Zebra Girl Runs
Zebra Girl
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RUN OFTEN, RUN LONG. BUT NEVER OUTRUN YOUR JOY OF RUNNING.
I'm just a mother of four kids that loves to run! For the past 14 years, I've been running after my kids. These days I seem to be running my active kiddos around everywhere with two kids running for the Hillsborough Harriers and the other two playing competitive soccer at Tampa Bay United.
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I've run my whole life. I remember being that kid who loved running at PE in elementary school. I later went on to run cross country in high school. People often assume that I've run marathons and raced my whole life but the answer is that I really only ran occasionally...no schedule, no training plan.
By the time the little boys came around, I was starting to run more often, perhaps I was losing my mind more often!!!
Up until 2012, I had never run more than 3-4 miles at a time. That changed when my friends Lisa and Lori invited me on one of their runs...5 miles!!! They were training for a half marathon. I was so nervous before that first run. I didn't think I could keep up and wasn't too sure that I could run 5 miles. I was pleasantly surprised that day that I could do it and how quickly it went as they chatted. Chatty running partners are the best! I ran with them often after that initial run. I still look back at how sore I was after the first time I ran 6 miles...now that is just an easy or recovery day!
Those days of running with Lisa, Lori and Millie set a little fire inside that reminded me of a goal I once had to run a marathon. In June 2012, I signed up for the 2013 Disney Marathon for my first marathon. It was also the 20th anniversary of the Disney Marathon. I enlisted the help of Carlos' best friend, Mike to help me prepare for this marathon and he agreed to run it with me. You know he's an incredible friend when he agrees to run 26 miles for fun and keep you company. Mike is an amazing athlete that has competed at Kona Ironman so running 26 miles is a piece of cake for him.
Disney was the pivotal point that changed my running. I realized that not only running a marathon would be possible but a new dream of qualifying for Boston could be a reality if I worked hard. I just ran Boston for the second time this year and it is the culmination and celebration of all runners' hard work and dedication.
