If you train by yourself, as I do, it can get rather lonely. There is no one to get you through a tough long run, celebrate with you when the stars align for a perfect run or just have one of those runs where you unload on someone after a shitacular day. Don't get me wrong, its my choice to run alone. Alone time is a part of that mental strength I continue to work on. There are days its hard to see through some of that fog of the daily grind and see the support that is in fact getting one foot in front of the other for you. Support for me has been my fuel and inspiration....they are the glue that hold it all together for me. Support to me is like that gu when you start fading during a hard run.
My parents will forever treat me like a 5 yr old. I normally dont tell them about my escapades to run across Florida or do a 50mile race down to Key West, until the night before. Their comments will ALWAYS be, "Isnt that too much for you?" Or "You really need to becareful with your knees." I am not always as confident with my ability to do what I do, so the last thing I need is to question it some more. My parents are the most untech savvy people in the world, but my dad somehow managed to figure out how to track me at my first Boston Marathon. He called me in tears to congratulate me on my new PR and then threw in the fact he was sure a sub 3hr marathon was in my future. Thanks for the added pressure dad! My mom who is undoubtedly the hardest person to please, told me she admired me because she did not know how I managed to do it all. Even though they drive me insane, they make sure they always say they are proud with a side of dont hurt your knees. No body is perfect right? My kids wore a "My mommy is Boston Strong" shirt to school on Marathon Monday....enough said! They think their mommy is stronger than any Disney Prince and stronger than their daddy (i overheard them telling stories to one another with that exact line). They have held signs for me at finish lines, even when they were too young to understand. They are the best mini-me support ever. My ex husband tried his best to support me, but at the end of the day I think he resented me for it. As we live separate lives now, we just do our best to instill that hard work into our girls. He makes sure they know what I do, but I guess thats the best support I can ask for. He makes sure the girls respect all that I do. Thats all the words of encouragement that I need from him. Random people in town! I get stopped almost daily by someone that says, "I always see you running the bridges." Those people might be my favorite secret supporters. My best friends believe in me more than I do. They send cards of congratulations before I even started the race, they made me my very first medal hanger that I received before I toed my first starting line, they know all my pre race and post race rituals, they dont complain when they have to be up at 3am to drive me to the start, they spend their Christmas bonus to buy a ticket to Boston so I dont go alone and they cry more than I do when I cross the finish. They are my agents, my cheerleaders, my coaches and my heart. My RunJunkEe and Moonjogger family are amazing. I couldnt ask for a better group of strangers to be my family. The support as been overwhelming and when I think about what they all did while I ran Boston, still brings tears to my eyes. The support was unreal. For the hours I trekked from Hopkinton to Boston, they seemed to stop their worlds for me. All that love...thank you will never be enough. Just when you think you have no one there, open your eyes...there is always someone watching and in awe of you. Sometimes that little bit is all you need.
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AuthorMy first steps as a baby according to my parents was actually a run. At 5yrs old my dad took me to the NYC Marathon, but truth be told I had no idea why people were running down the street. All this was foreshadowing for what was to be a life of running almost 30 years later. "If opportunity doesnt knock...build a door." Archives
March 2015
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