So this morning I was totally prepared for my 21 miler, physically and mentally. Had all the right gear, charged Ipod (or so I thought), baby fed, body glided, fueled up and ready to go. I decided to do a 7 mile loop 3 times so that I did not have to worry about carrying water (it was planted along the way) or finding a potty if I needed one. So I headed out and was feeling good, then my Ipod died which was very curious to me since I plugged it in to charge last night and left it there until this morning. Oh well I was getting close to my house and I thought I would just trade for my husband's or my daughter's. So I ran in the door and wouldn't you know it both of their Ipod's were dead also. I was kind of annoyed but decided that it would be a good mental test. I usually don't ever turn my Ipod on in the marathon anyway, but that is because I like to talk to other people when I run. Could I do it all by myself? If I could do it, I could do Boston.Things were going pretty well, except for my nagging hip but all in all it was going well and then it got better!!!
I was running on the trail at Nike for a little bit of a break from the pavement, I looked up and saw a woman running toward me. Without music I was really taking in all of my surroundings. I looked closer and realized it was Kara Goucher. (If you don't know who she is you are not as big of a running nerd as I am :) she is the top us female marathoner and placed 3rd at Boston last year) Could it be my running idol in person? I was so excited, I got a huge grin on my face and said hi very enthusiastically. I am sure that she thought I was a nerd but I could not contain my excitement. In hind sight I wish that I have turned around and run with her so I could pick her brain about Boston (although she runs marathons an hour faster than me)
Anyway the moral of my story is sometimes in life things don't go according to plan and sometimes they turn out better than expected! Today was that day for me!!!
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10 comments:
I love your story! You should run at Nike more often. I think Kara is a great runner, and this year she also wants to become a mom. Maybe we should invite her to join our blog??
So cool. I never run with music... but it does get lonely! Great story!!!
very cool! I would love to see her in person!! She is my idol, too.
Maybe next time you'll turn around and run with her (although, I think she runs her training runs an easy 6- or 7-minute pace. yikes!)
That would be so cool...It was your lucky day after all :) Good luck with Boston!!!
You know I've had days like that when the IPod won't work, or things don't go exactly as planned, but when you are on what I call "the gruelling run" or the 20 milers, there's nothing like seeing someone you admire also running. I would have gotten all geeked out too. There really is something about completing the distance no matter how long it takes, that makes you feel a kind of kinship with elite athletes. Here's to her future as an elite marathon mommy.
Holy cow! Kara Goucher! I would've wanted to follow her too! Awesome. And congrats on your 21 miler. That's fantastic!
No way! That is awesome!!! Does she live near you? Did she look tired? Probably not.....
Kara Goucher!! How awesome is that. I have the same question as 5 Miles 2 Empty: did she look tired? I will never forget that article about her insomnia.
Congrats on 21 miles!!! wahoo!
So cool to see Kara...you totally should have turned around and at least followed her to see her running, check out her running gear etc. (yea, that would have been me...the true stalker!!)
So I was running at Nike Headquarters and she does live and train here in Portland. she did not look tired but also was not running crazy fast either. I am not starting any rumors but....maybe she is pregnant. I know from the article in runners world that was inher plan.
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