I first heard about the Brooks ID program sometime last year. My superstar, kick-ass, ultra-running triathlete friend, Sonja, was a member, and so was her also kick-ass friend, Michelle. Hmm, that looks kinda cool, I thought. But stuff like that is for the "real" athletes, not the slowpoke wanna-bes like me, right?
Well, just for the heck of it, I looked into the program, and I liked what I saw. Hmm, I thought. Why not give it a try? What's the worst they can do, say no? So I filled out the online application, clicked the submit button and sent it away into cyberspace with very little anticipation of success.
Imagine my shock and elation when I got an acceptance email just after the first of the year! Wow! Who would have thought that *I* would ever be a sponsored athlete?! Ok, so it's not like I'm getting tons of free stuff or getting paid to train and race, but I get a great discount, and a cool team uniform!
You sure won't miss me coming in this!
So, you may be asking, what exactly IS the Brooks ID program? Well, ID stands for Inspire Daily. It's a team of athletes who are active in their running communities and are passionate about the Brooks brand. From the ID website, ID members "are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age
divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits,
and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same. They are coaches,
mentors, and leaders." Obviously I don't meet that first criteria, but I'd like to think that I do a pretty a good job with all the others. One of the things that I've tried to do as I've gone through this journey from couch potato to triathlete and marathoner is to encourage others that they can do the same. Heck, if *I* can do it, why can't everybody? I've pushed my limits much farther than I ever dreamed possible, and I continue to do so, and I love to see all the friends that are accompanying me in getting out of our comfort zones and pushing past the boundaries of what we thought we could do.
The Brooks mission is to inspire people to run and be active. I can't think of much better than that. I'm still very new to the ID program, but I'm loving the community of athletes that I've become a part of. We're getting to know each other through Twitter and dailymile. It's been amazing to see what everyone is out there doing every day, from the speedsters preparing for Boston to the "average joes" like me who are trying new distances or shooting for PRs.
Me in my new uniform, blurry iphone photo courtesy of Tyler :-D
What's next on the agenda? The Platte River half-marathon, on April 11. Unless I'm out of town, which I'm not going to talk much about for fear of jinxing it, but let's just say that there's a chance I'll be in Detroit. If I'm in Denver, though, I'm hoping for a PR.
And no, I haven't heard about nursing school yet. I promise, everyone will know as soon as I do! They said "late March", which I'm assuming will mean that they will mail the letters on the last day of the month. :-p
One last side note, my previously mentioned kick-ass, ultrarunning friend Sonja is running her first 100 miler tomorrow in Moab. Yes, 100 miles. At one time. I'm completely in awe. If you're so inclined, head over to her blog and wish her good luck, or give her a follow on Twitter (@goSonja) and send her some love!