After a challenging race at the Boston Marathon last year, award-
winning country singer Jo Dee Messina is setting her sights on this
year's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. After all, record-breaking, multi-
platinum success (including several #1 singles and three #1 albums)
just isn't enough for this determined goal-setter.
So, what brings you to Chicago for the marathon?
I lost a bet! There was a Chicago radio DJ, and he said, "If I run it, will
you run it with me?" And I kept saying, yeah, yeah... and in the end I
registered. My steel guitar player and my brother are doing it with me.
Then the DJ guy said, "My knee is killing me!" So now I'm running the
Chicago Marathon but he isn't!
You ran the Boston Marathon last year-what was that like?
I wasn't smart, I guess. I got lost in the momentum around me and I was
doing outrageous speeds. I'm a 10-minute mile on a good day, but I was
running seven-minute miles for the first six miles. At mile 10, my knee
wouldn't bend. So I struggled through the last 16 miles. But I finished!
And I got a medal.
Do you think being athletic makes you a role model for other
women?
I hate to think I'm a role model! I guess I can help set an example since I
don't overachieve and I'm happy with meeting my own goals. But as a
role model?! I chuckle at that!
What's your workout plan like?
I'm doing the marathon training on my own, but I have a trainer for
weight training and fitness. I do four sets of everything: step-ups, lunges,
curls, forward lunges, jump rope, plie squats with shoulder presses ... I
enjoy it more than running. I do long distances every other day but I
always get some sort of cardio in before my training sessions.
For me, a big bulk of training for a marathon is figuring out how to
occupy your mind. I get so bored. The other day my steel guitar player
and I did a nine and a half mile run, no iPods or anything. So I said, "Tell
me all the things you're grateful for," and we talked.
What are some of your favorite places to run?
There's several, but that Chicago Lakefront Path is one of them. It was
awesome! It's right in the middle of the city, so we walked out of the hotel
and we were right on the path. There were no great hills or anything,
and we did six miles that day.
What do you listen to on your runs?
Everything from Hilary Duff to Rascal Flatts to Avril Lavigne. I've got
some pretty outrageous stuff on there: Nickelback, Ashlee Simpson,
Snow Patrol, Ryan Cabrera, Pink, Michelle Branch.
What's the one song that really gets you going?
Lately, "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts. (starts singing) Life is a
highway... all night long...
How do you try to eat right on tour?
I eat clean, which means I don't eat processed things. A great deal of
my protein source comes from soy, tofu, and beans instead of steak. I try
to keep everything really lean. I eat sprouted bread, which has no flour.
How do you keep to your running schedule?
I have to go to bed immediately following the show. No autographs, no
nothing. I go back to the bus, grab a magazine, curl up, relax and sleep.
Sometimes I run whenever I wake up, other times I get up at 5:30, run at
6, then take a nap. The good thing about running is that you can do it
just about anywhere.
At the shows, you can definitely tell on the days I've run and the days I
haven't. I seem to have more of a kick on the days that I've run; I have
more energy. If I sleep in too long, or if I'm sitting around like a couch
potato all day, laziness sets in.
What's the best advice you can give to someone running his or her
first marathon?
Pace yourself.
What advice are you giving to yourself?
Pace myself. I ran too fast for too long last time. I want to do the Chicago
Marathon better than Boston. And I'm hoping that the crowds are as
good as those in Boston if not better.
What's your pre-race ritual in Chicago going to be?
Thank God I got a hotel room-I'm going to go to bed. Before the Boston
Marathon, I spent the night before at the fire station, and the fire alarm
went off at 2 a.m. with these friggin' huge bells. So I'm not doing that
again. In Chicago, blinds drawn, I am sleeping.
What about after the marathon?
I'm in Chicago, so maybe I'll have a piece of pizza at the end. I don't eat
pizza, but it'll be my reward. Just one piece.
Messina's latest album, Delicious Surprise, hit #1 on Billboard's country
album charts. Hear her music at www.jodeemessina.com.
Steph Yiu is a freelance writer in Chicago who also loves running on
the lakefront path. Reach her at steph.yiu@gmail.com.
