A friend of mine has been after me for years to do this fun run.  Starting at 9:00pm, you run 5k through the night city, winding up at Bastille Days, the city’s celebration of all things French.  One thing or another (heck, sometimes one thing AND another simultaneously) conspired to keep me away until this year.  I almost didn’t believe it when nothing momentous popped up to stop me.  With wary surprise, I laced up my shoes and wandered down to Milwaukee’s fashionable East Side not too long before nightfall.

I met up with a couple of my friends.  And a couple of their friends.  And a couple of the friend’s friends too, I think.  The crush of people at the starting line was something else, though I do have to give credit where credit is due: Milwaukeeans are a very friendly crowd!  I never heard the starting gun, if there was one.  The crowd shuffled forward a bit, then began to walk, and finally started a slow jog as the pack began to break up.  My more athletic buddy bounded along gamely with me for the first mile or two before starting to get all motivated on me.

“What do you say we pick up the pace a little?” he volunteered.

“Nope.”  I was steadfast.  I have a pace.  I’m a one speed kinda gal.  I can go forever if you don’t mess with my pace.  Change it?  I don’t think so.

“A little?” he tried again.

“Uh, uh.”

“Don’t you want to stretch your stride a bit?” he wheedled patiently.  I did not.  I allowed him to go boinging off into the sunset without me.  My other friend kept a more conservative pace than I and I’d lost track of her early in the game, so I arrived at the finish line all by my lonesome, which was just fine by me.  After the longer distance training I’d been so focused on this year, the 5K had flown by.   I was just warming up when it was over.  Hmm.  Maybe it’s time to try out a new pace after all. ~DG

Storm the Bastille, Milwaukee 2009

Arriving at the starting line on a grey and misty morning, I took my place near the back of the pack with a timing chip on my shoelace and a number pinned to my front.  Many announcement, much shuffling of runners, and some fanfare filled those last few minutes before the gun.  And finally-the countdown.  The starting gun popped, the crowd cheered and…nothing.   There were so many of us that nobody could move back where we were until those in front got going.  I didn’t actually reach the start line until 4 minutes after the official start of the race!

The excitement and energy of the gathered crowd was infectious.   I’ve always been a loner on my practice runs, hiding in my own little world with headphones firmly in place.  I didn’t expect to like being elbow to elbow with my fellow runners.  I thought it would be distracting and irritating.  A funny thing happened.  The slapping sound of the rubber literally meeting the road mesmerized me.  I was surprised at how pleasant was the thumping of thousands of shoes on concrete.  Hundreds and hundreds of people around me were doing just the same thing I was doing, each for themselves but certainly not alone.  That sound was the neatest surprise and the most oddly memorable moment of the whole experience.  A strange sound to me, unexpected, but it seemed to say everything.  I also hadn’t foreseen how much encouragement the onlookers provided.  People shout, clap, ring bells for you, any of you, all of you.  I found it especially touching as the race wore on.  It meant something when people were still standing there, cheering strangers on, even though you knew the frontrunners must have gone by an hour since.

The race route provided some delightful surprises.  And thankfully, no outrageous hills.  I’m an unapologetic hater of hills.  The roadblocks were wreaking havok on traffic routes through the city but the motorists sitting stopped at intersections for us invariably smiled and waved.  I’d like to think I’d be so friendly when inconvenienced.  I enjoyed the college kids playing drums and accoustic guitars in front of their rented digs.  The breeze off the lake sure was nice as the miles wore on and on.  I smiled and stuck my hand out for all the little kids I passed who stuck theirs out to slap 5 with any runner who would.  The beer stop somewhere around mile 7 made me laugh.  And linger. I walked just long enough to enjoy that thoughtfully provided beverage…o.k, two of them.  I’m never going to win one of these things; the best I can hope for here is folk hero status, I’m afraid.  The Hash House Harriers were out around mile 8 and they whooped and hollered when I shouted out the name of my Hash group in greeting.  I couldn’t get over how encouraging the whole city seemed to be and how nice it felt to be one of the many, many individuals sweating up and down the streets, along the lakeshore, and all the way to the end.

And after?  I was sore.  A little creaky.  Nothing a little ibuprofen and TLC wouldn’t handle, though.  A couple days later I’ve bounced back beautifully and feel right as rain.  And ready to do this again.  How neat!  Not only did I survive it, I really enjoyed it.  For all my training and all my talking, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to do it, much less walk the next day.  I’m on the lookout for my next half marathon, now.  My time this round was better than I’d expected, but I bet I can do a little better still on the next try.  Fox Cities, here I come! ~DG

This last weekend, a friend of mine invited me out for an afternoon’s hike in the Kettle Moraine Forest, an invitation I was delighted to accept.  A little cross training in the form of trail running, mountain biking, swimming, canoeing or kayaking will up any athlete’s game and with the advent of spring, it’s a lovely time to remember the great natural resources we have in our neck of the woods.  I’ve included a few links for state parks in Wisconsin, hiking trails in Wisconsin, Wisconsin mountain biking trails, camping opportunities (and reservation information), and information on canoeing and kayaking in Wisconsin. Don’t forget the potential for rock climbing, though you should be sure to take some lessons first for your own safety if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to try this wonderful sport!

For those inclined to venture a little father afield, information on the national park system can be accessed here.

Enjoy your time in the great out of doors, ladies, and be safe! Take proper precautions in terms of knowing the weather forecast and dressing appropriately.  Always let someone know where you’re going and when you intend to be back if you do go out there by yourself.  Be sure to carry enough water, especially in the heat of the upcoming summer, and bring food with you if you plan to be out long enough to need it.  A first aid kit should be a part of any outdoor adventurer’s equipment.  With a little advance planning and common sense, our natural landscape can provide wonderful opportunities for cross training,  adventure, excersise, excitement, and travel.  Have a great time, take some pictures, be safe, and don’t forget to send us a postcard!  ~DG

But for some young women in the Chicago area such athletic opportunities don’t exist, impeding their overall personal development.  Schools strapped for funding continue to slash athletic programs, and for some recess is a thing of the past.  Since 1995, Chicago non-profit organization Girls in the Game is trying to fill this void by implementing sports programs specifically designed for girls from elementary through high school.

Men and women reading this might ask, “Why focus on girls?  Aren’t boys affected by the lack of physical activity as well?”  Unfortunately, even 37 years after the passing of Title IX, the cuts seem to be affecting girls more than boys.

“In most of the elementary schools we work in, they do not offer girls’ sports teams,” says Girls in the Game executive director Amy Skeen.  “Some might offer just one or two types of sports for girls, but the rest are out of luck. Co-ed physical education also seems to focus more on the boys.  You’ll often see them on the court, and the girls are sitting on the sidelines.”

To address this imbalance, Girls in the Game hosts a variety of girl-focused sports programs at 31 Chicago area schools.  These academic year-long programs are followed by summer camps which are open to all students, even those who aren’t part of an after school program.

Skeen stresses that all of their programs go beyond throwing balls onto a court and sending the girls off to play.  In addition to teaching sports ranging from lacrosse to yoga, Girls in the Game also focuses on a spectrum of health and wellness issues unique to girls.

“When you look closely at the curriculum we’ve written at Girls in the Game, it is targeted to girls dealing with body image and self confidence issues,” says Skeen.  “We incorporate team-building activities as well as nutrition education to focus on the whole girl.”

If you are interested in helping this organization reach more girls, there are many ways you can get involved:

• Step up:  Crazy about capoeira?  Have a knack for making healthy snacks?  Girls in the Game welcomes both men and women to be one-time guest coaches or weekly assistants in their programs.  “We aren’t looking for elite athletes,” Skeen stresses.  “Just people who are committed to girls’ sports.”  Check out the Girls in the Game web site for other volunteer opportunities available for techies, event gurus, and tutors.

• Join up:  Last year, TEAM GIG’s charity runners and triathletes raised $60,000.  “Since it costs $500 for one girl to participate in one year-long after school program, this is tremendous,” says Skeen.  While there are official TEAM GIGs formed for this year’s Chicago Marathon and Rock N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon, anyone participating in other races or tris can raise money for Girls in the Game and receive the same fundraising support given to runners in the official races.

• Give it up:  Of course, a little money goes a long way.   Girls in the Game provides a  list of unique ways to donate.  You can also forward your donation to one of their Team GIG charity runners.  (Ahem ahem!)

• Start it up:  Could your community us an organization like Girls in the Game?  Let them know! “Our curriculum is currently being evaluated by Loyola University’s education school,” says Skeen. “We are looking for other sites and identifying those we can train to start this program.  We hope to kick off our first training session in the fall.”  ~TS

Indeed, whenever I consider summer races, visions of collapsed runners strewn along the route of the October 2007 Chicago Marathon dance in my head.  However, this race looks like it might be worth a little heatstroke for a few reasons:

• It’s the first Rock N’ Roll Series race in Chicago, replacing the beloved Chicago Distance Classic.
• The race’s course along the Lakefront and throughout downtown Chicago is generally flat and fast.
• Local and regional bands play throughout the course, as well as a yet-to-be announced headliner at the end of the race – hence the name.

Overall, it looks like a fun and interesting race for some of you budding first-time half-marathoners out there!  Something to think about…

The entry fee of $70.00 will increase to $85.00 after tonight.  Chicago Area Runners Association members get $10.00 off of their entry when they register at any time.

-TS

My other athletic adventure on this delightful international jaunt was the one I was most looking forward to. I told everyone that I didn’t care what else we did as long as I got to walk up and look into a volcano. This is a country the size of New York State with 23 active volcanoes and countless others currently dormant. The kind of place where people buy wind chimes not so that they’ll know when the wind blows but so that they won’t miss it when the ground shakes. Flying into Managua at night I could see lava glowing up through the darkness from the crater below. Awe inspiring. And sure enough, on a 99 degree day, we walked right up to the edge of the crater of the Volcano Masaya and peered into what the Spanish had dubbed, “The Gateway To Hell”. A couple of us raced up the stone steps. I’m not embarrassed to tell you that I wasn’t the first to the top. I ran. Up steps. On a 99 degree day in the full glare of the noonday sun in a place that smelled strongly of sulfur. And then we walked down the mountain. We took a tour of the caves that had been lava tubes not that long ago in geological terms and then we all walked right back up that hot and rocky hill. No more Tough Chick stuff for me; I’d left my water behind in the van and regretted it. Next time I feel a little adventure prone, I’m lugging it with me no matter what.

What a trip! It’s a lovely thing to sleep like a rock. Like a happy, exhausted little rock because you’ve been wearing yourself out having new adventures in a beautiful landscape with fabulous new friends. My challenge will be to keep this momentum going now that I’ve stumbled back into my real life here at home. I need to not forget the joy of discovering new ways to use those same old muscles. I also need to do more hills, ’cause I wasn’t the first to the top of that one at the volcano…  -DG

“So, maybe after class we can chat and laugh about how inflexible I am.”

This last line of Claudia Becque’s Facebook message seemed a little absurd. True, runners aren’t known for their flexibility.  But this particular runner, whose athletic prowess recently led her to the 2008 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, couldn’t possibly doubt her ability to handle a yoga class.

By the end of class, Becque’s assertion seemed even more absurd as she launched up onto her head and tucked her knees onto her elbows, successfully forming the feared tripod position that most of the regular yoga students still struggled with after months of practice.

And yet, mastering the tripod is not enough for Becque.

“Even in yoga, I get so competitive,” Becque remarked after class.  “I think, why can’t I do a headstand?”

Inflexible?  Indefatigable is a more accurate way to describe a woman who hit two major running milestones in 2008.  In addition to earning a place at the Olympic Marathon Trials, she also won Chicago Athlete Magazine’s Clif Bar Athlete of the Year Award.  Incredibly, Becque, 32, achieved all of this while maintaining a full-time job in medical device sales and preparing for her wedding.

Becque, a former Marquette University cross-country runner, caught the marathon bug during a self-imposed post-college running hiatus.  By training with the Chicago Area Runners Association, she ran her first marathon in Chicago and qualified for the coveted 2003 Boston Marathon.

After experiencing a painful stress fracture at the 2005 New York Marathon, Becque took a break from the marathon scene.  However, a conversation with champion marathoner Dana Coons soon pushed Becque towards the ultimate athlete’s dream – the Olympics.

Becque worked toward her Olympic marathon goal by training nearly 95 miles per week and running multiple races during 2007.  Highlights that year included finishing first among American women at both the Park Forest 10 Mile race (1:02:20) and the Berlin Marathon (2:58:25).  But to qualify for the Olympic trials, Becque needed to run a marathon at under 2:47:00.

Becque chose the Napa Valley Marathon as her qualifying race.  In an effort to avoid the exhaustion that plagued her during the Berlin race, she cut her training mileage to 80 per week.

“Once my mileage was in the eighties, it was more manageable,” said Becque.  “My job is pretty flexible, so I would just bring my running gear along on the road.”

Her fiancé, Paul Johnston, also a runner, provided a lot of support during the hard training months by making nightly dinners and providing constant encouragement.  And even though weekends were often consumed with running, Becque made time to socialize with friends.

“Everyone understood that this was short-term and I had a goal,” said Becque.  “I had a good support system.”

The support and hard work paid off for Becque. In March 2008, she finished the Napa Valley Marathon in 2:44:52.  Seven weeks later, she traveled to Boston for the Marathon Trials and ran alongside her running idols.

“I was completely star-struck,” Becque remembered.  “While lacing up at the starting line, I remember looking over and seeing these little Asics shoes.  I looked up and realized Deena Kastor was lacing up right next to me!  Just being around these women who are the top marathoners in the U.S. was amazing. Everyone was really respectful and nice. Even though I had a lower finishing time, I felt like I belonged there.”

Chicagoans also thought she belonged there.  Thanks to a successful voting campaign spearheaded by her husband and fellow runners Robert Wiegand and Michael Martineau, Chicago Athlete Magazine readers voted Becque as the female Clif Bar Athlete of the Year.  (Jeff Jonaitis won the award in the male category).

While Becque appreciates the accolades from her peers, she appreciates even more the personal benefits gained from running.  In addition to increasing her confidence and physical health, Becque believes running enhances her professional life as well.

“In sales, the competitive spirit helps,” said Becque.  “Also, running with a team is a reflection of team situations at work.”

Becque intends to make it to the Olympic trials in 2012.  But in the meantime, she is focusing on improving her running time in shorter races and wants to reach a few goals outside of the running world as well.

“I’m interested in working with organizations that deal with childhood obesity.  Also,” she added, “I really want to take piano lessons!”

I have told the wider world that I intend to run a marathon this year.  Usually, I’m just not that kind of a girl.  I’ve played hockey.  I’ve played hurling.  I’ve discovered the pleasures of backpacking, hiking, and biking but I never could understand those folks who think they want to go out and pound 26.2 miles of pavement or trails.  The people who know me best smile, try not to roll their eyes, and start trying to forget that I said such a silly thing so that they won’t have to embarrass me by remembering it later on when they presume I’d rather they didn’t, which I find to be the most hilarious part of all.  The only reason I told them in the first place was to leave myself no quarter.  If backing down means public humiliation, well darnit, maybe I really will keep moving a few more miles.

So why am I doing this?  Things are finally going pretty well for me.  I found myself considering the metaphorical hills I’ve climbed in life’s other arenas.  I started to worry that I’d stagnate now that I don’t have any obvious mountain before me.  Darnit, I’ve gotten good at throwing my all at something that looks insurmountable and I’m afraid that if I don’t keep doing it I just might forget how.  Did I really just say that?  On top of which, it started to seem like everyone else was doing it!  People I’d run into tangentially would remark upon the marathon they’d run or were about to.  I started to think, well geez, if she can do it, I might be able to, too…  I admit, too, the desire to see what I’ll look like, feel like, with a body that can do that sort of thing.  I’ll feel unstoppable, incredible, superhuman!  I hope.  Maybe I’ll just feel like crawling into a hole and dying when it’s all said and done.  I guess that part remains to be seen.

So we shall see.  10 miles is not a marathon, not even half of one, but it’s more than I’ve ever run before.  I know I’ll be ready for my first half marathon in a month and a half or so.  We’ll see how long it takes me to be ready to go whole hog.  Already I can feel myself inhabiting a body edging towards that leaner distance runner aesthetic.  I love the way I feel when I wake up the morning after a run, my whole body full of a different kind of energy than I seem to find any other way.  I’m starting to understand why they do it.  I’m getting a glimpse of how it is that people come to love running.  It’s seeming just this side of possible that I might yet turn out to be one of them.- DG