Love & Running: Stacey & Chris

In closing out the month of February, love month, thought I would share what was featured on Black Girls Run site celebrating love and how our men support us!

STACEY:
It’s funny how you enter into one thing for one reason and come out with something different than what you planned. Something more. Something better. Something sweeter.

The primary reason why I started running was to drop 20lbs. Plain and simple. I wanted a total body makeover that would lean me out and a cost efficient way of doing it. It turned out that running was a great source of empowerment for me. It strengthened me at the core and helped grow me spiritually too. All great outcomes I was pleased to gain while running.

And then I began training for a marathon, and while I was out bowling at my church singles night I just happened to mention needing to leave early for a long run in the morning. Chris was on my bowling team and immediately piped up how he was a runner too and wanted to meet up for a run.

Well that was more than six months ago and we are happily still running together. It has been a great commonality for us. I never would have thought in starting to run I would meet my love.

Running together works in our relationship in supporting one another and has become another way we communicate about our day, past, and our future. Chris has even incorporated pray during our running time for the neighborhood and others we see along our run.

Naturally Chris is a faster runner than I am and truly runs more for my benefit than anything, and that means so much to me. The companionship means a lot and getting a call or a text asking if we want to go for a run puts a smile on my face. It means he wants to spend time together and do something that benefits both of us in staying healthy.

Another plus in running with my man is his encouragement when I get weary or hit my weak spots in running. Those lovely hills.

Chris will give verbal encouragement along the way such as:
~ I will preserve I will endure
~ I am the head and not the tail
~ I am above and not beneath
~ This hill strengthens me
~ This hill builds me
~ This hill is iron and I am iron & Iron sharpens iron
~ I look to the hill which comes my help; my help comes from the LORD
~ I conquer this hill for perseverance, I conquer this hill for endurance, I conquer this hill because I am survivor, because it shapes me.
~ Can’t stop won’t stop for the cause of Christ

Chris even holds my hand during the hills for that extra physical support or when my foot begins to numb while running he will massage it along the way.

Now don’t get it twisted he doesn’t “baby me up” all the time and truly gives me the extra push when I need it the most. He even quietly forces to me to work on my pace as I try to keep up with his faster stride, but he normally tends to have to circle back so I can keep up.

As I mentioned earlier there truly is more benefits for me to run with Chris but it really is a wonderful activity we can do together.

CHRIS:
I was a runner before I met Stacey and as we began to talk about running we actually started about the same time. I entered into running because as I watched my parents get older and their health fail I made the commitment that would not happen to me. I wanted to lose weight and stay in shape through running.

I was only about two months in when I started running and completed my first half marathon. I had no idea what I was doing just had a goal and wanted to complete it. It was the most wonderful experience I ever had pushing through at the end all by myself and knowing that God was sustaining me. After the race I slowly stopped running and wanted to get back into it again.

Then I met Stacey who mentioned running the same marathon I did that past winter and that got me excited as I now had a new goal to try and beat my last marathon time, and a way to get to know Stacey more through running.

When I realized Stacey was also a runner that encouraged me even the more to want to run because I was about to lose the passion for running and had nobody to share this desire with so just having her by my side is support enough in sharing this common interest. I have come to the realization that all things are possible through God who strengthens me and having Stacey gives me that extra confidence I sometimes need in running.

She supports me by making sure I am signed up for races and giving me the low down on what is going on in the running community and groups, as well the latest gear and types of food to eat. She has even inspired me to want to run a full marathon since she completed her first one this past December.

As we run together I think about how long we will live together and how running replenishes our bodies and keeps them in great shape. And that our future kids will be running with us and teaching them how to be healthy. Even though I run at a faster pace than Stacey sometimes I enjoy running behind her seeing her little feet point out Haha. So just running and looking over at her and thinking about how much she means to me gives me great joy in running. I struck it rich when I found Stacey. I love running with her and look forward to running with her. And she is everything to me especially when it comes to running.