Michelle, the Runner Friend

A great friend I have in Austin is coming to visit this weekend. And as I am preparing the flat for her arrival I can’t help but realize how much of an influence she had on me starting to run. In 2007 I was toying with the idea of joining a running group to train for my first half (that later changed to full) marathon. During one of our first conversations I mentioned wanting to start running and she said, “Do it!” with such enthusiasm that implied “It’s fun, I swear.” Her belief that this chubster could do it totally motivated me and I signed up. Two marathons, four half marathons and many other races later I not only have myself to thank but Michelle. She really kept that competitive edge in me, even getting me to compete in the Goofy Challenge in Disney World. I totally would do a half and a full in two days again. Totally.

Loving the bling

Here’s hoping that competitive edge gets sparked again this weekend! I’m still determined to eventually run as fast as Michelle so I can keep up with her. It’d  be nice to finish a race around the same time*! One day, Michelle. One day.

*She texted me from the hotel room when I was halfway done with the marathon. She was done and about to take a nap. I was very, very jealous!

26 May This entry was published on 26/05/2011 at 11:38 AM. It’s filed under Austin, friends, Running and tagged goofy challenge, Marathon. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.