There are a few people/things I mention quite a lot on this blog so I was kind enough to throw together a cheat sheet for you. Enjoy!
Momsie and Popsicle.
Popsicle
Mom and dad for all you non-Wicked fans out there. Popsicle is my virtual running partner. He lives in Zionsville, IN but we share our runs and races through texting, blogging and phone calls. We’re constantly trying to one-up each other: in miles, distances (he gets to say he ran a marathon first), times and rest days. Every now and then we get to run a race together. He runs for beer, I run for tequila.
Momsie on the Right
Momsie also lives in Zionsville and she doesn’t run. That’s because she has at least an ounce of sanity left. She makes up for that oddity by being the best marathon cheerleader ever – she’s got the shortcuts and road closures of St. Jude Marathon memorized and can tell you the exact time I’ll be at each landmark. I also have her to thank for my writing skills, sense of style (if it weren’t for her I’d be in lycra constantly) and love for all things chocolate and tequila.
Handsome man.
Gary is my Garmin (Forerunner 110) watch. Our relationship can be classified as on-again-off-again. When we first got together (August 20, 2010 – my 23rd birthday), there was an instant connection. Love at first sight even.
Our first date (8/21/10): I had mapped out a new run down Central and around Memphis Lake in Chickasaw Gardens. We started off and at first Gary was just like any other running watch. Then he beeped at mile 1 – a pleasant beep, not an alarm type beep. Sort of an encouragement to keep going. Then, without stopping running I studied his face for the first time. He is a handsome thing in all black with a little gray accent and his face is charming. He displays the total workout time, the mileage and the pace. No ex-watches ever did that for me. And even the Nike+ chip couldn’t do all that for me.
7 beeps later we finished the run and I sort of forgot about him until we got home. Then he really showed me his stuff. Not only is he quite attractive, he is the smartest running partner I’ve ever encountered. After just minutes of uploading stuff into the computer, I had a full report of my run nicely displayed on the screen. He knew my time, my distance, my elevation. He drew a map of the course we ran and told me my speed at every point along the way. He knew time spent running and time spent well, not. He even told me my best pace. Every run is saved in his memory online and I can track my training. This is my dream watch. He’s very organized too and keeps track of my runs on a calendar and helps me list and reach specific goals.
Do you see how my running world will never be the same? No more mapping routes out before hand online or in the car – I can just go out and as long as he’s with me, I know how far I’ve gone and then have a drawing of the route when I get back. No more trying to calculate in my head what my pace is at any given moment, it’s right there on the screen. No more guess work or almosts – this is precise. And this is love.
Flash Forward to Now: All the romance is gone. Gary is old. He has trouble finding the satellites and often doesn’t wake up to count my miles with me until I’ve already logged .5. But there’s so much history there. It’s been almost two years and he’s been at every state race, every PR, every PW and I can’t just throw all that away. He doesn’t come with me on runs as often anymore but he’s still the most honest and reliable (when he’s awake) man I’ve ever been with.
A true gem of a gym in Midtown, Memphis, this is where I got my start. My start running. My start Spinning. My start TRX-ing. Personal training. Coaching. If it’s fitness related in my current life, it started there. Not only that but I gained confidence, experience and wisdom at that gym and through my relationship with my employers and the members that is indescribable. If you live in Memphis or ever pass though – stop in and take a class or just say that Jess sent you.
RUNMEM 
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