Chasing the One's We Love

I LOVE running! If you know me well you know that if I do not get a run in before 10am you probably should not talk to me the rest of the day! haha. It is the only hobby I have and the only thing that relieves stress for me. Today Scott and I went for a run in this beautiful 60 degree weather. It was amazing.

When Scott and I first started dating we started running 7-10 miles everyday together. I would always leave him around mile 4 because I wanted to go faster and get a better run in. (I was so selfish!) BUT I would always run back for him and finish with him. We loved our runs together! Well over the past year we have gotten out of the habit because we have gotten so busy. We decided this week that we will take an hour each day to go run and boy has it been wonderful!

When I was in high school I was blessed to be on one of the best cross country teams in the country. We had a great coach who pushed us to a point where when we didn't believe in ourselves we would go faster because we knew he believed in us. I was even more blessed to be a part of a team where before every race we stood in a circle and said a prayer. We all loved each other so much. The best part about cross country is it is not only a team sport but it is also individual. If you were in the top 7 runners on varsity you didn't really have a chance to have a bad running day because it effected the whole team. A race that sticks out in my mind is Regionals 2003. I remember two of our top runners both did not feel well. They started the race strong but as they reached mile 2 they began to give out. In this race I was the #7 runner for our team. I remember passing one of them and encouraging them that they could do it. I knew then I had to pick it up in order for our team to get to states. Then I passed the second girl. At that point I knew I had to dig deep and find more strength to pick it up. I don't know how I did it but somewhere in me I had a lot left. I believe I ran that last mile in 6 minutes. I ended up finishing 15 out of 120 runners I believe. We as a team should have won regionals that day but we didn't. It was a humbling experience but because we all picked it up a little bit we got 2nd place and moved onto states. Then the next weekend those girls that had a bad week at Regionals led us to a placing in states while I had a really bad race.

I was reminded of this today on our run. Scott was struggling to make it through the last mile. Part of me wanted to run off and leave him BUT something in me has changed from 3 years ago. I decided to stay and get behind him encouraging him that he could do it. It was amazing he started running faster. When we got to the last .1 mile I told him he better beat me to the finish line and I took off in a sprint. I am sure he hated me for that but I wanted him to see that if you dig deep you actually have more than you think. Since his legs are A LOT longer than mine he beat me:)

My point is that sometimes we need to get behind the ones we love and chase them to the finish line in life. We need to encourage them and remind them they can do anything they put their mind to. If we are just "running" alone with no one pushing us we are more likely to quit. I know when Scott crossed the finish line he felt so good about himself because 1. he beat his wife in running (this never happens)and 2. he accomplished something he didn't think he could do. Sometimes we just need a little help from the ones we love.