Running Friends

Hello again

I am just back from a week in Winterpeg...sorry Winnipeg for work and am quickly re-packing my bags fro my trip to Florida and my last race on 2015.  It was a tough week to get any running in but I managed 2 short runs on the treadmill at the hotel and I had 3 days on my feet on a stone floor that was way tougher than any marathon. Today I went out for my last long run, 16k at race pace and it went well. 

My race in Florida is not about me, it is a race for others and I am delighted to share the story of how it happened with you. In Dec 2013 Neale and I were training for the Goofy and were taking a cruise out of Cocoa Beach Florida. I posted in a FaceBook group looking or running routes and Kate answered.  By the end she agreed to run with me on Sunday for half of my 21k run.  What a brave thing to do, agreeing to meet and run with a stranger  early on a Sunday morning.  I was a little worried she would not show up but she did and I had a great time running with her, the distance seemed short as we ran together.  Kate had run the Space Coast half marathon that  year but was not ready to move up to the marathon distance yet but by the end of the run she had declared that one day she would and I had decided I would come back and pace her for it.  After running together for 10k, a little over an hour our lives became intertwined and one day we would meet up again to run together. Fast forward and now is that time, next weekend we meet again to run 42.2k/26.2 miles, my 5th marathon and Kate's first.  

We will also be doing our 5k shake out run for another, Andrea Peet, a triathlete who was diagnosed with ALS.  A group Kate and I belong to are doing a virtual run to raise funds for ALS research. Next weekend I am running not for myself but with and for Kate and for Andrea and I am so happy to be doing so. 

I mentioned I was in Winnipeg last week and so was a new friend Marcie.  Marcie is a single Mom to 2 boys, she works full time and is doing her Masters in Accounting as well.   Marcie is like most women, trying to do it all and finding it hard to find time for herself.  I know a lot of Marcies, woman who do for others, everyday and forget the first rule about doing something for themselves.  I use to be like this and one of my first blog posts was about this. For some reason it was coming up a lot in my life and I went back in the archives to send it to a few people and along the way, by re-reading it I found a new/renewed purpose for my life. I need to help others keep bits of themselves through whatever speaks to them so they be there for others and themselves. I think I have convinced Marcie to train to run a half marathon in Disney with me and my friends in January 2017 but either way I will continue to be there to encourage her to make time for herself.  This is my blog post from 2012, it still rings true today.   Things I wish I knew 20 years ago

Marcie and I also made a new friend in Winnipeg, we were leaving the conference and decided to share a taxi with a gentleman who noticed my Ironman tag on my bag. He was a runner and triathlete and the trip to the airport was filled with his stories, his 20+ marathons that included 3 trips to Boston and saving his friends life when he had a heart attack on the Boston course (in 2004 I think he said). He and his wife are moving to Ottawa in Jan when he starts a new job and we have made plans to meet up and run the Parliament 5k route, I may have to have Neale come as well since I think he is more Neale's speed then mine. 

I have been blessed to meet many people through running, it is a common bond that ties us, a community of like-mindedness, we immediately understand the drive, the commitment and the passion, we are friends from that first greeting and I glad I belong.