The Trip - 2008

A little background…

My sister-in-law Sarah (aka “Sarah Lynn” - used to differentiate between us at home) is the current owner of my original name, and was one of my first running buddies. Back in 2008 she decided to train for a full marathon. I was still playing college basketball, but because I’m such a sucker for peer pressure and suffer severely from FOMO, I agreed to train with her and consider tackling 26.2 with her in Detroit that fall, if all went well.

Hitting the wall…

At first, summer training was going ok... we started to creep up on mileage and on one particular long run, I realized a marathon wasn’t in the cards for me, after all. We were on Woodward running next to the Roseland Park Cemetery (note the irony) and a shooting pain in my knee stopped me dead in my tracks. We were only 12 miles into the 18 or 20 miler we had planned but I could not run another step.

I walked - no - I limped home while Sarah Lynn continued the route. Defeated and frustrated I resigned myself to the fact that I was just not cut out for distance. I decided I would stick to shorter distances - - 10 miles or less seemed to be all I was capable of, clearly.

Courting begins at the Crim

As it happens, the Crim is a 10 mile race a few weeks out from the Detroit Marathon. It would be a perfect training run for Sarah Lynn, and it was the right distance for me, so sure, I agreed to do it with her, why not? I’d probably need to sweat out my shenanigans from the night before anyway! ;)

That summer we’d also met this new guy - Andrew - at church who had been coming around with his daughters to Sunday services and somehow got himself invited to our weekly family dinners (thanks to my beautiful Sister Katie’s bleeding heart). After church and at our Sunday “Flop House” dinners we’d chat about the things we were into like traveling, music, sports, etc. I can remember flirting with him in the back of the church after service one week, the three of us (including Sarah Lynn) were bantering back and forth, I think Sarah Lynn was trying to shame us into doing the full marathon with her, and Andrew said to let him know the next time we signed up for a local race - he was keen to join and test his ability.. (hmmm, I wonder why???)

It was probably in the week prior to the race that I remembered to reach out to Andrew to invite him to join us at the Crim. He accepted without hesitation. Even offered to drive us. Excellent! I thought… However, this was before I knew how bad of a driver he is… and it is especially bad when you are extremely hung over - which is exactly what I was that Crim morning!!!

Andrew and Sarah Lynn pulled up to my college dorm in Andrew’s *flashy* Purple Mazda 3 (he insists that it was blue, but it was in fact purple). I stumbled into the back seat and propped my head against the window, regretting my life choices from the night before and moaning about how sick I felt the entire way to Flint.

We arrive, park, hurry through the crowds to the expo to pick up our bibs, and excitedly toe the line. Andrew had never run that distance before but was pretty fit. He was being very cheeky and playful, talking a big game. I enjoyed the flirtation but knew I had to beat him. I don’t even know why, but I was so motivated to compete. I crossed my fingers and prayed that those extra carbs from the night before would turn into the fuel I needed!

The gun fires, the race starts and we are off running through the streets, around the University, and Andrew is stuck to me like glue - practically on top of me. Sheesh, buddy you haven't even taken me to dinner yet - ease off!

The crowd is thick, so passing is tricky. I start to up the pace, pass a few people, and he matches my every move. We are not even a mile in - I wonder if he can hold this pace? Then as we turn a sharp corner, BOOM, we collide - he clips my back leg, I trip, nearly wiping out in the middle of the street only to be stampeded by the masses flooding immediately behind, but somehow I managed to catch myself. Slightly flustered, but knowing it was an accident I smile at him, “What are you trying to kill me or something?.. You know if you have to cheat to win, it doesn’t count!”

Embarrassed, he apologised profusely, but looking back on it now, I don’t think he regrets it. I may have caught myself physically in that moment, but that “Trip” marked the beginning of our love story and running life together. There is no denying that after that, I fell for him... hard.

...I’ve been giving him a run for his money, ever since!