Amazing Women Runners

"They're very tenacious. They're dedicated.  Once a woman decides she's going to do something, she'll probably stick to it. The only problem with women is if there's anything wrong with them, they won't tell you. They'll get out there and run on one leg." Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand Coach

The above quote reminds me of so many women but it definitely brings to mind my running buddy Joelle.  We, not so secretly, call her a running freak of nature!  She is one of those women that can go out and run 12 miles without training or sustenance and at the end of it say 'This was so wonderful, Thank you for letting me join you'.  And she is sincere about it!  If I said that same sentence, it would be dripping with sarcasm.  Joelle is also 7 mos pregnant, due in June.  Tired, pregnant and worn out, she still gets up at 5am to run with me. 

Yesterday, we did a speed workout consisting of running a straight away at 50,60,70% of a sprint to a build up of close to a full sprint.  And she stayed with me during it.  Let me also clarify that Joelle is an OBGYN, so she is fully aware of her body.  Let me ALSO clarify that I was probably holding her back b/c on our last round of our speed work, she told ME to push harder and sprint.   She is one of the many women I know that continually amaze me.

I have another running buddy that also amazes me.  Mayanne is fairly new to running, she did her first half marathon last year, also while she was pregnant!  Thankfully, it was early in her pregnancy and our resident OBGYN (Joelle) cleared her for it!  It has been wonderful to see Mayanne grow in her running ability.  She had never done any long distance running and she jumped into the deep end!  After having her baby, she is getting back into it and getting ready to run her second half marathon in May!  Mayanne is what I call a fast runner in a slow runner's mind.  Because she doesn't fully know her ability, she is still discovering it every run. 

My favorite thing to do with Mayanne is to lie to her.   I lie about our distance or how fast we are going.  I believe that she has in her 'slow runners mind' a threshold that her fast runner's body can easily overcome.  And one of the things that amazes me about her is that she doesn't get mad at me when I tell her that she really did 9 miles, instead of the 8miles she thought she was doing.  What really amazes me is the huge smile she gets on her face when she realizes what her body just did.  Nothing makes you more thankful for your ability to run than running with someone who is just discovering the joys of it. 

I can think of a million other amazing women runners that are supposedly 'regular women'.  A neighbor, who is heartbroken that her doctor recently told her she shouldn't run for a while.  You can feel how sad she is that something she loves so much is temporarily taken away from her.  Running is THAT much a part of her.  My friend Jenfer, who is chomping at the bit to have her baby so she can start running again.  She's so ready that she keeps sending me links to races and reminding me how lucky I am to be able to run!  My TNT mentor, Catrina, who is training for a full marathon and she just does it.  She's steadfast and I've never heard her complain, I've only seen her smile as she jogs off to a 20 mile run. My sister, who much like Joelle, is a freak of nature runner.  She is so good at it.  It seemingly comes so natural to her, but I know how hard she pushes herself. 

Sure, there are amazing women runners that are famous.  But it is the ones that aren't famous that truly amaze me.  It is the ones that push themselves outside of comfort zones, run at 5am because its the only time of the day they can get it in, run pregnant or push strollers.   These are the women that make me smile when I see them out running.  These are the women that inspire me.  And they aren't in the olympics.  They are just down the street from you or a phone call away!