Thursday, April 28, 2011

Someday I will find my prince charming...

...but my dad will always be my king.

I am beyond blessed to have a loving, caring, fun, giving, understanding, do anything for me, expect nothing but the best for me dad. Although I don't always appreciate it in the moment, he constantly challenges me to do and be my best, and I always end up appreciating it in the long run. 

Over the past 5 years, I have taken up running...mainly because it is something "my dad" enjoys doing, and I wanted to be able to do it with him.  I am no where near his pace (and trust me, he likes to remind me of that every change he gets), but some of my favorite times and greatest memories with "my dad" are when we are training or doing a race together.  

I'm struggling to put it into words, but there is something truly special about sharing a love of running with "my dad."  

 5 years ago I signed up to run the Pear Blossom (10 miles; and at this point I was not even close to being a "runner") with "my dad", only to have him bail the week of due to "chin splints" aka...it was raining!!!  We are a little different in the sense that I don' let weather get in the way of something I've committed to do....but it seriously gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes to not only finish (and I was DRENCHED!!), but to see "my dad" smiling ear to ear as I crossed the finish line!



I look forward to the Pear Blossom every year, and I always run on the inside and look for "my dad" as he is heading down the hill and back towards the finish line.



I thought I might have a chance at beating "my dad", if I could get him to do a triathlon!! It took a lot of convincing, but he finally signed up...and BEAT ME!!! :) Despite losing, it was still the best birthday present!

All set up and heading to the start of the swim!

WE DID IT!! This looks like a sweet picture, but I'm pretty sure he is bragging about how he beat me after I bought him a bike jersey for winning the bet of who would win!



No matter what (with the exception of when it's raining), I can always count on "my dad" to join me for a training run.



"My dad" doesn't do nearly as many events as I do, but he is always the first person I call before and after the race! The next "leap of faith" "my dad" and I will be taking together is training for the 2012 Arizona Rock N Roll Marathon.

"A daughter is a girl who grows up to be a friend"
"To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter"


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