can run to the other side of Grandma's house first? Competition (and I'll probably push him in the opposite direction before I take off). Jogging around a track? Yep, you'd better believe I'm going to count the times I lap you.

Rather than fight these competitive urges, in my adult life I have found running races to be a great outlet for these at-times toxic levels of competitive drive. So, it is no surprise that when I showed up to my first marathon group training run on 6/5/18 I was in full competition mode. I was literally amongst a group of people who are meant to support and push each other through the next couple months of training to complete their best marathon, but my default mode is "how am I going to beat these people."

The environment of first arriving to that training group felt quite theatrical (maybe only to me). Was everyone judging me on my Costco-brand, ill-fitting leggings and my Asics running shoes that were, like, SooOooOo four models ago?! It was also intimidating in the sense that 90% of people had high-tech, huge running watches, fancy belts, hand held water bottles, or compression socks. I'm honestly just proud of myself that over the last year I've at least transitioned away from always running in old soccer t-shirts and shorts.

Anyway, I would also describe the experience of arriving to the training group as somewhat of a combo between the confusion of showing up to your first ever cross-country practice (what do you mean there are DRILLS we do for running? Shouldn't we just go out and run as fast as we can in order to get better??),  the butterflies of competing at your first track meet, and the determination of your first soccer tryout, rolled into one. Add into that all the fact that I'm now an adult and should not feel some of these immature tendencies and insecurities, and you get a bit of a sense of how things were unfolding.

Upon arrival I noticed there were already cliques that had formed (was it just a couple of friends who happened to have innocently signed up to run together, and not a maliciously formed clique? Maybe. Or maybe the enemies have already started banding together). As an attempt at friendly conversation, I asked one individual if everyone there was for the running group. This individual nodded "Yep." then returned to their smartphone obligations. Nothing like a warm welcoming!!! Whatever. Game on.

All competitiveness aside (for now), this first group training was very informative and a great introductory session. I'm very excited to be running with a training group for the first time ever, and to have a real running coach! After a short warmup run we went through some running drills to perfect our running form and posture, which I'm certain will have a large impact on my running efficiency. The coaches seemed very knowledgeable and friendly, and I'm sure that eventually I will get to know more runners in my group and *gasp* maybe even make friends through the natural camaraderie that forms with group suffering. Should be a great next four months!

Back to reality/my competitive side: next week we are doing 5k trials and I can't wait to see how many people I beat :D

122 days til Marathon Day!