Running Down a Dream

I did it.  On Sunday, April 23^rd I accomplished a personal goal of completing a half marathon.  As my friend Jon Thurmond says…bananas. 

I have had a love/hate relationship with running for years.  Start and stop.  Couch to 5K.  I remember pulling out ‘how to start running’ plans out of Shape magazine.  I tried it all and nothing stuck. 

Enter 2019.  A dear friend of mine beat breast cancer.  It was a surreal experience for me – she was the closest person ever in my life to endure that battle.  It really scared me.  The idea of her not being in the world terrified me.  But she beat it.  She entered the fire and the Lord brought her out of it.  I was talking with her close to Christmas that year and she said to celebrate her victory she thought we should run a marathon.  I said yes, yes we should. 

I started training in February 2020.  I did a combination of outdoor and treadmill running.  And I loved it.  For the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed running.  Bananas! 

We all know what March 2020 brought – pandemic shut down.  Running was very therapeutic.  I set a goal of running a 15K for my birthday in October and then completing a half marathon distance by the end of the year.  I hit the birthday goal…then I got Covid in November.  I really felt it in my lungs, so running was stalled.  I had a planned medical procedure the week before Christmas which forced me to focus on my health and recovery for the next several months. 

I was finally able to resume running in the summer of 2021.  I signed up for my first half marathon to take place in October with my friend.  And then I got a fun surprise – lower back pain.  It was bad.  It hurt.  It made running nearly impossible.  I dropped out of the half marathon scheduled for October and I turned my focus back to Orangetheory. 

Fast forward to April 2022 – my friend and I completed a quarter marathon together.  I had shin splints and I had not been dedicated to training outdoors, so it was rough.  However, I was blessed to meet a new running friend while waiting in the corral who introduced me to run/walk interval running.  Game changer.  I also started seeing a new doctor and met with a sports nutritionist to focus on my overall nutrition and health.  In addition, I researched interval training and was introduced to the Galloway method.  The pieces were starting to come together. 

October 2022 I was a speaker at the Wisconsin SHRM state conference.  It was a wonderful event; I was grateful to spend time with many fellow HR friends.  One of which, Tom Daniels, shared with me that he had recently joined the board of directors of a local organization dedicated to supporting the autism community.  Tom knows that I am an autism mom and so we spent a lot of time talking about my experience.  Tom also told me he was going to run the Toledo Glass City Marathon in April to support his organization, Avenues for Autism.  He wanted to form ‘Team Emily’ in honor of my daughter.  What could I say to that?!?  I told Tom I would join him for the race on April 23^rd.  Once you register, there’s no going back. 

I had a physical therapy assessment in January and started treatment.  My therapist was awesome – he saw no reason why I couldn’t train for the half.  Some of the smaller muscles in the lower back area just needed to be strengthened.  Within a couple of weeks, I was feeling so much better!  True relief from the pain.  He also helped me to find some modifications for my Orangetheory workouts.  And I made a major discovery – my treadmill was a part of the problem.  I moved exclusively to outdoor running and started a Galloway method training program for a half marathon. 

And I did it – 3 hours, 11 minutes.  I honestly felt great and enjoyed the experience.  My training served me well; I was glad to have stayed so diligent to my program.  I saw some hilarious posters along the way:

• ‘You’re running better than the government’

• ‘Worst parade ever 0/10’

• ‘That’s a lot of effort for a free banana’

• ‘I would rather eat 13.1 pizzas’

Bucket-list item checked.  Dream realized.  Now I have to decide what’s next…

What’s your dream?  When’s the last time you thought about your dreams?  I encourage everyone to take the time.  It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day lives – focusing on a bigger goal can help to give greater purpose. 

Upcoming Speaking Schedule:

June 20 – Buffalo Niagara HR Association Emerging Professionals Learning Series – https://bnhra.org/meetinginfo.php?id=382&ts=1678972462

July 12 & 13 – HR Unite! – https://hrunite2023.hrunitemichigan.com/hrunite-conference

August 8 – Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO) Monthly Meeting – https://hraco.org/events/

August 15 – Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Annual Conference – http://dmec.org/conferences-and-events/annual-conference/

September 20-22 – Ohio SHRM Conference – https://hrconference.ohioshrm.org/

October 11-13 – Wisconsin SHRM Conference – https://wishrm.org/2023-State-Conference

November 8-9 – Toledo HR Association Conference (THRAC) – https://toledoshrm.org/resources/THRAC2019.cfm