This ones for the girls

I don't know if it's something that happens in your late twenties, or something that comes with moving across the country.  What I do know is as time goes by, my petty, negative or childish comments are few and far between and I find myself, well, wanting everyone to succeed more.

em·pow·er     əmˈpou(ə)r/     verb

* give (someone) the authority or power to do something.

* make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

I am not sure if that makes sense, if that makes me a terrible person, or if I just have some pre race excitement (half marathon number 7 tomorrow!) but I just want to motivate people.  I want to empower other women.  If this is sounding a little "koom bye ah" then I am sorry.  Last year I had this word "empower" monogrammed on a necklace as a daily reminder to be the girl complementing others instead of passing petty comments on someones outfit choices.  With that being said, I still have my weaknesses and still have a strong hate for crop tops and women wearing them (and have a hard time controlling these feelings).  But I digress.  

As I looked through all my race review posts you can find them all here  I noticed how lucky I am. How lucky I am to have a support group of such amazing, powerful and supportive women who push me to run, to workout, to be faster, to be slower, to go farther, or just plain be better.  

If it wasn't for all these women, I would have probably slept in on all those Saturday mornings with a mimosa and a large breakfast. And while there is nothing wrong with that, I am so thankful for all of those early mornings, silly costumes, sweaty pictures, and race medals.  

And I think how its sort of bittersweet that here I am, heading to the expo for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon with another group of amazing women.  They are the only reason I signed up for this half, and the ONLY reason I signed up for the marathon (because that is a lot of running).  I was so eager to make friends here that when I got in touch with this group of women who had signed up for all these races, I couldn't help but send in my race fees too.  Now here I am, with some new friends, in the best shape of my life, and with more confidence. 

As a graduate student, I really don't have the time, and I definitely don't have the money for these races.  But I did it anyway because it is such a great feeling to be surrounded by some awesome people who motivate you to get out of bed at 6am to run some hills.  To be around a group of people who are just trying to be motivating and just plain better too. 

So this post is for all of my lady running friends, old and new, near and far.  I am so thankful for every single training run and every single finish line.  You all rock and I am so thankful to have you all empowering me to run faster, farther, and be better.  

See you at the finish line.