Anyone who really knows me knows that I love CHICAGO. Every since I was a child when we use to ride Amtrak to visit my relatives, I always had an admiration for the Windy City. My love has only grown over the years. It truly is my favorite city. When I was in medical school, I did a rotation at University of Chicago. I stayed in Chicago for a month; it was so exciting. The month was busy, but I still got a chance to enjoy the city. Every since my rotation, my goal was to secure a job and move to Chicago.
Well, finally the opportunity came. I was on vacation skiing something I love to do. I ran into an orthopaedic surgeon that I had met when I was doing a rotation at University of Chicago. He was a first year resident at that time. He told me he was looking for another surgeon to join his group. I visited, interviewed and ended up taking the job. So in July 2013 I moved to Chicago. My dream had come true.
One of the many reasons I fell in love with Chicago, is that it is truly is a sports town. I am a sports fanatic. Football is my favorite sport, and basketball is my second favorite. This year I found a new sports appreciation, hockey. The Chicago Black Hawks have won the Stanley Cup in three of the last six years which is quite impressive. Since my knowledge of the sports was very limited, my sports buddy found pleasure in schooling me in the game. During the playoffs we use to frequent sports bars to get the whole experience. Every time the Chicago Black Hawks scored a goal, they rung a bell, and played the Hawks song.
The Black Hawks kept wining, although there were some close games, games that caused my heart to race. I was truly a fan, because purchased Black Hawks gear. When I spend money on gear, that means I am all in. The night of the last game, the night the Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup I had a friend in town from Atlanta. I persuaded her to join us in watching the finals. She actually purchased Black Hawks gear too. I was pumped. My sports buddy even had my friend singing the Black Hawks song.
The last game was intense the Black Hawks were not playing well initially. It seemed as if they were struggling to keep the puck. My sports buddy started singing the Black Hawks song, then they scored. We then scored again, and our goalie Crawford shut out Tampa Lighting. We won; we were champions again! We left the bar and went to the United Center to celebrate with all the fans. It was quite the adventure. People were high fiving each other, yelling Black Hawks, hanging out of their cars, and blowing their horns.
The following day, we got the information regarding the championship parade. It would be Thursday June 18th. I rearranged my schedule. I had to go to the parade and rally, I could not miss it. As I stated I am new to hockey, and have never been to a championship parade. When the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008, I missed it all. Although I was living in Philadelphia at the time, I was in Mississippi. My mother has just passed from breast cancer, and we were planning her homegoing celebration. This celebration/ parade meant allot to me. It made me think about my heart, my mom. I thought about the state I was in then. All I could do was thank God he brought me through.
The night before the parade and rally, I was so excited I could barely sleep. I woke up at 3am. I could not go back to sleep. I stayed in bed until about five. I could not take it anymore. So I got up made me some breakfast, watched some news coverage, got dressed and walked to find a stop on the route. I made it there at about 7am.
I then texted my two friends that were joining me, and gave them my location. I found the best spot on a major corner. A camera man was posted there initially , but later moved to the street. I took his spot, me and a few other fans. My sports buddy finally came around 9am. He worked his way to through the crowd to find me. I saved him some room as much as I could. My other friend decided she only wanted to do the rally. My sports buddy and I waited and waited. It was so much fun watching all the people out there. Finally we saw buses. I had so idea there would be so many. This was my first championsip parade. There were buses, and trolleys with so many people. My sports buddy explained to me that the families, and old hockey players also are in the parade.
After the procession, we walked to Solider Field to meet my other friend for the rally. We get to our seat about thirty minutes after the start. My sports buddy went to the last two Black Hawks championship parades. The past rallies were at Grant Park there were so many people, that there would be no way to do both. This year the rally was moved to Solider Field because of all the rain. Solider Field held less people so it was possible to maneuverer our way over there. Grant Park was not in suitable condition for the rally. The program was nice. They talked about the history of the Black Hawks, and all the players were announced. They came up to hoist the Stanley Cup. It was truly awesome. The program ended with confetti and the Black Hawk song. I am so glad I rearranged my schedule to take part in Chicago sports history.
As we were leaving I got a call from hospital. So I walked home, and then headed to work. It was so worth it. Seize the day, enjoy every moment of life. Tomorrow is not promise.
I have been reminded of this too often lately. I lost a good friend, and soror at the end of April of this year that I mentioned in a previous blog post. Well two weeks ago I lost another friend from college. He was only 42. I was in total shook. I am too young to be losing friends to illness.
DChamp loved Spider Man
Life is rough, and always has it challenges. I usually manage well. One of my coping mechanisms is running. I have not been able to run in about six weeks, so I have been heaving relying of God, friends, family, and cross training (crossing training is far from running to me).
On Monday June 8, 2015 we lay our good friend DChamp to rest. Although it was a sad occasion, it was wonderful to see so many people come to celebrate his life. There were more than forty of our Florida A&M University (FAMU) classmates there to celebrate his life. It was truly a celebration. I started off crying, then laughing, then crying again because I was laughing so hard.
DChamp came from a long line of FAMU RattleSr. Picture with DChamp’s father and sister who also went to FAMU.
DChamp was so much to so many people. One of his roles was serving as a student senator. The Alumni association held a special session is honor of him as part of the homegoing celebration. The University issued a resolution in his honor. There were so many resolutions to DChamp there were not enough time to read them all. DChamp’s best friend gave a touching tribute to him on how they met, and all that he had been to her over the years. His high school classmates were also in attendance and honored him with words, song, and dance.
One of DChamp many designs while at FAMU.
One group whom he deeply affected was the cast and crew of Chicago morning talk show “Windy City Live.” DChamp was both the self-proclaimed and show-proclaimed “No. 1 Super-Fan” and was the only fan who ever made it to the show’s panel.
DChamp’s appearance on Windy City Live.
During the service Will Packer who is now a Hollywood movie producer with acclaimed moves such as “ Think Like a Man”, “Think Like a Man Too”, “Ride Along”, “The Wedding Ringer”, “Stomp the Yard”, “This Christmas”, and many more. Before all the Hollywood movies he made a movie called Chocolate City on FAMU’s campus. DChamp helped do the set of the movie. I had not idea he did the set, not only was DChamp awesome, he was modest. He did not need to be in the spot light.
He also helped many people as they ran for student government offices, and for other positions on the homecoming court. DChamp so was the epitome of our FAMU university slogan” Excellence with Caring”
DChamp accomplished in his life more than people who are fortunate enough to make it to and pass four score and seven. There is not doubt then when he ascending into heaven, God said well done my good and faithful service
I thank my FAMU family; they honest lifted my spirit at DChamp homegoing celebration. I will continue to live my life to the fullest. I will have no regrets. I will not waste my time on the small stuff. I will trust God, and know that he is my provider, my healer, and I will be victorious. By the way I will run again, until them I will be all right.
I ask that in honor or my friend my FAMU classmate that you will please consider donating to the DChamp scholarship fund so that his legacy can continue. We have already raised over $18,000 thanks to a generous donation from Will Packer.
So I am still on the injured reserve list. I am working my way back to recovery. I actually ran a few minutes on National Running Day without any pain. Cross training is boring to me. I so wish I could run. Although I am glad summer is near, I do miss one of my favorite ways to cross train. Down hill skiing is so much fun. I only wish that I could do it more often. I usually ski four days per year. This year I was able to ski six days.
Each year in late February, early March a group of ski clubs from all over the nation convenes for a ski summit. National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS) is the name of the group that I ski with. (NBS) purpose is to to identify, develop and support athletes of color who will WIN International Olympic winter sports competitions representing the United States and to increase participation in Winter Sports.
We travel to the best ski resorts in the USA, and Canada. We ski in the morning; there are happy hours in the afternoon, and parties at night. Dancing at happy hours, and skiing provides amply opportunity for cross training. I actually lost weight this pass year. The event starts on a Saturday. Saturday is the Welcome Party. It is always great to see everyone. There are some people I only see at the Summit. Sunday is usually a rest day for me. Many mountains have high altitudes, and it often take time to get accumulated. There is a parade and an opening ceremony on Sunday. Monday morning I hit the slopes. I usually take a lesson. It is always a treat to plow down the mountain making my turns. Tuesday, and Wednesday are more of the same. Each year we also have theme happy hours: Mardi Gras is always a favorite one.
This pass year I decided to race for the first time. I was so nervous. I ski to get down the hill, I don’t necessary need speed, unlike a few of my friends. The race course has flags, and the goal is to turn right before the flag, stay upright, and get down the course as fast as possible. My goal was to stay upright and make it down the hill. I did accomplish my goal. Next year I will have higher aspirations.
I have been skiing since 1998, but as I mentioned I only go once a year. I also took a hiatus when I was a surgical resident, and my first year of medical practice. I ski well, and hardly ever fall. My first three trips, I fell so much it was ridiculous. This past year I decide to ski with some of my friends who are more advance. In order to improve in something, one must be challenged. It is the same scenario with running. So I ski with about eight people who are way better than me. I try to keep up. At first I was doing well. One of my friends waits for me, since he was the one who invited me. I start to get tired. Fatigue and skiing do not go well together. I am heading down the mountain, I loss my balance on a turn. I do not fall initially. I start jetting down the head back first. I finally fall, but I continue to roll down the hill, head first. I am freaking out. I start to scream. I think oh no, “What if I injure my knee, what if I can’t run, oh my good” I finally stop rolling, and a group of skiers says she must be ok she is laughing. After I stop, and realize I am okay, I start to laugh. My friend skis down with my pole that I lost. He tells me to take off my skis. I say no, it can be hard to get them back on. I prefer to just stand up when I fall so I am ready to go again. Depending on the incline of the hill, it can be difficult to get up. He ignores me and pops off my ski, scoops me up and helps me get back on them. We ski down and meet the rest of the group. I make it down the hill in one piece. We fall down, but we get up is the moral of my little story. I am down in regarding to running, but I will get back up. I have races to run.
I am on the injured reserve list. The injured reserve list or IR list is an official designation used by the National Football League (NFL) and National Hockey League (NHL) for athletes who become injured and are temporarily unable to play. Well I am an injured runner and can’t run, so I extrapolate this to my running sport.
I have had a host of injuries during my five years of distant running. The worse being a meniscus tear in my right knee. Well now I have a nagging injury that has been going on since June 2014. I have mentioned my foot injury in few of my past blogs. My nagging injury is plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot. When this tissue becomes swollen or inflamed, it is called plantar fasciitis.
Well despite my nagging injury, I continued to run. I did take a month off after my marathon in October 2014 that was a first for me. I then started training for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon. My training started off quite well, I had no foot pain, but in February 2015, it returned. I downgraded the Pro Football Hall of Fame marathon to a half marathon, as mentioned in my last blog post. I ran Ragnar Relay two weeks, prior to the half marathon. I then ran Susan G. Komen 10k race two weeks following the half marathon. I had to run that race. It has been an annual tradition for me since my mother’s diagnosis, and eventually passing away from breast cancer. After the race my foot hurt so much, I could barely walk. When my pain initial stared in June 2014, I only had pain in morning and after long runs. Long runs were runs more than eight or so miles. I am a doctor, and I often treat myself, which has its pros and cons. I put myself in a walking boot for a little over a week to take pressure off my foot. I also wrote myself a prescription for physical therapy. I stopped running. I have missed few races in the process.
To cross train I have been biking up to 5 to 6 times a week. Mainly spinning, but the weather has finally warmed up, so I have taken my bike out a few times. Every year during Memorial Day in Chicago, Lake Shore Drive is shut down for six hours for Bike to Drive. It is an awesome experience to ride on the road, no cars, just bikes. The ride is thirty miles. I ride with a group of friends. I had to miss Solider Field 10 miler race, which takes place the same weekend due to my injury, but biking does not bother my foot.
Bike to Drive started in Grant Park. I did the ride with two groups- Slow Chicago, and Outdoor Afro. Slow Roll is a global movement founded in 2010. Slow Roll Chicago is a community-based organization utilizing bicycles to connect a diverse group of people, transform lives, and improve the condition of communities by organizing community bicycle rides and other bicycling-related programs throughout the greater Chicago area.
Outdoor Afro is a social community that reconnects African-Americans with natural spaces and one another through recreational activities such as camping, hiking, biking, birding, fishing, gardening, skiing — and more.
We started at Grant Park. We met at the Slow Roll Tent. We then rode south to the Museum of Science and Industry. We had a check point there. At the checkpoint there were mechanics for those who have problems with their bike as one of my friends did. They also have food and water. It was a great day despite the rain. I was prepared for the rain with my poncho. The rain did keep few people home. The Museum was also a turn around point. Our group would then head north. We lost one of our group members due to bike trouble.
We head back north towards Grant Park. There was another checkpoint, but we decided to continue. The north part of the trail was very hilly. There are small rolling hills. This year the hills were easier than last year. I had only bought my bike a week before the event so I was not in the best biking shape. We traveled to Hollywood section of North Chicago. There was another checkpoint. We stopped and then headed back to Grant Park. We were on our last leg. We picked up the pace to make it back, before they opened up Lake Shore Drive.
The very last part of the route was a steep hill by Navy Pier. Often people get off their bike and walk up it. My heart rate was up, and I was pumping. I got a little of the rush that I get when I am running. I love a challenge and that was the most challenging part of the day.
We did it, 30 mile bike ride. My quadriceps were feeling it, but I was happy. I could not run, but I still could work out. It was so much better with friends. The reason I actually love running races is the people, the crowds, and the supporters who cheer. Bike to Drive gave me a little of that so I was happy.
I am down, but not out. I will continue my recovery. You can’t keep a good woman down for too long. I have races to run. “ Keep it Moving. Keep it Moving”
Everyone who really knows me knows that I love running, and I love football. I was searching for a spring marathon for 2014. As I was searching the internet I came across the Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon in Canton Ohio. The medal was shaped like a football. I thought perfect race for me. I sent the picture to my friend CG. He laughed, he loved the medal. CG knew it was the race for me.
Unfortunately I did not make the race in 2014. My Dad was admitted to the hospital in early April. He was actually dying of cancer. I took several trips back and forth to Mississippi to see him, so my training suffered. I would have stayed the whole month, but I had to work. I decided to defer the race, due to lack of training and I wanted to go back to Mississippi the weekend of the race. I was worried, I had this bad feeling. I am so glad I did, my Dad ended up passing away on Sunday 4/27/2014 the day of the race.
The race organizers let me defer to 2015 so the plan was to do the Marathon, but my body was not having it. I had plantar fasciitis ( condition in which the fascia – connective tissue on the bottom of my foot is inflamed) and the whole month of February I was sick with the flu, and several colds. So my training again suffered. I decided to downgrade to the half. I figured my foot could handle that. I have learned the hard way to listen to my body.
So April 2015 I would do the Pro Football Hall of Fame Half Marathon. The whole weekend was bitter sweet, due losing my father a year to the date of the race. I decided to run and think happy thoughts of him. My father loved football. He was a Pittsburgh Steeler fan. He was the one who first introduced me to the game. I remember my grandfather being a Dallas Cowboy fan, and my Dad being a Steeler fan. On Sunday they would have words. It used to amuse me.
I flew into Akron-Canton airport. It is very small airport. My hotel shuttle then picked me up. McKinney Grand Hotel was where I had made a reservation. The host hotel was full when I made my reservation. I was not pleased with McKinney Grand. The people were very nice, but the hotel was old and not the cleanest. It did not meet my standards. It also was farther away from race and expo than the host hotel. One of my running friends that I hat met at a race RT had a double and was willing to let me stay with her and another running friend. So the hotel let me check out Saturday although my reservation was until Monday.
I initially did not want to rent a car. I figured I would use Uber, which was not the smartest move. Uber was new to city, and they did not have that many drivers so it took up to fifteen minutes to get picked up. I also seemed like their prices were higher than what I was used to in Chicago. So I got a car on Priceline for the remainder of my stay. I would recommend a car to anyone who is going to Canton.
The Race expo was fun. I met so many people from Black Girls Run Cleveland. They had a booth at the expo. It was nice to see some friendly faces who could give me some information about Canton. I had traveled solo to the race, so it was nice to make some new friends. I picked up my race bibs for 5k and half marathon. I also bought a key chain, which was a replica of 2014 race. I loved it, it was shaped like a football as indicated above.
Saturday I woke up and felt so tired. I wanted to stay in bed and skip the 5k, and just do the half marathon. I forced myself to make it. I thought it would be fun. I arrived at stadium. I met a member of BGR Cleveland who was about to run her very first 5k. I was so excited for her. We actually ran part of the race together. I run into one of my college classmates who I had not seen since college. I met his friends and family. I also saw one of my friends that I had met at another race from Detroit. One of the many benefits of running is the people that you meet. I have running friends from all over the United States, even some in other countries. Bonds that will indeed last a lifetime.
We start the race, and my foot was feeling fine. I started slow, because I was running for fun not time. I had to save some for the half marathon the following day. I stop to take pictures with a man dressed as a referee, and Captain America.
I picked up the pace. I was rolling and having a great time. I get close to finish life and see the medals. I was like , “WOW” talk about bling. Then I see what made the race worth signing up for. I see the one and only Hall of Famer Dan Marino. He was giving people high fives at the finish line. I get another racer to take pictures to capture the moment. I get my bling ring medal. I was in a bit of heaven
My foot was hurting a little at the end, but it was worth it. It was time to move to the host hotel. Later that evening NBMA had a meet and greet. I was blessed to meet some runners from Charlotte, Washington DC, and Maryland. Also adding new people to my running circle.
It was time to head over to Half Marathon race start. I met allot of people who had just got in from Kentucky. Some had run a marathon the day prior, some a half marathon. They were in the process of chasing 50 states. Some half marathoners, and marathoners have the goal to do a half or a whole in all fifty states. Many do back-to-back races. I met a gentleman who was scheduled to run seven half marathon in a week.
I had on my #1 football team paraphernalia. I happened to be the only Eagles fan there, but that was ok. The race started my foot was bothering me a little, but I ran and listened to my race playlist. I had just recently downloaded Empire sound track, which was a great move. I thought happy thoughts. I thought about my Dad , and I was in celebration mode. As one of my good friends always says “ Run Happy”, and that is what I did. I was running to the beat. Every mile I cheered. The crowd support for race was ok, not great. After 6 miles my foot was talking to me, but I kept it up.
Three songs from the Empire soundtrack gave me great motivation. One being “ Your So Beautiful” the beat alone kept me on pace. I also love hearing I am beautiful, because I am. I am not conceited. I give all glory to God for everything I am, because I used to have low self-esteem. I had to learn to love myself. The second song that helped was “Keep It Moving” because that is what I had to do. I had to keep running with one foot in front of the other. I had to keep going every mile to the finish. Running is like life you have to keep in moving. Keep moving to the finish line. The third song that stood out to me was “Conqueror”. I am a conqueror, and I don’t accept defeat were the words that gave me motivation. I was pumping my fists, moving to the beat having a great time. A few people looked at me like I was crazy, but I did not care. I was running my race, my pace, having a great time.
I was nearing the end. I saw the Hall of Fame building. I had to finish strong so I sped up, and tried to encourage others at the end. I was saying to them we are almost done, come on we can do it. The race ended in Fawcett Stadium. This is the stadium where they play Hall of Fame football game each year. As you run in the stadium they announce your name. I hear “Ouida Brown from Chicago” and sped up even more until I hit the finish line. I had done it. I made it. My foot held out, it carried me to the end of the race.
Half of Fame Half Marathon was a great experience. I would recommend it for anyone who loves to run, and anyone who loves football. To top off my weekend I went to the Pro-football Hall of Fame Museum. I speed three hours and would have stayed longer, but they were closing. I took over one hundred pictures, and plan to go back soon.
Check out my slide show from the Pro Football Hall of Fame if you are interested.
