"So how fast do you run, what are your times?" she asked me. I was dumbfounded, didn't really know the answer. I just got on the treadmill and ran and the next day I might try and run a little further. "Have you ever ran a race?" she proceeded to ask. "No," I answered and in my mind I never intended to. In my mind I wasn't good enough.
When I met Dianna she never made me feel less then her. Although she spouted off a lengthy resume of races she had accomplished, she wasn't a running snubber. You know the type, if you haven't run 16 marathons, don't know what a Garmin watch is, and your diet doesn't consist of GU, you are pond scum. Heaven forbid they should provide any bit of encouragement and share their knowledge. We have all met them. (another blog, one day.) Dianna was different, she exuded confidence, competitiveness and determination and it was contagious. I longed to be a part of it.
I had always run alone, it was my time to just zone out. I figured meeting with Dianna would be an occasional thing to change things up a bit. I immediately noticed a difference after just a few weeks. She taught me the basics, "You should only do one long run a week," and "Lets do sprints." Sprints? What the heck is a Sprint? She shared her stories of motherhood and how she became a better runner after she had her son. She told me about how she threw out her back trying to run to quickly after childbirth. I had entered a completely different world, one that included times, and distance. it was unfamiliar, yet challenging. Eventually she convinced me to do my first race. I crossed the finish line and I felt euphoria, and she had helped me, she had pushed me.
Meeting up with Dianna wasn't always about running. Although we got down to business, silently pounding the pavement until we reached our distance, we always took time to cool down, debrief, walk it out. "How's your job? When is the baby due? I'm just having an off day. I hate my husband. I hate my job. Is it ever going to stop snowing? Am I a bad mother for leaving him? Sometimes I just feel alone." I found myself needing this time, counting the hours until this time, and I never would have taken this time ALONE.
I have a lot of friends. Friends I have shared a lengthy history, but when it comes to running, i think some of my other friends might call me crazy. Lets face it running alone is boring and sometimes you need the motivation. Running Mamas are the types of friends you can call when it is 20 degrees outside and you need to get in a run and they will text you "where, what time, " instead of "you're crazy, it's freezing." These are the types of friends who will support you as you continue to run six months into your pregnancy. Running Mamas don't fear childbirth, they fear that they might not be running for a few months, and they fear they won't bounce back to their pre-prego mile time shape. I knew I could always count on Dianna to support my addiction to running, because we are both avid users.
And so one simple 5k with Dianna lead me to the Half marathon. "I don't know if I am going to make it, my ankle is acting up," Dianna told me just moments before the start. I felt my heart sink, although most of the time during a race we would break off into our own pace out of site, I knew she was out there. She was my silent cheerleader, and we were in this together. I hated the thought of running in a lonely sea of runners. " I'll know by mile four," she told me.
During the race we started out together then broke away to find our comfortable race pace. As I passed mile three and then fourIi began to wonder if my partner was out there? I began to struggle with in myself thinking it wouldn't be the same if she wasn't there to cross the finish line. Suddenly the course lead us through a round about where we would cross paths with the runners behind us. I knew if she was still going, I would see her. I looked, and I looked........and just when I was struck with discontent she was there. I felt a surge of relief and excitement. I was recharged with energy. It was at that moment I realized Running Mamas truly need other Running Mamas.
Although there are times I seek solitude on a good long run, the camaraderie I have found in my friendship has pushed me to accomplish things I never would have had I not met Dianna. It is in her acts of encouragement and determination that I find the need to encourage and inspire other Running Mamas to be the Running Mamas they never knew they could be.
~Thank you Dianna~
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