If you asked me last year if you thought I was going to be a pretty good runner, I would have laughed at you, and told you that I didn’t have time for jokes. Now, it’s a different story. I love running. Yes, at times, it can be a little daunting. However, after awhile, you can run and run without even thinking twice about it.
Last year, when I went to Panama, I couldn’t even run for a mile. Kristine was my motivation and moral support. This is a girl who did marathons all the time, and was always one of the fastest girls in her squandron. I remember that I allowed my friends to convince me to sign up for the Army Ten Miler. I would chat with my sister and tell her that I couldn’t do something like that. She told me not to give up, and that before she joined the Air Force, she was a terrible runner. Like me, she said that she would constantly get cramps because she didn’t know how to breathe properly. Also, she would get tired after she took two steps. She said that it took her a couple of months to finally build up her stamina, and not think that running was half bad.
I remember being in Panama and running with her. She would be running without even heaving, and I couldn’t even speak. I would tell her to keep running cause I felt bad that I was preventing her from running the way she was accustomed to. She would stop and smile at me.
“That’s ok Shevonne. I want to walk with you.”
It was due to her support that I was eventually able to run the Army Ten Miler without stopping. The first time I ran one mile without stopping, I sent her an email, so excited that I was able to do even that. She was so ecstatic. She responded, “I am so happy for you! I knew you could do it.”
When she passed away, I stopped exercising for awhile because it was hard for me to even get out of bed. Eventually I had to because I had two children to take care of. I didn’t even want to do the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler that I was doing in April. However, I knew that Kristine loved that I was running, so I decided to start training. The first two times I tried running, I could only do a mile. I finally said to myself, “STOP THIS! If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your sister, who was so proud of you.”
I started running two, three, and now five miles without thinking twice. Yesterday when I ran five miles, I kept thinking that she was running right next to me, and encouraging me to keep going. It was the only way that I kept running until I reached my goal. I felt great afterwards, and I was able to smile, without having to force it, for the first time in over a month.
I want her to be proud of me in anything that I do. I hope that she is.
