5 Months

Five months ago I ran a Half-Marathon. Yesterday, in anticipation of my next Half-Marathon I was supposed to run a 10K with my BRF's (Best Running Friends) but unfortunately that race didn't happen for me. After months of training (yes I have been silent but I have never quit running) I finally gave in to the fact that I have an injury that needs to be addressed. I hate feeling like a quitter but I had to realistically look at what my ultimate goal is...a 10K or another Half. Reality set in, my ultimate goal is the Half (3 in 2012 if I'm lucky) and the Run for Mercy was just a race I was using to shake some of my jitters before next weekend's Rock the Parkway Half-Marathon. My training for this race has been so great and so much fun and all because of these girls. I've known Robyn forever because we have worked together for years and believe me she has always been an inspiration to me as a runner. Last fall, she and I shared training stories as she and her friend Jennifer trained for the Kansas City Half-Marathon. As luck would have it we decided to go to the Sunday Groupie Runs for Rock the Parkway to train for our next half. However, she couldn't make it to the first training run in January so I decided to brave the cold and go solo. I was feeling tired and very out of shape that first morning and a nice girl offered to run with me. We talked the first 2 miles and had a great time. We talked about our past races and our future plans. I was hoping to see her again but with 150 other runners I wasn't sure that would happen. In a strange twist of fate, I got to work the next morning and Robyn said, "I can't believe out of all of those people there you ran with my friend Jennifer." And from there, new friendships formed and old bonds were strengthened. These girls motivate and inspire me. We cheer each other on and laugh at our mistakes and along the way we find crazy races to run. Jaime and Indy may have #perfect strangers, but I have the Shawnee Runner Girls, my own little group of "Perfect Strangers".