After having my debut on the Another Mother Runner blog and thoroughly enjoying the experience of getting to talk about my love of running – I wanted to extend that to the women I run with. This week I would like to introduce to you a friend of mine – a fellow mother runner, WOOP run leader, and a very motivational lady!

I first met Rachel when she came to the very FIRST WOOP run back in September of 2011 – we hit it off from the start!

1st WOOP Run (Kirsten, Rachel, Charleen, Myself, Lisa) on Kadena @ 5am (Sep. 2011)

Running has taught me…

That I am capable of doing more in every area of my life.

For more than a decade I’ve had a love/hate relationship with running.  When I joined the Marine Corps in 1999, I could barely run a mile and a half.  I was overweight and when I got to bootcamp, all my PT (physical training) gear was spray painted with stripes so that everyone else would know that I was a “weight recruit” aka a fat kid!  By the end of my 13 weeks on Parris Island I had lost nearly 20 pounds, could do 3 pull-ups, and was able to run 5 miles – slowly – but I ran them.

As my Marine Corps career progressed, I continued to run – twice a year – for PFT’s (physical fitness test).  Other than that, I wanted nothing to do with running.  Then something changed.  In 2007, while stationed in Germany, I decided I wanted to try a run a half-marathon.  Okay, okay, the truth is, the race was in Milan, Italy and I wanted an excuse to organize a unit trip to Italy.  I mentioned the idea to my boss and colleagues and we were all in.

Training was tough.  In fact, just a few weeks into training I developed a stress fracture in my hip and was out of commission for 6 weeks.  That only left about 6 weeks for training and even then, the furthest I was able to run was 7 miles.  Nevertheless, I got on the plane with my buddies and set out to run my first half-marathon.

Stretching before the race!

My goal was simple – finish the race without walking.  The crowd was electric.  There were thousands of people from all over Europe, some wearing very interesting attire, but all in all, it was nothing less than amazing.  As the race started, I was feeling great.  My Major said she’d stay with me the whole time and it was great running alongside a woman I respected and admired.  As we passed mile 6 I was feeling dynamite!  The excitement, the realization that I was running a half-marathon in Milan, Italy, was the fuel that kept me going.

That is, until I hit mile 9.  There it was, a very slow and steady incline.  It was barely noticeable to the eye, but boy were my legs feeling it.  As I chugged up and across the bridge, negative thoughts crept into my head.  Just give up.  This is crazy.  You’re never gonna make it… And on and on.  I was at my breaking point, but then at mile 10, I heard another voice, a louder voice that said, Don’t you dare quit.  You’ve got this.  You’re just one PFT away from finishing.

I dug down deep and kept running.  My feet were starting to go numb, but the voice in my head just got louder with every step, Keep going girl, you’re almost there.  You can go a little more.  You can do a little more.

And then I saw it, the turn to the finish line.  I broke out into a dash, giving everything I could, but something wasn’t right.  I could see a large awning of balloons, but there was no cheering crowd.  There was no clock or finish line.  Wasn’t this the end?  Where was my finish line?  The last crowd of cheering people had told me it was just around the bend.

Sike! It wasn’t!  This was just a festive awning to let runners know we were close.  My heart sank and tears began to flow.  I was supposed to be done by now.  My Major was right along side me but I didn’t want to talk to her.  I just knew that if I looked at her and she saw me crying I’d be done.  And then there was the voice again, You can do more.  You can go farther.  You’ve got this girl.

I kept pushing…I passed not one more, but two more of those festive, sike-you-out awnings!  And then, I heard loud voices, but they weren’t in my head.  This time it was the crowd.  The real crowd!  There they were just up ahead and I could see that big, beautiful clock.  The voice in my head said, Go Rachel, go.  Sprint! Finish strong! You can do more!  And with that, I pushed like never before.  I sprinted past my Major who was just a few feet ahead of me and heard her say, “Hey!” (I had forgotten we said we would cross together).  I bolted past her and gave every bit I had.  Then I was done.  I had done it.  I had done more than I ever had in my running career.  I had done more than I ever though possible.

(Me crossing the finish line. My Major is right behind me in the black shorts)

Since then, every area of my life has benefited from that one race.  Whenever I feel I just can’t take another minute of the woes of motherhood I remind myself, I can do more.  Whenever I am struggling in my business or feeling stressed for time, I know, I can do more. 

Running has taught me:

That even when I think I can’t, I can do more!  These days I’m training for my second half-marathon and though my training hasn’t gone well, I am not worried.  I know on race day, every step of the way, I can do more!

Rachel's WOOP run just finished their 8-mile Flight Line run and still looking gorgeous!

Rachel Luna is a certified professional life changer and the founder of The Tailor Made Life where she helps women stop wishing, stop hoping and start taking action to fulfill their dreams and have the life they’ve always desired.  Every Friday she shares motivational and highly entertaining videos to help women do and achieve more. She is the author of the upcoming book Successful People are Full of C.R.A.P. (Courage, Resilience, Authenticity, Perseverance): A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting it Together and Achieving Your Dreams (Available on Amazon in March 2012).  You can also catch her hanging out here on Facebook sharing lots of inspiring posters, musings and videos.