IN THE BEGINNING

Six months after I had quit smoking and taken up running I was ready for my first race, a large 5K in Chicago that started immediately after the start of the Chicago Marathon. I was excited to be doing something like this. I had lost weight, quit smoking and started living a healthier lifestyle and this race was a treat to myself. I savored the ritual of pinning my number on and "carbo loading", things that were previously so foreign to me. I can still recall the first time I wrote "5 miles" in my training log and felt like I had slain a dragon. Five miles! Whew!

I had no idea how much my life would change on that chilly October morning. I only hope that I can convey to anyone who reads the following story a small portion of how magical the experience has been for me. On that October morning, there was a death and a birth. My negative, insecure self died on the streets of Chicago and in its place a dream was born!