An Ode to My Running Homey-Mama-Girlfriends

There are many concrete truths about running:

* It’s hard. It doesn’t matter if you run a 7 min/mile or a 14 min/mile, it’s hard.

* It gets easier but NEVER easy.

* The first five minutes are often the same torturous endeavor for every runner.

* You get out of it what you put in. Every single time. Consistency is key.

* Properly fitted shoes are imperative.

* I never thought I would be a runner = the famous last words of almost every runner out there.

* It’s ALWAYS easier with friends.

There are few things I vividly remember these days. Ask me what I had for dinner last night and it will take me a few minutes to conjure up an answer, if at all.

Wedding day. The birth of my boys. And crossing the finish line at my first Half Marathon. Vivid details, to this day.

What began as a fluke challenge after the birth of our second kids has turned into something far greater than the three of us could have imagined. Training for, and conquering, 13.1 miles is truly a journey. A long one.

But doable. Especially if you are fortunate to have a best running girl. Or TWO.

There is a bond built over hours and hours and miles and miles of pounding pavement. Stories are shared, souls opened up, and magic happens. Somehow the impossible becomes possible, the hard becomes easier, and the miles pass by. We have run through some of life’s greatest challenges, proved that busy doesn’t equal impossible, and set forth an example of strength and health for our children. Some days the miles represent an oasis of kid-free calm, other days, the miles represent some much needed girl time while solving the daily woes of what to make for dinner when you have a kid who won’t eat anything of the non-beige variety.

For years, I avoided running like the plague. It wasn’t for me. It was something that I’d do, if needed. If being chased. If my life depended on it. Yet, now, I can’t imagine my life without it. Running is a funny thing. It’s a constant challenge, and sometimes that gets old. However, there is always a small thrill of victory when finishing a run of any distance. A twinge of jealousy as I drive by another person running out on the street.

It is easy to lose the ME in Mommy: kids, husband, house, dishes, laundry, everything else…YOU. Running has opened the door that allowed me to find a love of fitness, find strength I never knew I had, and find a reason to put ME back in Mommy.

But more than anything, running has given me the priceless gift of friendship. Of two special, inspiring, amazing running girlfriend-mama homies. Without them, I know I wouldn’t be here training for number seven.

Everyone needs at least one best running homey. Someone to inspire them. Encourage them. Push them. Talk to. Come race day, no matter when we finish, how we finish, we’ll be crossing that finish line together. In spirit. A triumvirate of determined, dedicated, likely tired, Mamas. Victorious. Let the official training begin…the journey to number seven.