Wednesday, September 2, 2015

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?


31 comments:

  1. I love Tricia, and I hope to meet her someday! I can't wait to meet you in October. I feel so lucky to have all these virtual running friends--lots of unconditional support!

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    1. I feel so lucky to have that virtual support system. I can't wait to meet you! And I've already got you "tagged" for a special word. Stay tuned...

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  2. There are so many bloggers I'd love to meet!

    I have friends all over the country from various online activities throughout the years & have had the pleasure of meeting some of them in RL. Sometimes even multiple times! Even though we live on opposite coasts!

    Because I'm shy, because I was almost 50 when we moved here, because we don't have kids and I don't work, I don't have a lot of friends here. As the years go by I have gathered more & more, but it's still a small circle.

    So my online friends are just as dear to me as the friends I actually see in RL.

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    1. It is really fun to meet bloggers. I don't have a large circle of real friends either. The OL friends (like you!) are a great source of support.

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  3. I love making the coolest friends via blog world... so many awesome people out there!

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    1. They are awesome and also diverse...which makes it even that much more awesome!

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  4. Woman you made me cry! Happy tears though, I am just at a loss of words, I am so blessed to have met you and hey I was way out of my comfort zone too when we met! It has sure paid off because I have a great friend for life! Heartfelt thanks for this and I truly can't wait to see you in person again my friend!

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    1. And you made me cry right back with your voice message (we have matching southern drawls)! Even Steven. LOL. You go and kick some serious boo-tay this weekend, sista. I'll be cheering for you as loud as I can.

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  5. I love meeting people at races. Runners are the nicest people. I have meet quite a few bloggers at races but not as many as I'd like to...hint hint

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    1. Darlene, as many races as you do and as a fellow lover of half marathons I think we will meet, either up north or down south. Can't wait!

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  6. That's so sweet! I love meeting and connecting with other bloggers. Wouldn't it be great if we could all meet together!

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  7. Gosh, I was hoping you would being running the WDW Marathon so we could meet. It was still open the last time I checked - hint hint! ;) That means cool weather training, which I'm so looking forward to. I think we'll definitely meet one day...got to!

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  8. This is so sweet!!! I hope to meet some blogging friends in the future because they definitely have inspired me in many different ways!! Side note: my best friend is doing the Disney Marathon in January!! Have fun!!

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    1. This blogging community is so supportive and inspirational. I'm glad to be a part of it. I wish you were doing Disney too!

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  9. This is so awesome!! So excited you two will get the opportunity to run together again! What a sweet story. Tricia - you rock! I can totally see why Holly chose to highlight you. Thanks so much for linking up and glad to see us spreading the love around to the ladies that inspire us and support us!

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    1. It will be fun to meet again. Thanks for the link-up. I thought it was a wonderful idea! I have lots of women I could post about.

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  10. I love this idea, and I'm happy to meet Tricia. That she went out of her way to support you after meeting you once speaks volumes about what an awesome woman she must be. It also reminds me that doing small things for others can make a big difference, so I should do small things more often.

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    1. I was amazed that someone would reach out like that. Small things mean a lot and I think we sometimes forget that.

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  11. I do think that runners are an incredibly supportive bunch. Tricia was incredibly sweet to text you before your race. My running group is a wonderful source of support and I feel blessed to be part of such an amazing group of people of all ages and stages in life. By the way, I am also running the Mickey Marathon in January. We might need to meet up at the race.

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    1. In the running community, it's almost as if age doesn't matter. We are all out there with a common goal. I wasn't sure if you were running or not. It would be wonderful to meet you!

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  12. That's so great!! It's what I love about the blogging community. Everyone is very supportive. I can't wait to meet more of you!

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    1. I think we need a convention or something! Wouldn't that be cool?

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  13. I just now realized the Tricia I know on Fitbit who like you mentioned crushes the competition quite often. Is this same blogger I have recently been introduced to when I saw your first Monday link up.
    Isn't it amazing how many incredible people there are, I have so many blogging friends that are also dear to my heart. What a beautiful tribute you gave her. That is so sweet she sent you the text out of the blue to wish you luck. What a sweet person!

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    1. That is the same person. She is a very genuinely sweet person. I'm coming to Utah one of these days! I'd love to do the Revel race out there.

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    2. If you come to Utah for that race. Hit me up, I live right near the canyon they run this race.

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  14. Aw that is awesome! I hope to meet both you and Tricia sometime soon! Virtual friends are just so cool. I've had the pleasure of meeting so many bloggers over the years. Runners are the best!

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    1. It's such a supportive and inspiring group of people that I have the wonderful pleasure of being a small part of.

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  15. How sweet! I can't wait to meet you both in January!!!!!

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