Everyone needs an Ellie

Picture courtesy of Ellie (number 183)

The mud run is a prime example of how my mind works and how I overcome things.  Several months ago I received a "like" page for the Gritty Goddess in Galveston. Last year, after the first mud run, I received information on the 2012 Gritty Goddess.  I said no.  But this year was different.  I received the page to "like" because Facebook snooped and discovered I love all things running.  (I could write a whole post on how I don't like the way Facebook utilizes my information but this is not the time and place.)  Ok, let me back up.  At the time of this page popping up on my Facebook, ALL I was doing was loving all things running. I had not been cleared by my doc to start running.  

The weeks leading up to this moment were filled with treating my plantar fasciitis with stretches and icing.  So I made just a little noise about it...until I was sucker punched by it on 4/20/2013.  How do I know the exact date?  Well, that is the day I hosted an all day crop at my house for 14 beautiful ladies (hmmmm there is that number again..14).  Blame it on the lack of sleep in order to prepare for the crop or the alcohol I had just consumed but Ellie mentioned the mud run and I jumped at the chance to do it.  And then she popped the question, "What is your pace?" (gulp) "Well you see...running is just a technique and not a pace" I started to say.  I even think I rambled something about how I am faster than I was last time I did C25K.  I was stumbling and tripping over my own words...at least that is how I remember it.  I probably chuckled alot because that is what I do when I am nervous or sad.  All I know is that by the end of the conversation, we were running the mud run. And I had a feeling we were going to do it together. I don't mean, "okay when the gun fires, I'll see you at the finish line."  That would have been easy. I do my own pace and not worry about how I "look" to her.  No, I knew this was going to be a "are you ready? we are doing this together until the very end."

So what's the big deal?  Well, Ellie was from scrapbooking world.  My first impression of Ellie was how well she packed for a crop.  She didn't carry bags luggage, like the rest of us.  I think the first time I saw her at a crop she had one shoulder bag and her purse.  The only scrapper that packs that light are the digital scrappers that carry their laptop.  But Ellie was an organized traditional scrapper. So organized that she had only one bag compared to our 4 or 5 that were twice the size of hers.  What was her secret? How did she do it?  

And then I saw the pages she produced and they were lovely. They were balanced, pleasing to the eye with wonderful placement of embellishments and yet the picture remained the focus of the page (a hard task to do when you use embellishments).  Yes she was a scrapper goddess. She traveled light and scrapbooked well.  

Over the months I had learned she was a counselor, an active member of  her church and at one time had some weight to lose.  If you see her now, you would never know it.  She is tiny and fit. So are you hating her yet?  Fit, pretty, well organized, counselor, volunteer..I could go on and on.  But here is the best part...she is the friendliest, down to earth, encouraging, giving person I may know. 

So when I fumbled through my answer regarding my pace, she said, "ok let's do it.".  There was no hesitation in her voice.  She was ready to go and I was nervous.  She met up with Monica and me on that mud Saturday and she encouraged us through the whole course.  At times, I am ashamed to say, I was so focused on finishing a certain obstacle that I would turn around and Ellie is calling out to me because I had left them behind.  I had left a man down, Monica, and Ellie stayed and made sure she was okay and could do it. (Yes I know...I am a horrible person.)

I hope you have an Ellie in your life. Someone who encourages, supports and laughs with you through your journey.  If you don't have one, find one. So here's to the Ellies of the world. Those women that can run circles around us yet choose to run along with us.