Thank You: Running

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you.

Thank you for making me into a better runner than I ever thought possible. Without your support, guidance, or inspiration, I don't think I would be where I am today. I'm not sure if running would be such a big part of my life. I'm not sure if I would have the confidence I feel when I run.

Mom and Dad, thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for buying me running shoes, bringing me to the podiatrist when I got injured, and letting me enter 5k's in high school. Although you both thought I wouldn't be a good runner after my first day of practice, you let me run. Thank you for coming to my races, putting up with my stinky smelly clothing, and making dinner. Thank you for driving me everywhere. Thank you for buying me my first workout log and my first watch. Thank you for the Gold's Gym membership that first summer when you didn't want me running alone in the summer heat. Thank you for doing some group classes with me too. Yoga and body pump were fun.

Coach Dixon, thank you for being my health teacher. I was scared and timid in a new school, so thank you for being such a friendly, open teacher. I felt comfortable asking you about the cross-country team and how to try-out. Thank you for finding out the information for me and helping me get to my first practice.

Coach Dotterer and Coach Snow, you saw me on my first day of high school cross-country practice. I could barely run a mile in the heat (98-105 degrees, I checked once I got in the car), let alone the interval tempo you had planned for the team. Thank you for making me stop running, rehydrate, and letting me come back the next day. I already liked running, and you gave me the workouts that would make me run hard and fast.

Coach Snow, thank you for giving me guidelines on eating. I don't think you knew it, but I was only eating an apple or orange and a Powerade for lunch until you told me that having some protein, carbs, and fat would help me run better. You were right. I started eating a healthy lunch. You would also bring bagels to the races, warn me of the digestive issues that come with eating too much fruit before a race, and be cautious about having me sit all day in the sun during a track meet. You made me run only 15 minutes the day before a meet, forcing me to learn about tapering and taking it easy before a hard effort. You taught me that quality matters over quantity. You made me appreciate bad races; I had to want to win more. I had to be angry at myself for quitting early on a workout if I said I wanted to run 5 x 800 instead of 6 x 800; you wouldn't let me do that last 800.

Brian and Matthew, thank you for being my teammates. I always chased after you, Brian, because you were my Irish twin, and I didn't want to lose to you. Although you never did your weekend run, you still ran faster than I did. That drove me insane, but it pushed me harder. Matthew, thank you for letting me run the 3200m with you in meets. I helped me break 12:00 for the first time.

Daniel and Brian, thank you for those years of driving me to and from practice.

Andre, thank you for driving and waiting in the car for me during swim practices, when you didn't want to be there.

Erin, thank you for being my high school competition. There were other girls that pushed me hard, but it is you who stands out in my mind as someone I was always chasing. You were so talented in running and swimming. I really admired your athleticism.

Coach Barwick, thank you for continuing to give me good guidance. You taught me that nothing in life is ever just given. You taught me a dose of humility is good. We have to work for everything we want. Thank you for really making a team. I loved the follow-the-leader drills and listening to you sing Vanilla Ice. Thank you for letting me run with the guys in some races. Thank you for praying with us before every competition. Thank you for making me overcome mental obstacles in running. Thank you for making fun of me for having a crush on Coach Jeff Dobias (I was so embarrassed when you called me out one day!).

Coach Dobias, thank you for taking care of the team. When we first met you, you had just run your first marathon. I decided right then and there that I would also run a marathon one day. Thank you for being so innocently cute. I had a major crush on you, so I tried to run well to impress you (haha).

Coach Boyle, thank you for being my first coach I had consistently for four years. Your intentions were always good, and I learned so much from our workouts. You pushed me through some tough days at school, when all I wanted to do was cry or give up, and pushed me through tougher workouts. Thank you for always listening and giving advice. I learned how a lot about how my body responds to workouts, the method behind the madness of training. Thank you for letting me run my first marathon in 2007, during cross-country season. Thank you for letting me run the steeplechase my final year in the Army-Navy track meet. I had a blast.

Lexa, Erica, Kat, Sarah, and all my other Navy XC teammates, thank you all for always being there. I know I was a little weird (always wearing the same hairstyle, having no sense of fashion, being weird, talking about my boyfriends non-stop, bitching all the time, not running in straight lines), so thanks for putting up with me. I enjoyed all our training runs, trips, and meals together. Thank you for helping me find a balance in life. I love you all and will never forget you. You are all always family to me.

Eli, thank you for the detox runs after nights of drinking.

Brendan, thank you for coaching me through my first half marathon and marathon. You were a great boyfriend, and I really enjoyed sharing running with you. Thank you for always putting up with my need to run, workout, and go to church. I still admire you for running the JFK 50 Miler. I am grateful for all the places you brought me to run---all over Annapolis (even getting lost the first time), Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, and California. Thank you for running a few 5k's with me--the Turkey Trot and McGuire's runs. I will never forget all the times we had together, but I will not rest until we finally run a half marathon together (you got injured one year, were on a DET the next year, and then we never touched  base again after breaking up). Thank you for texting me the day before the Boston Marathon, even though we were no longer dating. I appreciate all the support you gave me, and I ran that race to impress you. I now laugh at that idea, but it worked. You were/are an amazing friend.

Andrew, thank you for being an awesome training partner and boyfriend. You stayed with me for some intense training runs. Sorry about pushing the pace sometimes (hey, it helped both of us!). Thank you for running a half marathon with me right after deployment (with 10 burpees every mile). Thank you for giving me strength workouts when I couldn't think of any. Thank you for buying me the National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer study materials and believing in me. Thank you for going through hell-and-back with me when I was going through the roughest, weirdest time in my entire life. Thank you for running the Marine Corps Marathon and the Whale Challenge with me, as well as the Navy 5 Miler and the Army 10 Miler. Thank you for all the race entries you hunted down for us. Thank you for running with me in some of the best places--Annapolis, Surf City/Topsail Island, Chicago, and the WOD. Thank you for introducing me to some of the best places to eat.

Rob, thank you for running a marathon. You have taught me patience. You showed me how to love running in a non-competitive mindset. You introduced me to climbing and CrossFit. You are sometimes bothersome and overly engineering-minded when it comes to training planning, but you put me in my place (out of know-it-all-Anna place). Thanks. Thank you for suggesting some good workouts (16 hill repeats).

Matt, thank you for being an inspiration. You don't know how often I read your running blog just to get motivated for running a hard workout. Thanks for sharing your running with the world via Facebook and Fastrunningblog.com. I have finally started recording my workouts again thanks to you.

Jack, thank you for slowing down your pace for me when we run together. It has helped me run faster to try to keep up with you. Thank you for treadmill runs as well. It makes the treadmill suck less. Thank you for imparting knowledge of math, science, engineering, and politics as we run. You talking helps me listen and focus on trying to keep up (so I can hear the rest of the story). When I say, "I hate you," when you pick up the pace a bit too much, you know it's all in good humor. Thank you and Steph for inviting me to races that you are both doing. It's awesome to be know a few other people at a race.

Sincerely,
Anna

I am sure I will continue to add to this list/letter as time goes on...