Reason #1532 Why My Sister Is Awesome

Those of you that that we are friends with on Facebook (which is probably a majority of you) were probably unable to avoid the bombardment of pictures/status updates about my sister Erin coming to visit and running our first half marathons together--I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry. Here's why:

My sister is someone who never identified herself as a runner--that was always something that I did and that she never really enjoyed (as a side note, swimming is the same but reversed for us--I hate swimming!). This past year, around February or so, something changed and she decided to give running a try. She started with shorter distances, 1-2 miles at a time, and built her way up from there. I remember her calling to tell me how rough it was at first and celebrating with her over the phone about a new distance she was able to go and how many times a week she was able to run. Since then she has worked her butt off to run regularly on her own... and even running for fun! What??? My sister is running for FUN?? I was sooooooo excited! You have no idea! :D

Not wanting to scare her away I was hesitant to ask if she wanted to come run the Silver Strand Half with me--that can be a pretty daunting concept for a new runner! She had run a few 5Ks before but adding 10 miles to the end of that race is a totally different ball game. I was super stoked when she agreed to my crazy plan, so much so that I signed her up & helped arrange travel plans almost immediately so she couldn't back out on me ("You said yes! No Take-Backs!").

During the training period Erin was dedicated to her workouts and was awesome about fitting in runs around her constantly changing work schedule--heck, she was even more consistant with her running than I was at times! We would check in with each other to see how the running was going and talk about our plans for the upcoming week along the way, so when it came to race day I knew she was ready--and I think she did too.

Erin, I am so very proud of you, your hard work, your bravery, commitment, and resilience! And not just because you raced with me, but because of the wonderful young woman you have become. Thank you for coming out to visit and for running with me! You dominated that course and finished so strong at the end--it was a joy to see you accomplish your goal and I'm happy that I was able to be a part of it. I love you lots and hope we can do something like that again soon! <3