Thursday, February 2, 2012

Crazy - Joellyn

My name is Joellyn Morin from Kingston, MA and I am the Team Lead for Information Systems here at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. My husband, Chris, and my two children, Addison age 6 and Toby age 5, have been very supportive. When I told them I was running in the marathon my son asked me if I was going to win? How cute. I told him that I may not come in first but I will win because I will finish. It is difficult enough to work full-time and raise two children but throw training into the mix and it gets tricky. Did I mention I just started back to school for my master’s in management and healthcare informatics as well? Crazy right? That one word about sums me up.

If you had asked me last year if I would ever blog I would have said no let alone blog about running in the Boston Marathon. Bear with me on both because I have never done either. That’s right I don’t run races or should I say I didn’t. The first and only race I have run in was January, 5, 2012 in Quincy, it was a 5K. A far cry from the 26.2 miles I’m about to embark on. On the recommendation of Daniel Destin from the Shipley Fitness, I put my name in the hat to run in the Boston Marathon for Team Newton-Wellesley. Not sure if I should thank him or curse him, I will decide after the race. I wasn’t a hard core runner; I did it more because I would rather do cardio outside than run on a treadmill. Funny how quickly things can change, now I run so I can finish the Marathon not in traction.

I don’t have a clear cut training plan. I ran eight miles this morning with who I like to call my secret service agents: Freddie Sanchez, who is marathon man, and Sherwyn Rocke, who is also running for Team Newton-Wellesley in the Marathon. Freddie has done numerous marathons and runs all the time. He has been nice enough to volunteer to run with Sherwyn and me. Freddie’s job is to basically push us to our breaking point. Keep in mind we do this at 6:00 in the morning while most people are starting their day. I realized running with them pushes me to not stop and to try and keep pace. There were points that I know if they weren’t with me I would have walked, stopped or maybe cried. Thanks for the push guys!

I originally decided to run the Marathon because Daniel suggested it. After the excitement, shock, horror and denial of it all I have realized why I really am running. First, we are raising money for a great cause, The Vernon Cancer Center. We all have a family member or know someone who has or is battling this awful disease. Second, I want to be able to say I ran and finished the Boston Marathon. How cool is that? Third, I want my children to know that if you put your mind to something you can do it. I have no formal training for this and not a lot of time to train. I have 16 weeks to prepare, most people train up to a year in advance. I’m not afraid, bring it.

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