GOvember

Every November Lively Athletics, a store in downtown Oak Park, hosts the GOvember

challenge.  The past couple years I have either been pregnant or nursing so I wasn't able to

participate.  This year even though I was nursing, I decided I was going to give it a go.

There were three different levels:

Ernest Hemingway - run all East West Streets in Oak Park (approx. 40 miles)

Betty White - run all North South streets in Oak Park (approx. 70 miles)

Ludicrous - run both - EVERY street in Oak Park

The plan was for Katy, Jessica and I to run the Betty White challenge.  Katy had the routes

all planned out.  We started on the first of November and ran every single day, even
weekends.  Once we started running though, I couldn't stop...and I couldn't stop with just the
Betty White.  I not only wanted to do it all, but I wanted to finish first!  The winner got a Lively
headband, a $25 gift card, and most importantly, bragging rights.  Thus began the blur of my
November.  I ran every morning with Katy and Jessica after we dropped the kids off at
school.  Some mornings it was just the three of us, other times we joined up

with more girls doing the challenge.

After we finished our group run doing North-South streets, I would go on my own and knock

out whatever East-West streets I could.  I'd pick the kids up from school, feed them lunch,

have them nap, then it was out to try to knock out a few more East-West streets.  I had my

mind set on finishing as quickly as I could.  Anyone who knows me knows when I put my

mind to something, I am going to get it done.  I give you, the completed Ludicrous map...

18 days and over 130 miles.  By the end my left quad was so tight that I could barely walk

down the stairs, let alone run.  I had to walk my last 7 mile route so I could finish and turn in

my map.  I was so excited to walk into Lively and find out that I was the first to finish!  I was

genuinely proud of myself.  Having a baby less than 5 months ago, pushing a single if not a

double stroller 95% of my miles...it was quite an accomplishment for me.  And one I couldn't

have done without my favorite new running buddies.