Welcome to my running journey

The Epic Challenge – March 2020

My good friend Krista and I were chatting over a run, as we usually do, about doing a stage race. We both wanted to run a 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon over four consecutive days, but we didn’t want the expense of a Florida vacation to accomplish this crazy challenge. After discussing potential options over post-run coffee, we decided we’d do our own Epic Challenge.

We completed our first Epic Challenge in 2019 while training for the KalHaven Ultra Marathon. Who would have thought we’d do this again in 2020? In addition to KalHaven, we are both training for the Lighthouse 50. The Epic Challenge sounded like a good training opportunity yet again!

Epic Challenge 2020 started on Wednesday, March 4. We completed the 5k near Krista’s home just before sunset. I was pretty warm from my car ride down to her house, so I didn’t think to wear gloves. My hands froze in the headwind, but we were running swiftly and had tailwind on the way back. I told myself that I could easily handle the cold for a 30-ish minute run…lesson learned.

We decided to complete the 10k on the McCoy Creek Trail a little later Thursday morning to take advantage of warmer temps. I have missed this trail so much and looked forward to seeing the birdhouses and signs my son installed on the trail for his Eagle Project! I normally run fasted and didn’t plan for running later in the day. I felt tired after a few miles, a strange feeling for a 10k. Then I realized my mistake in fueling…lesson learned. We took walk breaks at each mile and stopped for a few photos. The blue sky, wildlife prints on the trail and our usual conversation made for a pleasant run. So many wonderful memories came flooding back from our runs together and with the RedBud Run Club on this trail.

On Friday, the temps dropped even further and there was snow on the ground, which wasn’t forecasted. This messed with our heads. I ate a protein bar with my coffee, so I felt better prepared for a late morning run. We both wore blue for friends battling colon cancer and I wore my 'Fuck Cancer' shirt for added motivation. We again waited to take advantage of warmer temperatures later in the day, but there was no escaping the gusty wind. We returned to the McCoy Creek Trail which would provide a little shelter. The sun came out and melted some of the snow, which was nice. Although our feet got wet pretty early on. My XOTOES performed well and my feet didn’t feel wet or cold for the duration of the run. Though I was a little bummed about the cold temps and snow, I was very happy to be running a half marathon. I haven’t put in this distance in over a month and I was absolutely craving a long run. The conditions weren’t ideal, but I was definitely happy to be out there.

On Saturday, I was very much looking forward to seeing the beautiful campus of Notre Dame, but was in no mood to run a full marathon. I don’t know why I had a bad attitude, but I did. I didn’t vocalize anything because I didn’t want my bad attitude to impact Krista. We met Krista’s friend Shelly at the campus who would join us for the first half of our marathon. We talked, laughed and remarked about the beautiful blue sky, all of which was enjoyable. I still wasn’t into it. We took walk breaks at every mile until we hit 16. I wasn’t sure if I was feeling tired or lazy at this point, but wanted more walk breaks. Though we were at mile 16, the cumulative mile total was actually closer to 38, which made sense as to why we felt fatigued. We switched to walking at every half mile. By mile 20, I finally felt like we did have some pep in our step, which is funny, because I nearly tripped over a tiny crack in the sidewalk in these later miles. I couldn’t pick up my feet. We were both tired, but excited to count down the miles. One of us may have shed a tear out of pure happiness. I was close to doing the same.

When we started this marathon, I wasn’t confident I would finish it. It took until mile 20 to realize that I was going to make it. Immediately after finishing the marathon, I confessed to Krista that I didn’t want to run today. I told her that complaining would have been a bad strategy, so I kept my bad attitude to myself. Krista helped me realize that even with a bad attitude I finished the marathon, mostly out of stubbornness…lesson learned. With the support of Shelly, our husbands and friends cheering online, we completed our Epic Challenge again.

I ran 4 miles on the day after the full marathon. Our Epic Challenge netted us 48.6 miles, but I wanted to add 4 miles to complete 52 miles over the course of 5 days. The Lighthouse 50 might end up closer to 52 miles and I wanted to see how my legs would feel with 52 miles on them. I feel really good physically and even more confident. The Epic Challenge was just the boost I needed for the mental side of running 50 miles…lesson learned.

Post Epic Challenge - I’ve mostly been thirsty, not too hungry. I’ve eaten normally, more or less. I couldn’t sleep the first night home, probably too much adrenaline, but I’ve caught up on sleep over the last few days. I have walked to loosen up some stiff leg muscles, but don’t feel trashed from all the miles. I am trying to be gentle with my body to reap as much from this recovery period as I can before I get back to my normal running schedule, which will be tonight with the start of the Thornapple Run Club!

March is Colorectal, Kidney and Multiple Myeloma Cancer Awareness Month. Please consider making a donation to Fxck Cancer through mypersonal fundraising page. Purchase merchandise through the Fxck Cancer website and share this information with your friends and family. Cancer sucks. Let’s work together to support our brave cancer warriors and fight to spread the word about early detection. Thank you for your support!