As someone who has struggled with weight the majority of her life, deciding at the beginning of the new year to go on diet was nothing new. In January of 2014 I decided to start running. I know...insane right? It seemed like every person's new goal was to run a 5 k or do some spartan race. So I wanted to see what all the hype was about. So I e-mailed a friend of mine who was a runner to ask her a few basic questions, like... Is it safe for me to running at my weight? Or What kind of shoes should I wear? She was so kind enough to answer all my questions. But she also told me about a running group she was a part of on Facebook. She said it was a group of Mom's who were all runners. My first thought was NO WAY. I am not a runner yet and I will never be one of those ladies running a half marathon. But she assured me that there were mom's a part of this group at all running levels and that it was an encouraging group not a competition. So begrudgingly I join Lancaster Mom's Run This Town Facebook (LMRTT) group not knowing what I was getting myself into. I followed what people posted in the group but I never posted myself. I was embarrassed to say "I ran/walked 1.5 miles today" right next to the lady who posted her 12 mile run at a 8 minute pace.
In late January I started the Couch 25k program, and as many of you know I lost my son February 25th, 2014. Of course this put a stop to my running for a while. Between funeral arrangements, an unplanned trip away and trying to get back to normal life, running was the last thing on my mind. But a few weeks after my son passed away, I was told LMRTT wanted to do something for my family. I was flabbergasted! I had just joined the group, I have never posted anything in the group and I knew maybe three people. A group of ladies came together and had a mile walk in my son's name and had a donation box set up for us. A huge group of mom's came out to support my family. Some gave me hugs, some wrote me personal cards and some donated money to my family for funeral expenses. And they were all strangers. I was so touched by their generosity to a "kind of" runner mom who just joined their group.
As time went on I got more interested in the group and started making connections with other mom's who were at the same running level I was. I met up with a few and ran and I LOVE IT! I was making friendships and working out at the same time. What could be better then that? I started getting more confident in myself and my athletic ability. I even posted on the Facebook page that I ran at 13:00 minute mile. I was so excited! And so were many other ladies. They encouraged me and pushed me. A group of complete strangers were there for me through some of the darkest times in my life and they didn't even know it.
I would love to say that I'm running a 5k now and I've lost a ton of weight but the reality is I'm not running a 5k yet and I have only lost 10lbs during this journey. But through this all I have gained more confidence, new friendships and a desire to run, something I never had before. I would love to run in my son's 5k next summer and I'm working towards that goal with the help of my fellow mothers. But my husband and I are also trying to get pregnant so I would imagine it would be hard to run a 5k if I were 9 months pregnant :) but I've seen some ladies do it in LMRTT!
I guess this whole blog post was a shout out to LMRTT for all the things they have done for my family and I. I feel that God had my friend tell me about the group because he knew I was going to need all the support I could get in the coming months. And boy was he right.
Thank you for being there for me and helping me find a positive way to deal with my loss. I think Camden, my son, is proud of me and all that I have over come in the last few months. I think he is eternally grateful for what you have done for his mommy. <3 I got to get to bed now, I'm running in the morning with a new friend :)
