Tia, this post is dedicated to you …

i have to tell you all about a person i met a year ago, about this same time. her name is Tia. how we met is kind of cool. i created a facebook group for the gasparilla/tampa marathon and half marathon back in 2008, a year before they made their own official page. see, i’m always one step ahead! anyway, Tia joined the group and posted a message about any running groups getting together in the area to train for the last running of the gasparilla marathon. being the creator of the group, i sent her a message asking about her pace, what area she was at, etc… long story short, we came to the conclusion that we wouldn’t be running together because of our pace differences, nonetheless, Tia immediately sent me a friend request and by the next day or two, we were having lunch at a local thai restaurant and talking as if we’d known each other our whole lives. running works like that, doesn’t it? it brings us together and we have been friends ever since.

Tia is getting ready to run her 2nd marathon. her first was gasparilla/tampa marathon last March and now she is getting ready to run the Disney marathon this Sunday and she is gunning for a BQ! that’s right boston bound baby! if anyone can do it, it’s her. if she was a race horse, all of my money is on her … LET IT RIDE!

from left to right: Tia, Tia’s husband who will be running Boston 2012, me, and J-man

this inspiration is for you Tia and all of those trying to qualify for boston this weekend. read it before you leave your hotel room:

The Boston Marathon
114 years and running,
From Hopkinton to 'Beantown',
A joyous occasion for all.
A roller coaster ride
That lasts for hours
Through Ashland and Framingham,
Natick and Wellesley,
With thousands supporting
And cheering the runners
All along the way,
On this Monday in April,
Called Patriot's Day.
The longer hills start in Newton,
With Heartbreak included,
Then Brookline is next,
With nothing eluded
As you finally get to Boston proper,
And you've nearly passed your test
Of endurance and patience,
With only a few miles left.
Now you see the giant Citgo sign
As you approach Kenmore Square,
With a mile to go
And you are almost there.
Then you pass Fenway Park,
Where the Red Sox are playing,
And into the heart of the City,
With a right onto Hereford,
And a left onto Boylston,
You can now see the Finish Line,
So sweet and so near.
Then you give it your all
To finally get to the goal,
In beautifully crowded Copley Square.
When it's all over you'll be
One of the thousands and thousands
Who have finished
This immortal race,
Fast or slow,
It's not about pace.
It's about the courage, the grace,
In toeing the line
26.2 miles back,
And covering the distance
With the rest of  the pack,
Through the joys and the pain,
With nothing to lose
And only Immortality to gain.
By: Arpan DeAngelo

i hope Tia doesn’t kill me for posting this video but can’t help but share it because it is so amazing and inspiring what she has done to get to where she is today and being as it is the first week of the new year, this is for all of you out there who need a kick in the butt still.

Tia, i won’t wish you good luck for this Sunday because luck is the residual of hard work and you have done the work. go out and run your race. i will be with you in spirit, sending all kinds of positive race vibes your way girl. SO PROUD OF YOU!

much love and peace out!