Meet Jill

Meet Jill.  Running Mom extraordinaire.  I recently sent out a set of questions to the pacers/crew.  I will be introducing them one by one over the following days.  Thank you Jill for everything you are about to put up with. :)

Name: Jill LaRoche Wikel

You are a Running Mom so we already know you ROCK! So tell us what running accomplishment you are most proud of.

My super speedy Memorial Day 5k in which I finally came under 30 minutes! Never, ever thought I would actually have a 29:something time, though I did dream and hope that this turtle trotter would do it. My first half (Philadelphia, November 2008) will forever be a very proud moment, too. I framed my race bib & medal from that one.

What do you most look forward to in this race?

Seeing Tara reach her goal. I just know it is going to be a special, amazing thing to be part of, as she runs 100+miles in 24 hours. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

I also can’t wait to meet Tara in person after “knowing” her through Running Mom posts and Facebook and her blog for so long.

And on the selfish side of things, running two laps with Tara will be my longest daily mileage ever, so I’m looking forward to logging 16 miles in my training log.

When do you think you are going to do an Ultra?

Goodness, I don’t know! I thought about this question a lot on my run this morning, and in the crazy heat wave, the humidity, the sun…well, 3 miles felt like an accomplishment! I never thought I would run 13 miles and I did. And I never would have expected ever, ever to run a marathon, and I know I will. We’ll see how 26 miles feels and count up from there.

What/When is you next race?

Harrisburg Marathon, November 14, 2010

Anything else we should know about you?

I love meeting up with the Running Moms from around the country – each time I do, I find that these ladies are just as cool in person as they are virtually. Without them, I wouldn’t push myself as long, far, hard as I have for running. And my whole life – not just the running piece – would be lonelier without them.

The idea of running 26.2 miles scares me. I’m afraid of injury, or training so much I get to that “I hate running” point, or of not finishing the marathon in the 6 hours required. I don’t push myself enough when running because of my fears…and one of the things I’ve learned from Tara is to just go for it, to not let the what-ifs rule your dreams for yourself.

Oh, and I’m a wifeministermomredsoxfangohersheybears!