Happy Birthday to Me!

In less than an hour, I will turn 21. Ok, not really, I will turn 34. Wow. 34 years old.

As I reflect upon the past year of my life, I think about what this year has held for me. I entered my 10th year of practicing law. What a milestone. I lost my sister-in-law, Amy, to breast cancer. What a tragedy. I began running. What an accomplishment.

October 30 was always such a cool birthday to have. As a kid, I always had a super cool cake - of course it had something to do with pumpkins, spiders or witch hats. As a college student, how could you beat partying on Halloween for your birthday? As an adult, I was lucky enough to share my birthday with my sister-in-law, Amy.

When my husband I first started dating and he learned that my birthday was October 30, I think he was secretly relieved. His sister's birthday was also October 30. Wow, he would never forget that, right? Over the next nine years, Amy and I shared cakes, rousing rounds of "Happy Birthday," and each other's special day.

Tomorrow, Amy would have turned 40. How I wish I could call her up and hear her say, " Hey You, Happy Birthday to Us."

A few weeks ago I made the decision that tomorrow, on my 34th birthday, I would celebrate it by running 17 miles. What better way to celebrate this day, and honor sweet Amy, than to run a half mile for every year that I am old. And, if I am very lucky, and not too tired, maybe I can throw in one to grow on.

So tomorrow, I will be lacing up my running shoes, hitting the trail, and celebrating in a way I never thought would ever happen - with one long, long, very long, run.

Happy Birthday, Amy. Happy Birthday to Us.

My Wish

Today my best gal pals, along with thousands of other runners, will run the Marine Corps Marathon. And I will be there cheering them on to an amazing finish.

Last night, we all gathered at Leesa's house. After a yummy "carbo-load" dinner, we sat down to strategize when and where we would see our runners. My goal: see my girls as many times during the race as I can. The outcome: We'll have a hook up at Miles 4, 10, 15, 19, 23 and the finish. Its an ambitious plan. But for my girls, I am going to make it happen.

Although I hate to admit it, a teenie-weenie part of me wishes I was running it with them. However, I made the decision months ago that my first marathon had to be Disney - it had too much symbolism for me. So I threw myself into what historically I do best: Cheerleader.

When it comes to the MCM, I fancy myself as somewhat of a Cheerleading Aficionado. I have cheered on numerous friends and family at "The People's Marathon" over the past eight years I've lived in D.C. I'm not happy with just seeing my runners at one spot - its a race for me too. My goal is to see them at every place I can. And I'm good at it.

I can't help but love it. I love the spirit of this race, I love the course, with all of the monuments, I love seeing the military men and women running in honor and remembrance of our fallen, I love the patriotism, pride, and inspiration, and I especially love seeing runners cross the finish line.

What I don't love is seeing runners at the finish line who are suffering, whether it be from injury or fatigue, I've seen some pretty scary scenes. I always hope and pray that once those runners get home, they get better.

I can't wait to cheer for my runners today. For them, and all the other runners, I have one wish: a good run with a healthy finish.

So listen up Leesa and Kim - run your best race today but keep in mind, you're going to be expected to raise a glass in a toast to your success later tonight, AND, more importantly, run another 26.2 miles with me in two months.

I'll be seeing you soon - just look for me. I'll be the crazy girl at Mile 4, 10, 15, 19, and 23 cheering her heart out.

Warning: Running Might be Contagious

The gene pool in my family was not kind to my sister or me.

Between the four kids in my family - my two brothers, my sister, and me - my brothers got the good stuff. Long eyelashes, fast metabolism, perfect teeth, all the things my sister and I would kill for. Not fair. Come on, tell me, what boy needs long eyelashes?

Its just par for the course that my brothers are totally athletic. They rock climb, run, bike, you name it. My sister and me? Well... not so much.

So this morning, I cannot describe the excitement I felt inside when I received the following email from my sis:

To: Jenn
From: Kimberlea
Subject: I am finally doing it...

http://raceofthedead.com/

I am going to do this 5K on Halloween!

Well, I'll be! I am so proud of her. This will be my little sis' first 5K. I wish so much that I can be there to cheer her on. Or better yet, run with her.

A few months ago, I was visiting Kimberlea in Chicago. Over the course of my visit, we'd been taking about running and how much I'd been loving it. We had a few hours to kill before she took me to the airport and we were trying to figure out what to do.

After the usual exchange - "what do you want to do?" ... "I don't know, what do you want to do?" Kimberlea had an idea - "Will you go with me to the running store?" OF COURSE!

That day, Kimberlea got herself a pair of running shoes and some cute running outfits (For these sisters, cute outfits are a must. If you're going to do this, you've gotta do it in style!) and she vowed to start training.

On Saturday, October 31, Kimberlea will run her first race. I cannot begin to tell you about how proud I am of her. Despite the fact that these two sisters were passed over when our family tree was handing out athletic genes, we are going for it anyway.

Kimberlea - I wish you an amazing run on Saturday, October 31, 2009. Although I will not be there in person cheering you on, I will be there in spirit, running right beside you.

I Love the Fall

I love the fall. For so many reasons.

1. Longhorn Football. Yes, it is true. I bleed orange.


2. The leaves change. I grew up in the Texas Panhandle. We didn't have leaves. Now that I am in D.C., they are a glorious sight.


3. My two favorite holidays arrive back to back. First my birthday on October 30th and then Halloween. (Maybe you don't consider my birthday a holiday, but I do.)


4. Good-bye swimsuit season!

Since the official start of Fall, I have decided that I have one more reason to add: Amazing Runs.

I read an article in Runner's World a few months ago about how heat impacts a runner's performance. A runner must exert themselves at a higher level to run in heat than they do when they run in mild temperatures. No Kidding. I learned that real fast when I kicked up my training schedule in June. My only choices - Run at the gym or at the crack of dawn.

How soon I forget how much harder running in the summer really is.

Earlier this month I ran the Army 10-Miler. My plan was to finish in 1:47:30 - a 10:45 pace. As the gun went off and the race began, I felt like a speed demon. I finished my first mile at a sub-10 minute mile pace.

Whoa. I needed to SLOW down. WAY down. I don't ever want to be one of those runners who poop out after mile two 'cause they were too fast out of the start. So I tell myself, I'll slow down after mile two. At mile two, I tell myself that I will slow down at mile three. And so it goes.

I finished the Army 10-Miler in 1:43:04 - a 10:18 pace. I finished at almost :30 seconds faster per mile than I planned. I finished over 1 minute faster per mile than my last 10-miler - I shaved TEN minutes off my race finish time. HOLY... WOW!

On Monday night, my training schedule told me to run 2 miles. As I sat out for my run, I fully intended to do just that. Keeping an eye on my Garmin, I realized that yet again, I was going too fast. And it felt good. It felt good then. And it felt good 6 miles later.

I have a summer and a winter wardrobe. Maybe I have a summer and winter running pace too.

One Person's 5K is Another's Marathon

I have a friend named Jenni. Jenni and I have lots in common.

Besides the obvious, the same name (come on, we were born in the Jennifer-lovin' 1970s), we share a love for some of the same people. Jenni was one of my sister-in-law, Amy's, best friends. Like me, Jenni was not immune to Amy's inspiring influence. Like me, Jenni started running earlier this year. Like me, Jenni is NOT athletic.

On October 3, Jenni, along with Amy's family and friends, ran the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Houston in honor of Amy Ellis Oliver. Jenni trained for this race for nearly ten months.

A few days ago, my husband and I were driving in the car and I thought about Jenni. I wondered out loud. Wow. Ten months of training for a 5K. Do you think she will keep going? Run more 5Ks? Run longer races?

My husband reminded me of what our friend, Jeff, always says: "One person's 5K is another person's marathon."

I have a friend named Jeff. Jeff and I have nearly nothing in common.

We love some of the same people and going to wineries. That's about it. Jeff is an amazing runner, I'm not. He runs 100 milers like I run 5. Jeff's "marathon" is a race with a distance I can't even begin to imagine running. Despite the fact that he has run countless ultra-marathons, he always celebrates my running accomplishments. "A 10-miler, Jenn, that is awesome!" "A 3-hour finish time for a trail half-marathon, great job!"

One Person's 5K is Another Person's Marathon.

Jenni ran her heart out on October 3. Maybe she will keep training, run longer distances. Maybe she has run her marathon. Regardless, I am so proud of her.

Jenni documented her race with a beautiful video. I share it with you below.

Watch the video. Think of Jeff's philosophy. And I ask you -

What is your marathon?