We like to run. Well, most times we like it, but we regularly do it.
We started running together in 2014. I wanted new kicks, but couldn’t justify spending the money on them if I wasn’t actually going to use them. So I told myself that if I could run 30 miles in my old shoes, I could buy myself new shoes. I started tracking my progress on our dry erase board on our front door.
I had about 7 miles to go when Kenny asked if I wanted to race to 30 miles. The winner had to buy the loser’s shoes. I said okay because I was basically almost there and the closest thing he had to running shoes were Sambas. I had this.
As I was running 2-3 miles a day, I saw Kenny’s numbers rush toward mine. He was clocking 5-7 miles a day. In Sambas. At speeds of +10 on the treadmill. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my husband in a nutshell.
I honestly can’t remember who ended up winning that contest (which probably means it wasn’t me), but we both came home from the Nike store one day with new kicks. And from then on, we were off to the races. We spent all of 2014 running the same 5K route from Oak St to Museum campus and walking home.
Come 2015, we would go from casual 5K runners to marathoners. We completed our first half that spring, second half that fall, and capped off running season with our first Chicago Marathon. We would go on to run 4 marathons in the 365 days that followed – Chicago Marathon, Disney’s Dopey Challenge (5k, 10k, ½ marathon, full marathon over 4 days), Berlin Marathon and Chicago Marathon again.
Don’t let the intensity of our running schedule fool you. I am by no means a “good” runner. I am slow and steady. Sometimes I want to cry, but I keep going – partly because somewhere deep down I do like running and partly because I REALLY like crossing that finishing line and feeling like a bad ass.
Kenny is a good runner. I’m not sure he would ever tell you that, because he would tell you about how much better other people still are, but to me, he is amazing. He is methodical and so mentally and physically tough it blows my mind. When he’s not training for time, he often runs with me – because he likes hanging out with me or something – and is an expert pacer. He paced me to my PR at the Berlin Marathon by over 40 minutes! (When your first marathon is REALLY slow, it’s easy to shave 40 minutes off).
We’re excited to see what it’s like to run all over this great, big world! We’re from Chicago, so we know flat really well. We also know hot summers and brutally cold winters. I know I can run just about any distance in just about any temperature if it means I can get Stan’s Donuts at the end. I’m so excited to see what it’s like running the hills in Lima, the crowded streets of Bangkok and the heat of the African Savannah.
Got a favorite trail in your favorite city!? We’d love to hear about it and see if we can give it a shot!