Chris and
Tracy Green met at a running store where Tracy was working at the time. Their common passion for running brought them
together from the beginning. Chris has competed in the Louisville Ironman four
consecutive years including a sub-12 hour finish. Tracy is a
nine-time Boston
qualifying marathoner, including a 3:10 personal best.
Sometimes people recognize Tracy
from TV, as she is the spokesperson for Oldham County Schools and handles all
the communications and development efforts for the state’s 8th
largest district. Tracy is also currently a member of the New
Balance Louisville racing team- a sponsorship through the New Balance
Louisville store. She is also the team
manager, handling recruitment, gear and team events. She writes a monthly column for the Running
Journal, a monthly magazine targeting the southeastern United States . In this journal, she wrote a column about
Milestone. This can be found at: http://tracefh.wordpress.com, Chris’s professional background is in Sales
for an equipment company. He manages a territory that spans across Kentucky so he travels a
good amount during the week.
Chris first joined Milestone as a member back in 2009. He enjoyed Milestone for several years, but unfortunately
changes in his job schedule made it increasingly harder to attend. In the earlier stage of their relationship,
Chris and Tracy tried exercising together at a small “treadmills and free
weights” type gym in town but it really didn’t offer what they needed to stay
in top shape. Both Chris and Tracy were
in a bit of a rut.
Chris and Tracy joined Milestone in early 2014, soon after
becoming engaged. Chris held Milestone
in high regard from his membership a few years ago, and Tracy had enjoyed the club as a visitor a few
times, so they both agreed it was the perfect place to get “wedding
ready”. The engagement – and wedding! –
were great motivators to get back in shape.
In particular, Chris was looking to start back with spinning classes and
swimming; Tracy
wanted Pilates, yoga and other core/strength classes. Milestone was obviously the perfect fit.
Chris and Tracy were married August 23rd in Anchorage , KY. Tracy
thanks Milestone Group Fitness Instructors Sue (stretch & abs) and Cari (Pilates)
for excellent classes that helped tone her body and define her muscles, so she
could look her best for the wedding photos on their big day!
Soon after the wedding, they became serious about training for
the Indianapolis
“Monumental Marathon” on November 1st. Tracy
would be running the elite half-marathon, attempting to set a second PR in that
distance. Chris would be running the
full marathon.
Both Chris and Tracy are happy to credit Milestone for their
success so far this year, and they look forward to accomplishing new goals in
2015. Tracy ’s goal is to do a ½ Iron next
year. She would also like to do a
Sub-3:15 marathon. Her PR is 3:10, and
last year she did 3:19. She is also
considering participating in a fitness competition. Chris’s goal is to re-qualify for the Boston
Marathon.
November
1st Update: Monumental Marathon, Indianapolis , IN
Race
details… Well, the weather forecast was horrible. Low 30’s with winds around 15mph. Definitely not ideal racing conditions! We made some last-second clothing decisions –
put on everything! – and tempered our expectations. The race course at Monumental meant we’d be
going generally uphill and into the wind and slightly downhill and with a
tailwind back. We both knew a
conservative first half of our races would be a smart move. We were able to start next to each other but
we separated after the first half mile or so – since I was doing the half, my
pace was faster.
In all,
the weather was definitely tough. Chris
said most of the last five miles were really bad. That said, we had great races. I set a new personal record in the half,
running 1:28:12 for 32nd female overall. That’s a 6:43 pace; I usually split 6:30 or
under for the last four miles including a 6:15 last mile, a really nicely
negative-split race.
After my
race, I jogged back to the hotel to check tracking updates on how Chris was
doing. I had his times for the 10K and
halfway points when I got to the hotel and could see he was running well. I grabbed warm clothes and hopped in the car,
using two maps to navigate around the road closures in an unfamiliar city to
make it out onto the course. I saw Chris
at mile 21, ran a block or so with him, asking how he was doing. He seemed fatigued but said he was doing
okay. He was still right on the time the
tracker had projected at the 10K mark, so he was running a really consistent
pace. I hopped back in the car and drove
back to the hotel, then jogged back to the finish line.
I really
didn’t have a lot of time to get to the finish, so I had to hustle, which was
hard considering I had just run my own race!
But it was such an exciting feeling to see him round the final corner
spot-on that early 10K projected time.
He crossed the line in 3:12:20, well under his goal of 3:15 (and WAY
under his “B goal” of 3:20).
We are
both happy with our races. We both
finished under our goal times despite the weather, so that’s a successful
weekend!