2016: The year of new opportunities!

After an incredible 2015 I didn't think that this year would be able to match it in any way! Way back in December 2014 a coworker and I got talking about running, Alicia. I loved running but had fallen off the wagon since running my first half marathon in September earlier that year. Suffice it to say that race took a lot out of me, being a novice runner and all.

There was something about her story that inspired me. Alicia had recently lost 30 pounds and all because of running. It was the spark to my fire, and like that we started booking races. Together we ran the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Run/Walk for Hope 5K in January, the Run for the Whales 10K in February, and a the Valley to Sea Half Marathon in March. I ended up placing 3rd in my age division during that half, which was a shock because I didn't think that I was even capable of that.

But I wasn't done there, I signed up for a very challenging race, the Kahakaloa Half Marathon. This extreme race took us up route 30 around the top of the west Maui mountains to the village of Kahakaloa. The road follows the cliffs weaving in and out of the valleys with some of the worse hills I have ever run up. Again I placed 3rd in my age division. Now it was time to get down to business, next stop Maui Marathon in September.












However in July a perfectly timed vacation gave me the opportunity to run the Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon with one of my great friends and fellow marathon runner Eric. I made a slight adjustment to my training schedule and made this race be a perfect long run in the middle of my plan. It was my first and definitely not last destination race and I had an absolute blast. This had been by far the biggest race I had ever run in, and here my eyes were truly opened to how big the running world had become.

We had a terribly hot and humid summer in 2015, which made training much hard but at the same time it was good to train in the weather that I would be running in. The weather didn't disappoint and the Maui Marathon was one hot race. But I did finish, and Alicia was even at the finish line with a lei for me. To my surprise I placed 2nd in my age group too! See my review and a more detailed experience of my race  by clicking the following link: http://www.bibrave.com/races/maui-marathon/4606#.VtjmuvkrKhc




After a few burned out days I started right back up again. It was back to the hills again as I trained for the Xterra Kapalua, a 5K that my restaurant participates in. This was a race through the Kapalua Village Trails which are very hill heavy. We have this competition between the four restaurants on island on who has the fastest team, by averaging the top 5 finishers time. Usually the training falls to my coworker and fellow marathon runner Lisa. But this year she was determined to place in the top three overall in the 10K race at the same event. That meant that the training was up to me. It was a big responsibly to have, but a privilege too. To add icing on the cake it was a Halloween race too, so we decided on a group costume: Where's Waldo. Though we didn't win the fastest restaurant trophy I still managed to place 3rd in my age group, and one of my runners placed 1st for women who live on Maui. With that in mind I still call this a victory!

The training never stopped as I prepared for the Honolulu Marathon in December. I was very hesitant to run another marathon so soon but I was determined to do better than I just did. I happened to come across a 16 mile Turkey Trot that was designed as a preparatory race for the Honolulu Marathon by the Valley Isle Road Runner, a local running group. This race was different than a normal race in that GPS and tracking devices were prohibited and you made a guess on your finish time before the race started. The winners were the runner who finished the closest to their predicted time. It was a beautiful run in upcountry Kula but a lot of hills. Somehow I won second place, finishing within 3 minutes of my prediction.

Come December it was off to Oahu for the Honolulu Marathon. The course was scenic and very fun with it's own set of challenges, like the mile hill climb around Diamond Head twice. What was neat about this race was there was no maximum number of participants, which means that there was an infinite number of supporters on the sideline supporting the infinite number of runners. It's hard to remember a spot during the race when someone wasn't cheering us on, with all that motivation it was easy to keep going. The almost mile long final stretch was wall to wall with supporters giving you that final push to the finish. For more details about my race and my review of it you can click on the following link: http://www.bibrave.com/races/honolulu-marathon/4603#.Vtmr8_krKhc


Phew what a year! It was every runner's dream, to run in so many race and place in my division so many time. I set a super high standard for myself. However if you haven't gathered this yet, I never stop pushing myself. So I wanted to make 2016 even better. This year I'm given the opportunity to do something positive with my running, help beat cancer. I joined the DetermiNation Illinois chapter of the American Cancer Society, a running group dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. I get to fund raise money and in exchange get a guaranteed spot in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. You can check out my fund raising page at the following link: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=77063&pg=personal&px=42085449


That for me is going to be more rewarding than anything, to be able to help people doing what I love! So bring it on 2016 I'm coming in hot!