CONQUERING CHICAGO MARATHON

Well that's me at the Chicago marathon Expo with famous runner, now writer, Bart Yasso. So it's over now and I'm still on such an endorphin high. 18 hard weeks of training, with a Career change, move to North Carolina, and complete life overhaul thrown in for fun. It was challenging and at times a difficult road to this marathon. But I can tell you, it is so true that marathons are a metaphor for life, you get out of them what you put in. And boy did I get a ton out of my difficulties of training in the steep hills of N.C. It was a very lonely road at times, and I struggled to stay motivated. The mind will play many games with you when you are running alone, in pouring rain for 22 long miles, or 19, or 16 or speed work. I spent more hours running in rain than I care to remember. But I set a PR (Personal Record) by more than 24 minutes. And best of all I was strong in the last 6 miles, something I have never experienced in any of my former marathons. It was freezing cold, coldest day in history of the Chicago marathon. Lucky us, I ran with my brother Eric, his wife Teresa, and their dear friend Bill (that I've seen grow up) and friends Nicole and Sheresa. Everyone set a PR that day. It was glorious.
So many fond memories I will hold forever, like locking arms with my Brother and Bill as we approached the start line. (it took 20 minutes just to get to the start line, good thing it was a chip timed race.)
I dedicated this race to my friend Wendy who is currently battling Brain Cancer. She is a champion and a fighter, and when things got tough I just thought of the strength it takes to go through what she is going through and never ever giving up.
So I will close for now and hopefully have more time for post in the future. As I start now to cross train, biking, weight lifting and swimming and then December 1st start my new 18 week training program for the Paris Marathon. I plan on running for a Charity for that one. Chicago was my only marathon that I did not raise money for Charity. I want to always pay it forward, so if you have any suggestions as to what charity I should raise money for for please e-mail me at info@milestonessportsjewelry.com I have a few in mind that I am very passionate about but would love to hear your feedback, maybe a charity that not too many people do fundraising for, that really needs it.
so I leave you with a quote from the song "If this was your last day" by Nickelback; "EACH DAY IS A GIFT, NOT A GIVEN RIGHT"
Go out there and give it all you got. You never know what you are capable of until you try.
In Health,
Melody

CHICAGO only 4 weeks to go!

Before we get to the Chicago marathon update I have some catching up to do. Pictured here looking fabulous as always, is my partner Christine Sparks. Christine lives in St. Pete, FL and works all our expos and races in that area. We have some really exciting big events coming up. Visit our calendar or website for detailed dates and locations. Also Christine is training for her first full marathon,
SPACE COAST in Cocoa Beach, FL on November 29th. Of course Milestones Jewelry will be a featured vendor at the Expo for the marathon. The picture of her is from the US 10K CLASSIC in Atlanta. We love our Florida races, great partners and loyal followers but we are very excited to be branching out into north Georgia, SW North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. We are working on securing Vendor partnerships with some really great events in those areas. Also stay tuned for a ton of new products. We are currently working on a new photo shoot so we can post our new designs to our on line shopping. But remember we love to do custom work, so if you don't see what you are looking for on line now please e-mail us with your request.

Chicago? Well I am logging lots and lots of miles. I was lucky enough to be back in the Tampa Bay area where I did my 21 mile run with my sister in law, Teresa and her friend Nicole. It was a great run, especially since I wasn't running alone,and I was running on flat land. But in the last 3 miles I got lost, my Garmin (better known as my permanent running partner) kept shutting off, and the Florida sun was beating me down like a dog. Teresa and Nicole were doing 18 miles and I had lost them several miles back when I had to stop at 7-11 for water. Right when I thought I couldn't take another step, the girls drove up beside me to cheer me on. Little did they know that as soon as I saw them I would break down in tears. Long runs this late in marathon training can really break you down and cause you to be so emotional. I shouted over the busy traffic "My watch died, I got lost and I don't know how far I've gone, but I MUST do 21 miles". At that point Nicole, (who had just run 18 miles herself) JUMPED from the car and said "LET'S GO, you only have a mile to go and I'm running it with you". I did have to stop one more time to Boo-Hoo loudly to get it out of my system so I could breath and then we sprinted the last mile to make sure I got in my 21 miler. Teresa followed in the car to make sure we were OK. Now that's what I call friendship. And that's just one of the many things I love about running and runners. We are a family, always there to help out a fellow runner. Thanks so much to Teresa and Nicole. I love you both and can't wait to cross the finish line with you and our gang on October 11th in Chicago.
Oh and I just got an e-mail from my coach, Joe Burgasser and he says
"I REPEAT, IT WILL NOT BE HOT FOR THE CHICAGO MARATHON THIS YEAR", and this man is always right
:-)
"People begin running for any number of motives, but we stick to it for one basic reason-to find out who we really are".
George Sheehan, M.D.

Until next time, remember regardless of what you choose to accomplish in life
"NEVER QUIT"
Melody