On February 28th, I received an email that I was sure couldn’t be true. I must have read that email about five times before I replied to it. I just couldn’t believe it… but I replied, and then on March 1st got confirmation that it wasn’t just a dream, it was real. I had to keep it a secret for a few more days… a few more LONG days.
The rest of that day I had a permanent smile on my face. The news I had received gave me extra motivation. I couldn’t wait for my 5 mile run that night. My friend Christine met me at my house after work. My husband planned to get us pizza that would be waiting for us when we got back. We took a nice, easy run, practicing our 3/1 intervals that we are going to use on our marathon. It was starting to get dark as we finished up but we still had some light and everything just seemed so perfect. And of course, whenever that happens, something’s gotta get messed up.
For me, it was my face. Literally. Right at the end of the run, right in front of my house, there was a slab of sidewalk that was just uneven enough for my toe to clip it and for me to trip… try to outrun the trip… and then as Christine so eloquently described I swan-dove right into the sidewalk, breaking my fall with my chin.
The first thing I did was pause my Garmin – in true runner fashion. Then I ran my tongue around my mouth to make sure none of my teeth were broken and there wasn’t the taste of blood. It felt like I had just scraped my chin and that was what I was hoping for, but it turned out that I was very wrong. I went in the house and grabbed some wet paper towel to dab my chin, seeing that I was bleeding. Christine asked me to look at her and lift up my chin – the look on her face when I did told me that it was more than just a scrape. My husband came in and looked and said “We gotta get you to urgent care, you’re going to need stitches.” They told me to look at it, but I didn’t have my glasses, and quite frankly I didn’t want to see how bad it was. I just wanted to get it fixed.
So March 1st ended with me in urgent care getting my chin stitched up. The worst part was the numbing shot they gave me right before the stitches. Not being able to eat the pizza my husband got for us was a bummer, too. But overall I felt like I braved the experience pretty well.
Anyway, now that I’ve distracted you – it’s time to tell you what that email was all about!
On March 6th, it was officially announced that… DRUMROLL… I am one of the 2018 Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon Race Ambassadors!
I am so humbled that I was chosen to represent one of my favorite races and my favorite marathon. I was feeling a whole lot of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) thinking I might not run Detroit this year. Now I have the opportunity not only to run this awesome marathon for a third time, but I also get to spread the word about this race and help encourage others to join me!
So, who is going to join me at the Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon this year? There’s a lot of excitement for this year’s race – as always, there’s the 1 mile, 5k, two unique half marathons (international and U.S. only), and the full marathon. What’s NEW this year is The Motor City Challenge Series – The Temptation: 1-Mile + 5K, The Wonder: 1-Mile + 5K + International Half-Marathon and The Supreme: 1-Mile + 5K + Full Marathon.
As a lot of my followers know, Detroit was my first marathon. It is a really great first marathon, especially if you’re a velocity challenged runner like myself. The two half marathons make it so you never feel like you are alone. The crowd support is awesome. And who doesn’t want to run to another country?! I’ll be sharing a lot more about my experiences in Detroit over the next 7 months, but if you’re ready to sign up now I’ve got a great deal for you!
Sign up for any of the events here: http://www.freepmarathon.com/register/ and use my discount code meganrocks2018 to get 10% off!
I am so looking forward to sharing more with you and representing the Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon as a 2018 Race Ambassador!
RD on the Run 