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Saturday, December 17

If You Give a Mom a Marathon

Below is a fun article I found while looking at the Wounded Warriors Half in Dallas. It appeared in Sports Day DFW and was written by Gabriella McCord. Too cute not to read.

This may be my last post until after Christmas (we will see). So just in case, I want to wish you all a very blessed and merry Christmas.

       If You Give a Mom a Marathon

If you give a mom a marathon, she's going write it down in her calendar and tape a training schedule to the refrigerator. She will probably get up ridiculously early to log miles, which means she'll be lurking on facebook while the rest of the world sleeps, all amped-up on coffee, looking to chat with anyone else who might be up at that hour: other runners.

If you give a mom a marathon, she will bring home little packets of gu and stash them in her purse, her car, and her gym bag...she might leave one on the bathroom counter where one of her kids will regretfully think it's a shampoo sample.

If you give a mom a marathon, she will meet other people training for the marathon and bond with them, which will make her feel happy. (Someone "understands" her!) And that will cause her want to bake cookies - the kind with frosting and sprinkles. Her kids will love that, especially since they won't have to share with her, since she's training for a marathon.

If you give a mom a marathon, she will run - a lot - maybe more than she's ever run before. That will generate endorphins, extra energy and excitement, which will invariably cause her to hug her family more - even the dog - to the point of being told, "Please stop, you're hurting me".

If you give a mom a marathon, and the weather is bad, or she misses a run for some other reason, she will exude the behavior of a rabid, caged animal. It is safest to complement her most recently-prepared meal, offer her chocolate, and back away slowly. She will, of course, resume her state of running-induced euphoria once the training has resumed and she begins receiving ample doses of the highly-addictive "runner's high".

If you give a mom a marathon, she will reach for something bigger than herself. It will, at first, scare her, then fill her with excitement, courage, strength, and dignity. She will hang her heart on this dream through months of training, envisioning, as she folds laundry and scrubs toilets, the moment of her crossing the finish line, confident and proud. She will love that moment long after it has passed.

If you give a mom a marathon, that feeling of love, that savory taste of accomplishment, satisfaction and validation - that love will launch her heart in a new direction. It will propel her and compel her, beckoning to her in the secrets of her soul. It will make her put a 26.2 sticker on her car.

If you give a mom a marathon, it will make her fearless in the face of once-frightening situations. It will make her ready for anything life throws her. It will make her sign up for another
marathon.

http://runningblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/12/if-you-give-a-mom-a-marathon-a.html

8 comments:

RunToTheFinish said...

oh i love that article! not a mom, but being a runner it mostly still applies

Raina said...

That is a fun and true list :)

I hope you have a great Christmas Terri!!

Will you be doing the wounded warriors half?

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

I have the sticker!!!

Terri said...

Raina since my training season is just getting off the ground it looks like I'll be doing some of my highest mileage just as summer starts-ugh! So yes I'm looking into some races that will hopefully motivate me to persevere through those hot months. The Wounded Warriors half looks like such an amazing cause.

Terri said...

Amanda you may not be a mom but we are all a part of such an amazing sista-hood I think it relates across the lines :)

Laura said...

That is so cute! Thanks for sharing, and Merry Christmas to you too!

Sweat Is My Sanity said...

OH I LOVE that! So true. :) Glad I found your blog..I'm your newest follower. Jessica

runningtobeskinny.com

Wendy said...

So true! :)