Friday, February 3, 2012

Sexy Mother Runner Featured Runner Friday: Meet Heidi

Sexy Mother Runner is going to be featuring a different runner every Friday! Every runner has a story and we believe that sharing those stories is a great way to share the gift of running while helping to motivate others. Today's featured runner is our friend, Heidi. Heidi is a remarkable person, mother, friend, couselor, and runner!



This is Heidi's story...


It still kind of cracks me up to be featured on a running blog....

I guess it has taken me awhile to really consider myself a runner. I ran track in junior high (literally one million years ago), and hadn't really run since then. Throughout college and before having kids, I would periodically try to get into a workout regiment, but nothing ever stuck for me. After having 3 kids, and feeling completely out of shape, my youngest brother and his wife started running and my sister-in-law would occasionally make comments about how I should join them running a 5k sometime. At first, I would just laugh, but then in early 2010, I thought I would secretly give it a shot by starting on our treadmill at home, with the goal of working my way up to be able to run the Race for the Cure in May.

I will never forget the experience of running my first 5k. I was horrible at pacing, so I had to walk several times from running too fast, but it was absolutely exhilarating! I was so proud of myself as I crossed the finish line that I didn't even care what my time was, it just felt so good to finish amongst the cheers of the crowd. From that point on I was hooked. I have always been a person who loves a challenge, and I realized that running was something that I could challenge myself with. At the same time, I was also finding that my running time became "me time", which I needed so much. Running gives me time to clear my head, release stress, and also feel great about becoming more fit. Everytime I hit the pavement in my neighborhood, I remind myself that the first time I ever ran outside, I couldn't run from my house to the beginning of our subdivision without stopping to walk. Now I can run up to 9 miles!

Last summer while running in the Steamboat 4 mile (one of my favorite races so far), I looked at the woman running next to me and thought "wow, she has beautiful hair", yes this is what I do to pass the time during races, and then realized it was Danyelle. I had only briefly seen Danyelle in the years that we knew each other from Macomb at Western, but we reconnected after the Steamboat. Not long after that, she and I decided to sign up for the Spartan Sprint. Leading up to that event last October, I had many moments of panic and "what did I do" kind of thoughts. It ended up being one of the toughest, but most rewarding days of my life, and also a fabulous way to celebrate my 37th birthday. My body had to heal the from Spartan, and so the next time that I ran was at Jess' awesome Cupcake Classic. My kids were with me that day on the run, and my 5 year old daughter begged to get out and run at the finish. So far of my 3 kids, she seems to be the most interested in joining Mommy, and proud of how fast she is.




My enjoyment of running went up another level last fall when I started periodically running with Sole Sisters groups on the weekends. I had always run by myself up until then, which I still love at times for the solitude of it, but running and chatting and meeting new people has made running longer distances especially even more do-able. My next challenge for myself is my first half in April. Just like the Spartan Sprint, I am having some moments of thinking maybe I was briefly insane to register, but then I remember how much I love challenges and know anything is possible. "The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start", John Bingham





Questions? Comments? Email us @ sexymotherrunner@yahoo.com. We would love to hear from you!

2 comments:

  1. Great story, Heidi! I remember running with you the first time on Rock Island Trail, then joining you halfway through the Spartan Sprint. Your story is very inspirational and you should be so proud of yourself! Hope to see you soon!

    Patty

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