I'm running Chicago!!!

I woke up, like every other day. We got our kids around & took them to school. A little bit of banking at the ATM before heading home to do office work. I had a desire to run but responsibilities were the only things on my mind. I checked emails & saw the above. "What?! I must have read that wrong." I read it again then ran down the hallway to tell Jim. I was beyond happy & shocked! I shared the news right away with Jillian & Hannah- texting them at school. I texted my sister & posted it on social media. Most were extremely supportive.   

"It sounds like it's a big deal," my mother-in-law commented. -There is a lottery to be accepted into Chicago. It's my first time running a marathon outside of Toledo & Detroit. It's also a "big deal" because it's so big (!!!) & a flat course. A lot of people use this race to qualify for Boston. I'm not saying I will qualify for Boston-- but that IS the dream of every runner. To think of two major bucket list races within a year are MIND BLOWING. I am not to "that" level, yet.

I DID, however, join my first marathon training group (before I knew about Chicago). We start in January. --I am nervously excited about that, too! I've been doing all of this running "stuff" for so long, solo. Now I have Jim logging miles with me, new races ahead & training friends. I'm not quite sure how to process it all!

I don't know how this year will transpire; but right now, races are filling in! I am SO happy to be getting into race mode, again. 😊 Currently, paces are slower with Jim; but I have NO doubt he will be picking up speed with time.

I spent a lot of today in the bathroom-- sick with nerves & excitement. TMI? --YES!-- Apologies, but I share the "process". Applying for the lottery-- skeptical... Getting the email-- shocked &... Sharing the news-- nervously excited... And, of course, I will share the training-- all the red-faced, tempo running practices. Be prepared for Too Much Information ;)

To be continued...