Unexpected Motivation

As I read through my favorite blogs today, I read Amanda’s blog post on Running on Waffles. As I read each sentence, my heart swelled. I couldn’t help but think about the motivation I have found while running.

When I finally committed to running two years ago, Christian and I lived at the North End of the beach. Every time I ran, I left our house and headed towards to the resort area of the beach. I had one goal in mind. Run one mile – to the Edgar Cayce building. I soon conquered that task. I was soon running there and back. My goals grew. Run to the Cavalier Hotel and back. Run to the boardwalk and back. Run to the Neptune Statue and back. Run to Rudee inlet and back.

On almost every single one of those runs, I passed a lady I will never forgot. She is one of the happiest runners I have ever seen. She is old enough to be my grandmother (and I’m in my 30s). I don’t know how far she runs or how fast. I do know that she always looks like she has found the secret to happiness in her life. Every time I passed her, I smiled and said “Good Morning”. I looked forward to seeing her every morning.

Two weekends ago, I was running 11 miles first thing in the morning. I ran to all of the check points I had wanted to reach when I first started running. Rudee Inlet. Check. Neptune Statue. Check. Boardwalk. Check. Cavalier Hotel. Check. Edgar Cayce Building. I could see it in the distance. I turned to run in the park.

I also saw the same lady I saw on almost every run. It instantly took me back. I felt my love for running growing inside of me. I felt the pride I felt as I set new distance records every weekend. I wanted to hug her, but I didn’t.

One of these days, I will run beside her. When that day happens, I plan on saying thank you. She inspired me every single run. She still does. I hope I’m running when I’m a grandma. And I hope I carry a smile with me on every run.