A Proud Mama

We have all experienced our mothers (or fathers or aunts) bragging about us at one time or another. My father-in-law will talk to complete strangers (for hours-no joke) about the success that Jeff and I have experienced on the athletic field. My mom thought that me running a 3.10 marathon was incredibly fast. She thought it was even more impressive that I finished 3rd out of 200+ women. My friend Julie has an aunt who stops people in the grocery store to tell people how Julie went to Kona to compete in the Ironman World Championship. Sometimes the people closest to us will not tell us how proud they are of us, despite the fact they are. They will show it in other ways: talking to strangers, pictures on the wall, the excitement in their voice, or a heartfelt hug or smile.

I now know how they feel and I can call myself a "Proud Mama".

For the last 5 years, I have been coaching a group of adults in the BoldRunning Program. Over the course of the seasons, I have seen them start out as timid runners, learning how to navigate a sport that can be quiet intimidating (especially in Boulder), and achieve success in many arenas. And I am proud of them. This past season was especially memorable for me.

Every Tuesday night I looked forward to seeing my 15+ group of runners. They have been running together for 1-5 years. They have all gotten faster over the years, but they still choose to stay together and work together. They support each other. They push each other. They laugh together and share their own running experience with the group. They welcome new runners into the group. They have a good thing going that they don't want to break up. They are committed to the program and to themselves. They balance life, kids, jobs, husbands, wives, soccer practice, school music recitals, HOA meetings, and parent-teacher conferences. And they deal with me every Tuesday night. They ran more miles then other groups because I had to get in X amount of mile for the day (lucky for them this was during my marathon training!) It got to be a joke about how many miles they had to run on Tuesday nights.

The summer program started in June and went through October 17th. Throughout the program they trained hard, building toward that A priority race. Some experienced set backs and learned how work through disappointment. Life got in the way sometimes. But they kept showing up Tuesday nights (and Wednesday, and Thursdays and Saturday and sometimes Sunday). The trained in the hottest of hots and dodged the big thunderheads. They persevered.

And then came race day.

And I smiled and talked about them to others like a proud parent.

Here are some of the amazing events I watched happen this year (I used initials to protect the innocent, but you know who you are!):

• MDo finished top 10 in a triathlon and ran her fastest BB.
• JS ran her fastest BB and PR'ed at Denver, then got engaged.
• LR PR'ed in Moab and ran a smart race. Negative split the 13.1 miles.
• GN race his first half marathon and reached 40 mph riding downhill.
• HB ran a 2.10 half in Greece while working through some niggles.
• TP learned how to swim and did her first open water swim!
• EJ risked her life to stop traffic for group as they crossed the street. She also won a duathlon and PR'ed at Twin Cities.
• MM ran a smart race in Chicago. She is an awesome role model to her girls.
• GB is a rock in the group. He came out to support the group while he recovered from his surgery.
• PG continues to amazing us all. He qualified for Boston with a 3.57. He is 60.
• TG and SK. The new mom's of the group came back and regained their post-baby fitness quickly.
• CH ran some HARD trail races and lived to tell the stories.
• SM ran a PR at Toronto. She worked hard for this!
• KL knocked 12 miles off her half marathon time and ran 1.41 at Denver
• MDu did it all. She did her first 70.3 triathlon. PR'ed at every triathlon distance. Then ran a half marathon after telling me that she does not like running.
• MF PR'ed at the 5K and 10K. He knocked off 10 min off his half marathon time. I personally think he would have PR'd by more if he did not wear BB shorts.
• JM PR'd at the Heart and Sole Half marathon and then went on to PR on Imogene Pass.
• SL bought his first road bike and race in his first triathlons.
• AC helped a fellow group member change a flat during a race and went on to have a great race of her own. She has challenged herself by signing up for her firs 70.3 triathlon!
• KD ran her long run (mostly alone) around her kids schedule and had a solid Portland Marathon.

I am so very proud of you all! Congrats and thanks for the adventures and memories.

Rock On

JK