Wednesday's Woman

Kelli @ Destination Awesome has a wonderful new idea to highlight women that inspire us.  It's called Woman Crush Wednesday.  You can profile a woman you know or one you've never met.  She also gives out theme words.  This week they are:  running groups, camaraderie, support, and relay races. 

I have met some wonderful women since I started running.  When I began blogging, I connected with so many more!  The list is truly extensive.  I hope to highlight a few of these women, and why they inspire me, on Kelli's linkup. The word that caught my eye this week was SUPPORT and one particular lady came to mind.  Let's start at the beginning...

Meet Tricia

This Winter I was running a streak of half marathons.  A day before Mercedes, I saw MissSippiPiddlin, a new-to-me blogger, was going to be there.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to connect and arrange a meeting.    However, I saw she would soon be at another race.  I left her a blog comment and we agreed to meet.  


I met Tricia at the Tuscaloosa Half (see original post) and we chatted maybe 15-20 minutes.  I had already started walking to my car but remembered we had taken pictures.  I quickly returned, found her friend Leah, and I gave her my phone number for the photo swap.  I thought it was nice to meet another blogger, to get to match the person with the blog.  That was that.  I came home and thought nothing further of it.



The following weekend, I received a text from an unfamiliar number just before my next half marathon.  When I opened it, I found it was Tricia giving me encouragement and wishing me good luck.  I was floored.  How sweet!  She remembered I was running!  But again, I thought that was that.  But she did it again, and again as I continued to race.  Other than a brief meeting, I didn't know this woman and yet here she was reaching out to me with her support.  There was no agenda here.  Tricia was just being Tricia.  She went that extra step. I can't convey how much the genuine support from a relative stranger meant to me.


I now consider Tricia a dear friend.  We've still only met the one time.  She regularly kicks my butt in weekly Fitbit challenges with hugely impressive numbers.  She is also my peppy co-host of the new Weekly Wrap.  Thankfully, she let me twist her arm decided to run the Disney World Marathon in January and we will see each other then, if not before.

I hope I haven't embarrassed Tricia, that certainly was not my intention.  I truly believe friendships can form from the simplest of actions, from the briefest of encounters.  

Not only is Tricia inspirational as a strong active woman, a dedicated runner, a lover of half marathons, and a healthy living enthusiast with a good dose of fun -- she inspires me with her unconditional support.  She's taught me it's OK to reach out to others.  You might just make a friend for life!

What woman gives you unconditional support?