Monday, March 5, 2007

Inspirational Women...

I'm a guy that seems to surround himself with a variety of friends. All of my friends have one thing in common - they support/encourage me as I do them. But one thing that might seem odd to others is that I have a lot of friends who are women. Is that strange?

Last night I was struck by the fact that two of my "women-folk" were sitting with Kevin and myself at the Flying Saucer in Addison. There we were, sharing stories of our weekend, and I was watching both Chandra and Becky talk passionately about their weekend running experiences. As they spoke, it hit me: these women inspire me!

Let's start with Chandra. On Friday night, she joined myself and coworkers at a happy hour that extended a bit past 9 PM. Instead of sleeping in on Saturday before catching her noon plane to Houston, she went out and pounded the pavement for 6 miles. Not only that, but it was 6 miles into the wind - remember how windy it was on Saturday? Just for comparison, I only had to run 3 and I chose to go to the gym and run on a treadmill to avoid the wind! Plus, she is supposed to be off from running today yet she plans to run 3 tonight just to "get it in." Holy cow, that's dedication!

Now Becky... this girl hasn't run since last October when she completed the Chicago Marathon. Yesterday she decided to run with me along her favorite trail, White Rock Creek Trail. She said she'd probably run 2 miles and then head back. However, there she was running right along me for the full 7! Not only that, but her pace was so fast that I could barely keep up at times. That just blows me a way that someone can slap on their running shoes and head out like it's no big deal.

So as we were enjoying beverages at the Saucer and dinner at Nate's, I kept thinking that these are the women I'll be with in Chicago when I make that daunting jaunt for 26.2 miles... Not only that, but these will be the women I'll train with and share stories with throughout the year... and who better to run with than those that inspire you? Bring it!

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