Weekend inspiration

For my weekly recap, I could write about my weekend runs and yep, that would be fine...OR I could tell you about some events I spectated this weekend that were really inspirational, events and people that reminded me to never give up. Do you believe like I do that there are no coincidences? Because all of this is perfect timing as I head into my Chicago marathon training and the chase for that sub-4 marathon.

Yep, that's what I'll do, recap those, because man, I had lots of goosebumps this weekend!

Saturday morning, I went for a 5 miler around the 'hood. Despite the foam rolling I had done the night before, my legs were uber stiff from that heavy lifting that Becky had me do on Thursday. I didn't mind the stiffness because I had a hamstring scare while doing my deadlifts. Luckily there were no residual effects and once I got moving, my legs loosened up. Sort of. It was a slowish-5, but I got it done and headed off to work. My son was playing in a rugby tournament, playing for the state championship, and I had hoped to get there later for some of the games in the afternoon.

Matthew with the ball

When I arrived, the second game of the day had just finished up. Matthew was playing on the B team, and I heard the coaches and teammates congratulating him for his hard work chasing down the runners on the field. He also scored a try, which was pretty exciting! (similar to a touchdown in football). He did get thrown to the ground and landed on his head, and I was a little worried, but he told me he was fine, even though his vision was a little funky. I hoped that he maybe was just a little dehydrated, and with some fluids and rest, he said he felt much better. He went back in for the third game, and played hard, but his teammates' play was less than inspired, and they lost, knocked out of the finals. He wanted to stay to watch the A team matches, and I'm so glad we did because we were rewarded with some amazing rugby.

The boys on the A team were playing for the state championship against a tough Catholic high school power team. This group, a combined team from 3 high schools, takes their rugby very seriously, even having a guy on the sidelines filming the matches. Our group is way more laid back. It was clear that the opposing team was planning on winning. Well (spoiler alert), that isn't what happened. Our boys showed up to play, and play they did. I have never seen so much heart and sweat in one game of any sport I've watched. They chased every player down, tackling and denying points. At one point, one of the players from our team was on his knees, trying to catch his breath. But the other players took over. On the sidelines, we were cheering, and the boys picked up the pace. There was some amazing defense, but wow, the offense, the passing, the catches, the trys...I didn't see any mistakes made. I walked away with so much respect for these boys and the passion they brought to the game. They never gave up, even though they were tired. The win was nice, of course, but even more so was the teamwork and camaraderie that I witnessed on and off the field. The championship was shared with all members of the teams, both A and B, and that was really, really special.

The entire Arlington Stallions Sevens team and coaches

Sunday morning, I did my first long run of my marathon training cycle, an 8 miler. Again, my legs were stiff, but they opened up nicely after the first mile, and I was able to finish the second half of the run with negative splits! I loved that I had so much left in the tank at the end, and I credit that to the heavy lifting Becky is having me do. More on that to come in an upcoming blog post.

After the run, I connected with Sara, and we headed out to the Lake Zurich triathlon to watch our friend Michelle cross the finish line of her first Olympic distance triathlon. We met up with Michelle's husband and daughters, and lined up near the finish line where she would be coming in. Her oldest daughter wanted to run in with her, and she got in position, waiting for her mom. While we waited, we watched all the athletes come in. It was a hot, steamy morning, and some of the runners were really struggling. A few were walking. We tried to encourage them, but some just shook their heads. It was hard to see that, but having been there, I get it.

Michelle, finishing strong, with Julia to run her in!

It wasn't hard to spot Michelle in her bright yellow trisuit, and she flew past us with Julia at her side. We met up with them at the finish line, where Mish struggled to catch her breath. Her youngest daughter told her that her heart was beating really fast. No doubt! Mish did better than she expected, but she told us how hard it was. The hardest part for her, she said, was the run. Which I found interesting, considering that she started out as a runner. But I guess after swimming and biking in the heat, the run would be tough for any of us. She kept saying she would never do another one, but you know that's just the exhaustion talking. I felt such a huge sense of pride standing next to her!

Me, Michelle, and Sara. And yep, I loved my salty, sweaty hugs! <3

Having been along for the ride as Michelle pursued this new activity and really going for it with an Olympic distance triathlon, as well as watching my son tackle a brand new sport after playing football all these years, showed me that you should never be afraid to take risks. As I head into marathon training, having witnessed both these special people pursue their passion, I plan to train with the same passion and zeal demonstrated by both my friend and my son and his teammates.

My new favorite inspirational lyrics:

"This is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm all right song. My power's turned on. Starting right now I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't care if nobody else believes. 'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me. "-Fight Song by Rachel Platten.

Who inspires you? Have you ever considered trying something new? Why or why not?

I'm linking up with Tara at RunningNReading and her awesome weekend update! Check out what everyone else is up to!

DebRuns has picked inspiration as the word of the week for WednesdayWord! I'll be linking up this post. It's always interesting to see what everyone else says, so check it out!