Sole Sister

I started running July 07. It was mostly treadmill running at first, and gradually I moved outside. I started enjoying the running more and more-not just doing it because I was trying to get in shape. I ran a couple of 5Ks here locally. In summer 08, July or August, I found a race I wanted to run down in Seattle, the Iron Girl. It was an all female race, so I sent a text message to almost all my girlfriends saying hey, who's up for this? I got one lone response, saying yeah, I might be interested. It was Rochelle, a former co-worker. So we signed up, got up early and made the trek to Seattle for the run. That was all it took, she was as hooked as I was. In the months since then, she and I started running together after work. We have done many races together(as evidenced by prior blog posts...lol).

At one point when I first started running, I thought I was strictly a solo runner. I never wanted to go to the gym with friends...they wanted to flip through magazines and be social. I wanted to put my headphones and work up a sweat. That attitude carried over to my running initially. And Rochelle and I were a good match in the beginning because she just wanted to put her headphones on too, and just run. Many of our runs early on were just us, side by side; listening to our respective music. We'd chat when we were done and cooling down. Gradually, we would start quick little conversations in our run. Now, we can chat almost the entire way through our run. It's not only a testament to our progress physically-being able to run and carry on a conversation, but also how our friendship has grown.

There was a great article a few months back in Runner's World that I read and immediately thought of her, and just had to tell her how glad I was she was my running partner. Someone to Run With

We had a few weeks where we weren't able to run together as my work hours changed. We both missed it immensely and have found a way to work around it. It's such a good outlet...both physically and mentally. I know when I have stuff to share, she's a captive audience-cause while she's a bit faster than me(I still think I hold you back...lol, but you're a good friend and say I help you keep a steady pace and not burn out), I can keep up with her and she's not running away...lol. Today is a perfect example of that-we both had our respective bitch fests while we ran...sometimes just things another girl understands.

I came home and started one of my new books-Sole Sisters(because running has become such a part of my life that I have to read about it). It's a collection of short stories about women and running. The first one was about a former Olympian who started and coached a mom's running group at her daughter's preschool-she set out to be a great coach, and instead found great friends. I felt a catch in my throat as I read this:

They had something she didn't always see in young, elite runners-gratitude. They weren't running to get scholarships. They weren't desperate to land a shoe contract. They weren't competing to please their coaches. They were running for the sheer joy of it-grateful just to be out of the house, among interesting friends, running along a shaded trail, or sprinting down a track as fast as they could.

That's why I run. And I'm lucky enough to have 'someone to run with' and to share it with. The story ends with the coach saying she'll be running with her friend when she's 85. I plan the same thing-of course, she'll be 75 and still faster than me...lol.

To Rochelle, thanks for being my Sole Sister.

Me and Rochelle after a race